Issue 129: May | June 2025
From the Publisher
The founder and publisher of Roast magazine, Connie Blumhardt has spent over 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
In uncertain times, I try to take solace from having been around long enough to have seen and experienced other times of uncertainty. I remember waiting in line for gas with my parents and overhearing them talking about double-digit inflation. I’ve seen my country go from being at war and driven out of Vietnam to becoming a popular tourist destination and a reliable trade partner. I’ve experienced numerous disasters, questionable leadership, multiple recessions and, of course, the extreme rise and fall of coffee prices.
Not sure exactly where or when in my life I picked it up, but along the way, one of the best pieces of advice I ever received is, “Don’t invent things that haven’t happened.” We all have to plan for future contingencies, but worrying about what might happen is a waste of two finite commodities we can’t get back: time and energy. In the spirit of taking my own advice, I am optimistic about the upcoming major coffee shows as a way for the industry to come together and connect about all the uncertainties.
Where does my optimism come from? Reflecting on our recent Roast Summit event in Australia, the best summary I can give is, “Coffee is coffee.” The conversations at the event were not about the negative effects of trade wars, tariffs or global politics, the exact type of problems that are not in our control. The biggest conversations were about coffee pricing and how to mitigate the impacts without sacrificing quality or deterring consumers, which are the healthy discussions that should be occurring. I see people and organizations taking action (kudos to the National Coffee Association for lobbying against the inclusion of coffee in the U.S. tariffs), and I know that the energy is contagious.
Given this, I am excited to participate in the Specialty Coffee Association shows in Houston and Geneva. Our specialty industry has been successful because it has always attracted the right combination of dreamers and problem solvers, the people who foster both the art and the craft of coffee roasting, and I believe that will continue to see us through the uncertainty that seems to surprise us every day.
With Hope,
Connie
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