As in-person coffee events around the world are canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of online coffee events are popping up far and wide. While millions are staying home in an attempt to flatten the curve, these virtual meet-ups are a welcome respite from binging Love Is Blind and playing Animal Crossing.
“I don’t have a bunch of capital to throw at the problems. But, I do have knowledge and I can teach,” says Joe Marrocco of List + Beisler, who will be hosting an online webinar about coffee roasting. “Many others who have knowledge and can teach are also chipping in their free content. We all hope it can help companies make small pivots in their operations that bring to light new markets and new opportunities. Every little bit counts. If nothing else, the educational time may time our minds off of the current struggles for a minute and give us some moments of connection.”
“We are doing all we can to keep connected to our peers and community and to contribute in a positive and constructive way during such a difficult time,” says Marcus Young of Boot Coffee. The team at Boot Coffee will be hosting weekly online seminars and roundtables covering featuring stories “from a global contingent of roasters and how they’re coping, importer perspectives on the market and recommendations for their suppliers and customers, as well as exporters, farmers, and rural communities response to COVID-19 and the impact they’re feeling.”
Here are a few online events going on that you can participate in from home.
Social Distancing Pseudo Pub Trivia with Jackson O’Brien
About: Join Peace Coffee Head Barista Jackson O’Brien for an evening of trivia on the chat platform Discord. Trivia begins at 7PM Central Time every Monday and is free and open to all.
When: Monday 7:00PM CST on Discord
Espresso Basics Live with La Marzocco Home
About: La Marzocco educator Leah Muhm will be on hand to walk through basic espresso theory, how to taste espresso, and how to target an ideal brew ratio followed by a home espresso Q&A.
Join us to learn the basics of espresso, and discover how easy it is to fall in love with the ritual of being a barista in your own home. A La Marzocco educator will be on-hand to teach you how to make espresso, talk extraction, and demonstrate the La Marzocco Linea Mini.
Together, we’ll cover:
– Basic Espresso Theory
– How to taste espresso
– Targeting your ideal espresso brew ratioYou don’t need to have past barista experience, just a passion for espresso and the coffee-making ritual.
When: Friday, March 27 at 10:30 am PDT on Zoom
COVID-19’s Impact On Specialty Coffee Webinar with Boot Coffee
About: Willem Boot and the team at Boot Coffee are hosting weekly webinars on Mondays at 8AM PST.
Next week will cover the perspectives of:
– Roasters / Retailers & Sheltering at Home: Marcus Young
– Specialty Trade & Travel Bans: David Pohl
– Coffee Producers & In-Country Lock Downs: K.C. O’Keefe
– Bridging Communication Gaps with Tech: Brianna DickeyWe are recording each webinar and hosting the recordings on CoffeeCampus.com/blog.
In the coming weeks we are going to host other speakers, attempt to make it more of a conversational round-table, and plan to cover the following topics amongst others.
When: This is a recurring meeting happening now on Mondays at 8am Pacific Time at on Zoom.
Roasting Coffee to be Brewed at Home with Joe Marrocco
Joe Marrocco
About: Does your coffee taste great when brewed at home? Or only with fancy equipment at a cafe? What strategies can you implement on your next batch to improve how your coffees taste for the average consumer at home?
Join us for a *free* LIVE webinar on how to roast better-tasting coffee when brewed at home – which is where a lot of consumption has shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How can you make sure that your home customers have a great experience?
We will be joined by roasting teacher and expert Joe Marrocco of List + Beisler, and Jon Ewalt of RoasterTools.
When: Mar 25, 2020 11:00 AM PST
Sustainable Coffee Art Contest
About: Sustainable Coffee Challenge is launching a sustainable coffee art competition for children. Get the kiddos together to draw something coffee-related, take a photo, and post it on social media with the hashtag #sustaincoffee or send it directly to the folks at SCC.
When: It’s happening now through Friday, April 17th.
Coffee Break Virtual Cafe
DETAILS About: Join Stephen James Davidson (Strange Bird Podcast, Ally Coffee) for a community coffee break every morning at 9AM PST on Zoom!
Coffee Break was created by Anderson Stockdale (Bellwether Coffee). She reached out to see if I would like to help out and I said yes and we have been collaborating since.
For me, hosting Coffee Break is only as important as those who join in and want to participate. I need this right now and it seems other do too. During this time of social distancing, it seems more important than ever to come together by any means and support one another by hanging out, listening to each other, sharing our lives and if you have a few bucks to spare, donating to one of the coffee companies we support each day or buying their merchandise. It has become a beautiful community that I hope continues to grow.
When: Every morning at 9AM on Zoom.
Don’t see your event listed? Please let us know about your coffee events in the comment section!