Real Beans, Real Wins: How Partnerships are Building Resilient Coffee Chains
Abdulahi Aliyu (Rikolto), Nadia Hoarau Mwaura (JDE Peet’s), Andrés Montenegro (SCA), Leopold Mumbere (Rikolto)
What Coffee Can Learn from Wine and Whisky: Translating Aroma Frameworks Across Beverages
Workshop Description: Wine and whisky have spent decades refining sensory frameworks—families, hierarchies, lexicons, and tasting protocols—that help tasters describe complexity with precision. Coffee has its own rich sensory tradition, yet many cuppers struggle with inconsistent vocabulary, under-differentiated aromatic families, or a lack of shared references.
This session explores what coffee can borrow (and what it shouldn’t) from the worlds of wine and whisky: how each beverage organizes aromas, teaches memory, structures language, and links sensory cues to process and origin. Through comparative examples, attendees will learn how cross-beverage frameworks can clarify descriptors, sharpen perception, and strengthen communication across teams and markets.
Attendees will learn to :
Compare the sensory structures used in wine, whisky, and coffee (families, lexicons, tasting sequences).
Identify transferable techniques for building aroma memory and consistency.
Evaluate how cross-beverage approaches help clarify muddled or vague descriptors.
Develop more precise, communicable tasting notes using comparative reasoning.
Understand the limits of cross-framework borrowing and how to adapt methods for coffee’s unique needs.
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 17:30
Location: Room 1123
REGISTRATION FEES: €150.00
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Brussels Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply log in using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Viva Lenoir
CEO, Editions JL Le Nez du Café
Viva Lenoir is a sensory educator specializing in smell and multisensory perception. For more than a decade, she has trained coffee, wine, and whisky professionals across Europe, North America, and Asia, helping them build stable aroma memory and clearer sensory language. Her work focuses on translating olfactory science into practical tools for cuppers, roasters, baristas, and instructors. She frequently collaborates with researchers, Q graders, and hospitality professionals to develop accessible, evidence-informed approaches to aroma training.
Origin with Purpose: Redefining Guatemalan Coffees Country Brand
Andrea Vergara, Carol Gstalder
Navigating the EUDR: A Step-by-Step Compliance Guide for Agricultural Producers
Workshop Description: Access to the European market is changing. The new EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) mandates strict traceability and deforestation-free proof for agricultural imports, creating a "comply or lose access" reality for producers.
This workshop cuts through the legal complexity to provide a practical, step-by-step compliance roadmap. Led by Miguel Angel Narvaez Flores, a former trade diplomat and expert in EU-Latin America agri-trade, this session translates high-level policy into on-the-ground action.
Attendees will learn:
The Requirements: Exactly what geolocation data and polygon mapping are needed for your specific crops.
The Process: How to prepare the Due Diligence Statements that EU importers now demand.
The Strategy: How to turn verified compliance into a competitive advantage over unprepared rivals.
Drawing on a decade of experience working directly with producers in Mexico and Colombia, this workshop is designed for exporters who need clear answers, not just theory. Join us to ensure your supply chain remains resilient, compliant, and open for business in Europe.
Here are three clear, actionable learning objectives that directly address producers’ needs:
Identify specific data requirements: Attendees will learn exactly when to use geolocation points versus polygon mapping for their specific crops and plot sizes to avoid rejection at the EU border.
Master the Due Diligence Statement (DDS): Participants will understand how to prepare and verify the essential documentation that EU importers now legally require to clear customs.
Turn compliance into strategy: Producers will learn how to leverage early EUDR compliance as a competitive advantage to secure long-term contracts with risk-averse European buyers.
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 11:30 - 13:30
Location: Room 1121
REGISTRATION FEES: €150.00
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Brussels Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply log in using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Miguel Angel Narvaez Flores
CEO, Espiga Exports
His firm is an active participant in the European and Latin American coffee markets, providing specialized import-export operations and strategic consulting. A former agricultural climate change negotiator for Mexico at COP23, the OECD, and the FAO, Miguel leverages his profound expertise in European regulatory frameworks to help agricultural producers successfully navigate complex trade policies like the EUDR.
