Coffee Assosiations

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

Is AASCA still going? Who are the office holders these days??? Cheers, FC

admin · October 2004

Not sure - actually John's probably the best person to ask for an update on this...John? -A

john · October 2004

Admin and FC I am not sure who is on the current committee. The last I heard there was an AGM to be held back in August. I do not know as to what the outcome of the AGM was. I checked the AASCA web site last week, there was no current information. Also I am no longer a financial member. For more info, maybe click onto the web and send AASCA an email. Sorry I could not offer more info. JD

Carmelina · October 2004

If you looking for a relevant association: ACTA (Australaian Coffee Traders Assosciation) http://www.acta.org.au/ Hope this helps!

john · October 2004

Carmelina Who are the ACTA Do you have any experience with them???? JD

Carmelina · October 2004

We have joined them recently - The jury is still out on their effectiveness as we have not had a lot to do with them yet but as far as I can tell they are the only relevant assoc in the country! I will keep you updated.

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

Hello Carmelina, I'm interested in your thoughts regarding the comment: "....as far as I can tell they are the only relevant assoc in the country!...." Would you care to elaborate? Cheers, FC.

john · October 2004

Carmelina Could you also give a list of a few of the members. I went to the web site, but had trouble finding out who the members are. JD

Carmelina · October 2004

No judgement intended. Please accept my apologies if I have offended anyone. I just haven't been able to find any other associations. Located AASCA via your forum and interested in finding others.

Carmelina · October 2004

Carmelina Could you also give a list of a few of the members. I went to the web site, but had trouble finding out who the members are. JD

Members include roasters, wholesalers, equipment supply & service: My coffee shop Belaroma Coffee Bravo Coffee Bo-Ema Coffee Mio Green Bean coffee Tasmanian Coffee Roasters The Bean Alliance This is an extract only and by no means exhausts the list. CP

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

Carmelina, I dont think anyone is offended, I for one just asked an innocent (who me?) question regarding what I took to be a legitimate sentiment expressed in your post. Always interested to know others thoughts on the available associations. John, my limited understanding is: that ACTA has been around a long time and it is/was mainly a loose grouping of green bean importers and larger roasters. AASCA was a "split off" from ACTA when some did not agree with others regarding the direction of the asscoiation (possibly that some new members wanted to take it in the direction of SCAA and others didn't...enter the birth of AASCA). ACTA have been trying to broaden their membership base by seeking to involve more of the "smaller" roasters. That's about all I know I hope (for the benefit of others reading this) that my limited understanding is not an incorrect representation of the facts. I have never been a member of either, therefore my own question as per above. OK disclaimers ended! Cheers, FC.

Carmelina · October 2004

:-X I meant was that I hadn't been able to locate any other assoc. .;) Thanks for the update - are there any other assoc's besides these two? CP

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

Not that I am aware of. FC.

admin · October 2004

Hi guys - thought i'd try to give a summary, as far as my (limited) knowledge is concerned...apparently ACTA has been around for a long time, & was pretty much an association representing the interests of the large roasters, on issues such as GST on green beans, etc - ie with a very narrow range of interests. AASCA was started by a few people who left ACTA with the intention to pretty much 'mimic' the SCAA in the US, along with an intention to offer more to smaller roasters (i understand), as well as baristas - they managed to get the rights to the 'official' Australian entrant to the annual World Barista Championships. Apparently there were some pretty big egos involved, to the extent that some people complained that this got in the way of the association's objectives...however, some of these 'egos' may recently have left. Other info/updates anyone? Admin PS Carmelina - isn't two coffee associations enough?

john · October 2004

Admin, FC et al I think that one Coffee Association representing the whole Coffee Industry should be enough. The Association should be National with various State off-shoots. To cater for the various interest groups eg growers, roasters, bean importers, baristas etc, there could or should be separate interest groups. The Association should also have it own national conference, instead of tagging onto other irrelevant events. OK who is going to put this show on the road??? I supose this is the burning question. Until the persons involved in the Australian Coffee Industry actually realise that there is an Australian Coffee Industry, it will never happen. JD

Carmelina · October 2004

JD, Are we talking about starting a new association from scratch with all of the "right" parameters, guidlines and goals being set from day dot, or do you mean revamping one of the existing two? Also are you stepping up to the plate? CP

john · October 2004

CP I do not know about starting a new Association. Maybe one of the existing ones could look at representing the whole industry. The groundwork has already been done. Maybe it just has to be taken to the next level. It would need a commitment from more than just me to put the show on the road. JD

