Issue 124: July | August 2024
Issue 124
From the Publisher
The founder and publisher of Roast magazine, Connie Blumhardt has spent 25 years in magazine publishing and has worked in the coffee industry for the last 20 years. Connie brings the same passion and commitment to this industry journal that is present within the roasting community.
With each issue, Connie brings insight and inspiration to the pages of Roast with this column.
Connie Blumhardt, Publisher
What I anticipated when I asked past Roaster of the Year winners to drop by our booth for a quick picture late in the day at this year’s Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago was a fun gathering of people I knew individually. That part went as expected.
Here’s a list of things I hadn’t anticipated: I expected maybe eight or nine people would be able to show up, when in reality over 15 previous winners were represented. I expected after an exhausting day at the show, there would be a group photo, a few cordial “hellos” and a quick dispersal. In reality, many in the group not only knew each other but were friends, which led to not just a quick photo, but something more like a family reunion. I expected I would be grateful for the support and would feel some sense of nostalgic happiness for the gathering. In reality, I was overwhelmed with emotion. This turned out to be one of my proudest moments in my three-decade career in coffee. In some small way, Roast had helped educate these incredible people, had given them the recognition they so deserved, and had even inspired them to pass their knowledge to other winners.
This event, along with the recent success of the Roast Summit held in Portland, Oregon, have re-energized me and the entire Roast team. Projects we had been discussing and planning have taken on new importance. Plans have become reality. There is so much more we can do in our mission to educate, connect and inspire people in our industry.
We just announced the first of these new projects: Roast Summit will be expanding with a new event in Chicago in October of this year. Why are we expanding Roast Summit? There is increasing demand for accessible and affordable educational and social events. All previous Roast Summits have not only sold out, but we had people traveling from outside the local area to attend. There is serious demand for highly technical presentations with follow-up activities and conversations on practical applications. Finally, people want to connect at an event that encourages one-on-one and small group conversations.
Twenty years ago, I thought I was starting a magazine publishing company. In reality, Roast is an education company with a mission to discover and disseminate knowledge and experience in different ways in order to maximize our impact. I am eternally grateful to serve the wonderful people in this industry, work with the amazing Roast team and call this industry home.
Warmest Wishes,
Connie
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