Building Shared Value: Learning from the 2026 Sustainability Award Winners
Bean Voyage and Coffee Circle
Basic Roaster Operation and Maintenance
Workshop Description: This workshop offers an in-depth, hands-on introduction to the core principles of roaster operation and maintenance. Participants will explore how various commercial roasting machines operate, focusing on the roles of airflow, burners, and heat transfer. This workshop combines classroom learning with interactive, on-site demonstrations led by multiple roaster manufacturers. Attendees will develop confidence in basic operational procedures and maintenance routines to maximize equipment performance, ensure safety, and extend roaster longevity.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Understand the fundamental principles of roaster operation, including airflow, burners, and heat transfer mechanisms.
Compare similarities and differences among various commercial roaster models.
Understand proper operational techniques and basic maintenance tasks for different roaster models.
Recognize the importance of regular maintenance in optimizing roaster performance, safety, and product consistency.
Note: The workshop begins with classroom instruction, followed by exclusive early access to the show floor for guided demonstrations with a variety of roaster manufacturers. This unique setup offers hands-on interaction with equipment and direct Q&A with experts, though no actual coffee roasting will take place. The workshop concludes in the classroom with additional exercises and group discussion.
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 8:00 - 11:00
Location: Room 1121
REGISTRATION FEES: €150.00
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Brussels Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply log in using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Liz Bishop
Roaster Fixer
Liz Bishop has been on her coffee journey since 2005. Walking down every path of the industry from barista to educator to roaster to competition judge to Q Grader and green buyer, she is now on a deep dive into roasting machines and what makes them run smoothly. Based in Atlantic Canada, she can be found working alongside Doug Graf of Vintage Coffee at roasting operations, working in every variety of coffee roasters around the globe.
Interpreting Roast Color: Linking Measurement, Development, and Extraction
Workshop Description: Roast color is one of the most commonly observed yet least consistently interpreted metrics in coffee roasting. While widely used for visual assessment and basic quality control, color measurement is often misunderstood, inconsistently applied, or disconnected from meaningful roasting and brewing decisions.
This presentation explores how roast color can be interpreted as a practical analytical tool by linking objective measurement with roast development and extraction behavior. Drawing on experience analyzing more than 500 coffees across origins, processing methods, and roast degrees—as well as ongoing work with production roasters and importers—this talk examines what roast color can and cannot tell us about coffee performance.
Attendees will learn how color data relates to roast development strategies, how it influences solubility and extraction outcomes, and how it can be used to improve internal calibration and communication within roasting teams. The session will also address common misconceptions around color analysis and highlight limitations that must be understood to avoid over-reliance on single metrics.
By reframing roast color as an interpretive tool rather than a fixed target, this presentation aims to support more consistent quality control, clearer communication, and better-informed roasting decisions across a wide range of coffee businesses.
Learning Objectives:
Interpret roast color measurements in context, understanding what color data can—and cannot—reliably indicate about roast development and coffee performance.
Connect roast color to extraction behavior, recognizing how differences in color relate to solubility, brewing outcomes, and consistency across coffees and roast styles.
Identify common misconceptions and misuses of color analysis in coffee roasting, and avoid over-reliance on color as a single or isolated quality metric.
Apply color analysis more effectively in quality control and internal calibration, using it to improve communication and decision-making within roasting teams rather than treating it as a fixed target.
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 8:00 - 10:30
Location: Room 1123
REGISTRATION FEES: €150.00
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Brussels Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply log in using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Maxwell Martinelli
Coffee Trader / Educator, Rehm & Co.
Maxwell Martinelli is a coffee trader and educator based in Hamburg, Germany, with over 15 years of experience spanning barista training, production roasting, green coffee buying, capsule manufacturing, and coffee importing at Rehm & Co. Earlier in his career, Maxwell conducted independent research into coffee solubility, analyzing more than 500 roasted samples across origins, processing methods, and roast degrees - laying the foundation for a data-driven approach to roast development and extraction. His current work focuses on translating color measurement from a misunderstood metric into a practical instrument for standardization and quality control, helping the industry move toward more consistent evaluation of roasted coffee.