Spjarli_Coffee · October 2004

Ok, Ok I'll do it! ;D

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

This is very much an outsiders point of view and may not therefore be entirely accurate however: As far as I can tell a) ACTA is or was (as mentioned in prev posts) an assoc for large roasters...They have however in the past 3 years or so been trying to drum up membership with a broader spectrum of the COFFEE (roasting) industry; b) AASCA is or was an assoc set up to kind of mirror the SCAA set up. My view (however naive) of this is that it is an assoc for the CAFE industry, the cafe wannabees (no offence intended, meaning people wanting to go into a cafe and have not yet done so), and the small specialty roaster wannabees (see prev explanation re meaning of "wannabee"). Seems to me in a theoretical sense the two should be amalgamated into one set up catering for all as per John's suggestion above, and presumably trying to do such a thing is how one assoc became 2 in the first place. Che? There is one slight problem (for me) in all this. I am not in the business of supporting any association that wants to sell itself by training and consulting to new members to teach them to go into competition with the existing members. You know, like having "roasting workshops". I have seen enough "cottage industry" roasters where coffee growers decide to buy a roaster and do their own. And as a consequence, isn't it lovely to see potentially good coffee ruined by totally bad roasting, and particularly by mimicking the american tradition of burning everything in site. I would rather see an association plugging away trying to get the various members from differing angles within the entire coffee industry, to go into partnerships together in the pursuit of excellence (good coffee), and this not necessarily achieved by taking money from people that should instead be encouraged to do their own job properly, rather than by encouraging them to go into areas where they have little or no knowledge and experience. And therefore, any growers out there wishing to look into a partnership (of sorts) where they do an excellent job of growing and processing, and my company will do an excellent job of roasting / blending / packaging etc,their green coffee can apply right here. I promise my company will not buy a coffee plantation, or attend any association workshops on the correct techniques for growing coffee plants! Cheers, FC. (non political in practice, not volunteeting to do anything).

john · October 2004

ADMIN ??? Could you please correct the spelling in this topic subject. It has been bugging me for some time. JD 8)

admin · October 2004

Hi John - i have to admit that this has bugged me for some time also, but am not sure there's anything that can be done...I can move topics to another page, delete a nasty post or even a whole thread and can restrict access, but changing the spelling of a topic is one thing I can't do without deleting the whole thread! -A

john · October 2004

A No probs. JD

FreshCoffee2 · October 2004

Is there no one else with earth shattering opinions on coffee assciations to run by the forum? Is there no one out there who can give us an update on what's going on with AASCA, who their new committee is, to give us CV's of the new committee members, give us their new policy / direction statement/s ??? ...To tell us why we should all join them, or from the other side (ACTA) to also tell us why we should join them instead? Oh well, Cheers, FC.

admin · June 2006

Hi guys - also thought i'd revive this one in spite of the spelling mistake! ... when AASCA first started there was a feeling that many of the key players were more in it for ego than anything else. It seems like they've got some enthusiastic new people - just wondered what thoughts there were on AASCA now that they've got some new blood? -A

G_Uru · June 2006

With all the hype over coffee, accreditations and so on, raising this topic again could be a good idea. IF A PERSON OR COMPANY WAS LOOKING TO GET INVOLVED IN, OR EXPAND INTO THE COFFEE INDUSTRY, WHO DO YOU GO TO FOR ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION????? THE AASCA OR THE ACTA??? WHO DO THEY REPRESENT? DO EITHER OF THEM HAVE ANY POLITICAL CLOUT? WHO ARE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES? WHAT IS THEIR EXPERIENCE IN COFFEE? WHAT EXPERIENCE DO THEY HAVE IN REPRESENTING THE MEMBERS? COFFEE IS THE 2006 BUZZ WORD. EVERYBODY APPEARS TO BE AN EXPERT AND EVERYBODY IS ABOUT TO GET INTO THE INDUSTRY. BURNING QUESTION? SHOULD THERE BE SOME TYPE OF REGULATORY BODY? OFF TO MECCA!!!!! GREG

BenB · July 2006

Woohoo! Thanks for bumping this one forward again Ashley - seems like the pertinent time to discuss it again. I guess I'll be referring to specific associations in this disucssion but I'm trying to explain not plug. What to discuss first?? I guess I'll start with the most recent questions because some of the older ones might not be quite as valid anymore... Therefore I'll address Greg with this one: The AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association has a number of specific goals and I'd encourage you to look at their website for their specific mission statements. However, in short, they are an industry body that seek to increase the knowledge and quality of coffee around the AustralAsian region. Now the contentious issue that some people seem to find with this is that what quality coffee is is debatable. I agree - it's a completely subjective opinion. However, you'd have to agree that there are some general characteristics that go into creating a better cup of coffee that can be recognised and encouraged throughout the industry. Aside from this, AASCA certainly isn't forcing anyone to only drink coffee one particular way - if you prefer the taste of coffee that was roasted 8 months ago, roasted very dark and has 4 sugars added to it then please enjoy that - it's a subjective experience. However, my personal approach (and I think one presented by many in AASCA) is to offer you(noone in particular) the opportunity to taste freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee prepared well. If you still like your previous style then that's fine, but most people I've done this test with are blown away by the difference and never turn back. AASCA attempt to represent all groups associated with the coffee industry. They're open to anyone who wishes to join and hold yearly meetings where the committee is elected by the members. Members are asked to give input as to where they want the association to go as a whole and their ideas and comments on specific aims and programs all the time. (the main problem we've found is that hardly anyone is willing to make comments, let alone constructive ones). You can look on the AASCA website for all of the names of the official committee members at the moment. I hope that helps to answer some of your questions Greg but if you, or anyone else, has any questions or comments, post em up or call me on 0439 511 881 anytime. Comments and points of interest are always welcome but a gentle suggestion would be that if you do have a problem or are annoyed about an aspect of the industry/AASCA then come to the table with a solution as well. Cheers, Ben Bicknell

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