List + Beisler Cupping: Fresh Arrivals from Central America and Kenya
Public Cupping - Open to All Attendees
Cupping Room 1
Carbon Footprint in Brazilian Coffee: Measurement and Reduction Strategies
Lecture Description
This presentation explores the practical steps taken by Sancoffee, a Brazilian specialty coffee cooperative and the SCA Sustainability Award Winner 2024, to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of coffee production. Drawing from real-world data and extensive field experience, Ana Claudia Silva will discuss how Sancoffee has developed methodologies for carbon measurement, implemented sustainable practices, and fostered a commitment to environmental responsibility among its member farms.
The session will delve into the cooperative’s efforts to build a carbon-neutral value chain through strategies such as composting, use of cover crops, renewable energy adoption, and the recovery of degraded areas. Attendees will also gain insights into the collaborative process that integrates farmers, cooperatives, and the broader coffee supply chain, creating actionable solutions to address climate challenges while maintaining high coffee quality.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 3:15 - 4:15
Location: Room W
This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee Geneva here.
Lecturers / Presenters
Ana Claudia Silva (she/her)
Head of Impact, Sancoffee
Ana Claudia Silva is the Head of Impact at Sancoffee, a Brazilian specialty coffee cooperative with a strong focus on sustainability and community development. She has been deeply involved in initiatives to measure and reduce carbon footprints in coffee production, helping Sancoffee become acknowledged as a carbon-neutral coffee cooperative.
Ana leads key projects like the Bio Recovery initiative, focused on land restoration, and the Nascentes Women Coffee program, which supports female producers in improving coffee quality and achieving greater independence. Her work emphasizes practical approaches to sustainability, combining environmental leadership with tangible benefits for farmers and their communities.
CafE de Colombia: Heart of Specialty Coffees Cupping
Public Cupping - Open to All Attendees
Cupping Room 1
Where Did That Charge Come From? A Roaster’s Guide to Coffee Costs
Workshop Description
The journey of your coffee from the farm, through the warehouse, and onto the roastery’s doorstep involves many hands, a tangled web of costs, and more surprises than you signed up for. This session will shine a light on the key factors that drive the final price of delivered coffee—and why it sometimes feels like things are spinning out of control. Did your NET 30 terms suddenly vanish? Are you getting hit with extra charges for palletization and strapping? What about those surprise financing costs you didn’t even see coming?
If you’re a roaster working with multiple importers or distributors, you’ve probably seen it all—some give you one straightforward price per pound, while others tack on charges that make you question everything. And let’s face it, with today’s sky-high coffee prices, the whole supply chain is feeling the squeeze. Your suppliers are trying to optimize their costs, and now it’s your turn to figure out what you’re actually paying for, what you should be paying for, and how to call out the nonsense when surprise charges show up on your invoice.
This session is here to arm roasters and coffee pros with a clearer understanding of the true cost structure of delivered coffee. You’ll walk away knowing how these high prices affect you, what’s reasonable to expect from your suppliers, and how to protect your margins while keeping everyone honest.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 14:30 - 17:00
Location: Room T
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Sylwia Padiasek (she/her)
Co-Founder and CEO, Ocafi
Sylwia Padiasek is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ocafi US, where transparency in the coffee industry isn’t just a concept—it’s the foundation of everything they do. Ocafi owns the entire supply chain, from growing coffee on its farms to ensuring every bean meets strict quality standards at Fazenda Pinheiro, all the way through exporting, importing, and delivering to roasters. Running North American operations, Sylwia wears many hats—managing logistics, QC, sales, and accounting. A certified Q Arabica Grader, she also holds a Master’s degree in Sustainability in Agriculture and Food Production, ensuring every step of the coffee journey is handled with care for people and the environment.
Equitable Pricing Models: Building your Own Pricing Impact Assessment to Support Smallholder Livelihoods
Workshop Description
Pricing decisions across the supply chain have a direct measurable impact on the livelihoods, resilience, and prosperity of coffee producing communities. This workshop gives roasters and other coffee enterprises the tools and insights to assess the impact of their pricing strategies on smallholder producers welfare. Participants will explore impactful pricing models—such as long-term contracts, living income benchmarks, community investment and traceable price guarantees, among others—that go beyond c-market rates and business as usual models, to provide meaningful support and incentives for coffee producers.
Designed for roasters of all sizes, this workshop helps participants assess and adapt pricing practices aligned with business goals and producer prosperity. Through practical exercises and open-source tools, attendees will gain a solid understanding of the data needed to evaluate price impact, develop strategies to work with supply chain partners to assess impact, and craft communication tools that raise awareness with employees and end consumers. By the end of the session, roasters will have the skills to assess and monitor the impact of their pricing strategies, using this insight as a pivotal tool to build stronger, more resilient supply chain.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 14:30 - 17:00
Location: Room U
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Pedro Manga (he/him)
Prosperity & Impact Leader, Caravela Coffee
With dual degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biology, and a Master’s in Environmental Sciences, Pedro specializes in designing environmental and social impact assessment methodologies. He has experience in developing learning programs that encourage a responsible use of natural resources. As the Sustainability & Impact Coordinator for Caravela Coffee, Pedro integrates comprehensive impact assessments within Latin American coffee communities, crafting communication and reporting strategies to inspire stakeholders throughout the coffee supply chain. His work is dedicated to fostering sustainable practices and highlighting their value in the global specialty coffee industry.
Touton Specialty Flavor Atlas Cupping
Public Cupping - Open to All Attendees
Cupping Room 2
Savoring Diversity: A Workshop on Coffee Species Genetics and Flavor Exploration
Workshop Description
Join us for an engaging workshop dedicated to exploring the fascinating world of coffee species and their genetic diversity. Participants will delve into the rich history and biology of various coffee plants, learning about the unique traits and flavors that each species offers. This interactive session will not only focus on the scientific aspects of coffee genetics but will also include a sensory tasting experience, where attendees can sample a curated selection of different coffee species. Guided by experts, participants will discover how genetic variations influence flavor profiles, aroma, and overall coffee quality. This workshop promises to be an enlightening journey for coffee enthusiasts and professionals alike, enhancing both knowledge and appreciation of this beloved beverage.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 14:30 - 17:30
Location: Room R
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Sotiros Christos (he/him)
Coffee Expert Manager, Nestle Professional
Christos Sotiros is a seasoned professional in the coffee industry with over 12 years of experience. He has achieved remarkable success, being crowned the Swiss barista champion in both 2023 and 2025, and reaching the semifinals of the World Barista Championship in 2023. Since 2016, Christos has been an authorized SCA trainer, sharing his expertise and knowledge with aspiring baristas. Additionally, he holds the prestigious titles of Q Arabica grader and CVA ambassador. Notably, Christos has played a pivotal role within Nestle's internal network, collaborating closely with the R&D team and the agricultural research center to develop global coffee capabilities and educational programs.
Estuardo Gómez (he/him)
Coffee Quality Specialist, Nestlé Suisse S.A.
Estuardo Gómez is a Coffee Quality Specialist at the Nescafé Factory in Orbe, Switzerland. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management and a Master of Science in Applied Agriculture. With experience in innovation and new product development at the Nestlé Product Technology Center for Coffee, Estuardo also managed operations at a coffee company in Honduras, promoting sustainability and specialty coffee production. A certified Q Grader Arabica since 2016, He believes that every producer has a vital role in the diverse spectrum of coffee offerings and applications.
Coffee Business Growth Masterclass: Navigating Consolidation with Strategic Action
Workshop Description
In a rapidly consolidating global coffee market, small and medium-sized businesses face unique challenges—but also opportunities to scale. This over 2.5 hour hands-on workshop is designed to help participants develop tailored strategies to grow and thrive amidst consolidation pressures. Led by seasoned entrepreneur Lukasz Mrowinski, former CEO of Etno Cafe—the largest Polish-originated coffee shop chain—this session will guide participants through real-world exercises and frameworks based on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), and technology integration.
Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation), attendees will engage in practical exercises, peer collaboration, and case studies to understand key growth opportunities, evaluate investment or partnership options, and design actionable growth plans. Participants will explore market positioning, funding strategies, and how to adopt technological innovations like supply chain optimization and smart brewing to increase profitability and competitiveness.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will leave with an initial actionable roadmap tailored to their business needs, including short-term and long-term strategies for scaling while maintaining brand identity. This workshop is ideal for coffee entrepreneurs, small business owners, and industry stakeholders seeking hands-on, practical guidance for scaling their businesses in a dynamic, consolidating market.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 14:30 - 17:00
Location: Room S
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Lukasz Mrowinski (he/him)
Speaker, The Coffee Fund
Lukasz Mrowinski is a seasoned entrepreneur and former co-founder and CEO of Etno Cafe, the largest Polish-originated coffee shop chain. Under his leadership, the company expanded to 28 cafes, a roastery, and a cold brewery. Known for its rapid growth and innovation, Etno Cafe secured 7th place
in the Food and Beverages category and 196th overall in the Financial Times FT 1000 ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in 2020.
Lukasz played a key role in driving the company’s success through organic expansion and strategic M&A, leveraging investor funds to scale its operations. In 2022, he exited Etno Cafe to focus on M&A ventures including joining the Harbour Club, the largest global organization of M&A specialists.
He is also an experienced speaker (the presentations at World of Coffee Copenhagen 2024, World of Coffee Dubai 2025, and the Specialty Coffee Expo 2025 in Houston), with his lectures on coffee market consolidation and growth strategies receiving high acclaim. His deep experience positions him as a strong workshop facilitator for entrepreneurs navigating market challenges.
Lukasz is also the host of the Coffee On Air podcast, where he shares his practical approach to the coffee business and related industries.
Sensory and Chemical Impact of Presence of Black and Sour Physical Defects
Lecture Description
Coffee defects present a challenge to coffee quality because a small quantity of defect beans can drastically impact the quality of a coffee. While cause and chemicals responsible for off-flavour for some defects are well known (e.g. rio and potato), some of the physical defects, such as black and sour are less studied. Their impact is assumed to be large, but few studies that exist suggest quite the contrary.
This lecture will give an overview on the science of coffee defects and will present a pre-study to a larger study with the focus on understanding physical defects. The pre-study focuses on full black and full sour defects. The methodology behind determination of sensory detection threshold and associated aroma compounds will be presented alongside intriguing results. The findings indicate that the detection threshold of a defect depends on the coffee that is being investigated.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 12:15 - 1:15
Location: Room W
This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee Geneva here.
Lecturers / Presenters
Samo Smrke (he/him)
Interim Head Coffee Excellence Center, ZHAW
Samo Smrke is acting head of the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). He is leading coffee research projects in collaboration with industry partners and in fundamental research on various topics of coffee chemistry and coffee science. He is a teaching in the Coffee Excellence continuing education course at ZHAW, and in various other educational programs with partners of ZHAW. Samo is actively participating at coffee conferences, is one of the co-authors of the SCA Freshness and Water Handbooks, and has contributed to scientific papers and book chapters about coffee.
JNP Coffee - East African Specialty Coffee Cupping
Public Cupping - Open to All Attendees
Cupping Room 2
Taste, Describe, Create: Applying The CVA Descriptive Form To Coffee Blend Creation
Workshop Description
The Taste, Describe, Create Workshop introduces the Coffee Value Assessment Descriptive Form to coffee professionals new to the CVA. The workshop advances the knowledge and understanding of the Descriptive Form by applying it to the coffee blend creation process. Working collaboratively in small groups, we will recreate a reference coffee blend. After completing this workshop, attendees will gain valuable first-hand insight into the multiple uses of the CVA Descriptive Form. The practical application of the form in a guided workshop setting will build the confidence necessary to include the CVA as part of their product development and quality control processes.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 10:30 - 13:00
Location: Room R
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Todd Arnette (he/him)
Q Instructor & Value Chain Consultant, Academy of Coffee Excellence
Todd Arnette has been in the coffee industry since 1995. Owner of the Academy of Coffee Excellence and Quality Evaluation Manager for CQI has enabled Mr. Arnette to work closely with Producers, Importers and Roasters at origin, in training labs and roasteries around the world. Areas of expertise include: Post-Harvest Processing and Green Coffee Quality Evaluation, Green Coffee Buying, Production Roasting & Coffee Product Development, Food Safety Hazard Analysis Planning & Implementation – aligned with SQF and US FDA Food Safety Law. Mr. Arnette has attended all Roasters Guild Retreats except for 3 and encourages you to stay connected and involved.
The Evolution of Coffee Brewing: Geography, Flavor, and Culture
Workshop Description
This workshop explores the diversity of coffee-consuming and producing cultures around the world by examining different coffee brewing methods and the influence of geography and history on flavor profiles (also known as terroir). Participants will gain insights into myriad factors that shape the way coffee is cultivated, prepared, and appreciated across cultures. This workshop offers a focused opportunity to deepen your understanding of how history and terroir shape the art of coffee brewing.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 10:30 - 13:00
Location: Room S
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Noa Berger (she/her)
Sociology PhD Candidate, EHESS
Noa Berger is a sociology PhD candidate at the EHESS, Paris, studying the specialty coffee market in Brazil and France. Her work has been published in Le Monde, 25 Magazine, Standart and others. She regularly speaks at industry events (Re:Co Boston, WOC and others).
Color and Flavor: How Packaging Design Choices Influence Consumer Behavior
Workshop Description
Beyond its major role of preservation, packaging is an overlooked (and powerful) branding and marketing tool. Packaging plays an important role in attracting the consumers’ attention and creating sensory, hedonic, and symbolic expectations, which may affect actual product experience. This workshop will present the results of a series of experiments designed to investigate how design elements of the coffee packaging impact specialty coffee consumers’ evaluation and choice. More specifically, this engaging workshop drawn on Dr. Carvalho's innovative research published in Food Research International, will demonstrate how colors have a pivotal role in shaping consumer expectations and sensory experiences. Learn how to leverage crossmodal correspondences—linking colors to specific flavors—to optimize your packaging and appeal to target consumer segments.
During this interactive session, participants will:
- Learn the science: Gain insights into the latest findings on how color affects our perception of flavor and aroma and understand the psychological principles behind consumer choices.
- Experience the research: Participate in a sensory tasting that will bring the concept of crossmodal correspondence to life.
- Apply the Findings: Discover actionable strategies to elevate your coffee branding and packaging, making it more appealing to consumers. Participants will leave equipped with practical tools to leverage color psychology in their marketing efforts.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 10:30 - 13:00
Location: Room U
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Dr. Fabiana Carvalho
Dr. Fabiana Carvalho is a neuroscientist specializing in sensory perception and consumer behavior, particularly in the context of food and beverages. Her recent research on the influence of packaging color on coffee consumption has been groundbreaking, revealing the intricate connections between color, taste expectations, and consumer decision-making.
Mastering Sensory Skills: A Hands-On Approach to Specialty Coffee Evaluation
Workshop Description
This interactive workshop is designed to enhance sensory skills critical for evaluating specialty coffee. Participants will gain practical experience using the Coffee Flavor Wheel as a framework for identifying and describing coffee flavors. The session includes focused exercises in flavor recognition, sweetness evaluation, and mouthfeel assessment, helping attendees refine their palate and improve their sensory accuracy. Whether you are a coffee professional or enthusiast, this workshop offers tools and techniques to deepen your appreciation of coffee’s complexity and elevate your sensory expertise.
Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 10:30 - 13:00
Location: Room T
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Registration Portal and add a session to your booking before checkout. Already registered? Simply enter your registration key to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructors & Leads
Catherine Qinru Gu (she/her)
Founder and CEO, Ecofarm Coffee (China) Trading Co., Ltd
Founder of Ecofarm Coffee, one of China’s leading specialty coffee brands, with a yearly importation of specialty green bean volume over 2000MT and 800+ different lots. Catherine Qinru Gu has dedicated over 13 years to the coffee industry. Her career is marked by close collaborations with coffee-growing communities both in China and around the globe.
As a certified coffee sensory expert and World Coffee Events (WCE) representative, Catherine brings a wealth of expertise to the international coffee community. She has served as a sensory head judge and organizer for numerous WCE competitions in countries and regions like China, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Poland, etc, where her unparalleled palate and deep understanding of coffee tasting have earned her significant recognition.
Catherine’s sensory expertise has played a key role in helping Ecofarm Coffee provide professional green bean sourcing services to global coffee brands. Currently, Ecofarm Coffee collaborates with over 5000 coffee brands across China, Southeast Asia, and beyond. Her deep understanding of flavor profiles and market trends has also served as a source of market inspiration, guiding the selection of premium beans that meet the diverse needs of roasters worldwide.
Her passion for coffee and commitment to the craft have made her a major influencer, shaping the future of the industry in China and beyond. Through her work, Catherine continues to inspire hundreds of thousands of coffee lovers, fostering a greater appreciation for the artistry and complexity behind each cup.