Barista Guild Taking its Bloom Event on Tour to Four US Cities

Bloom 2018 in Providence, Rhode Island. All photos courtesy of the Barista Guild/SCA.

The Specialty Coffee Association‘s Barista Guild is expanding its thought-leadership-focused event series, called Bloom, in the United States.

Billed this year as the Bloom Tour, this year’s event series will include more speakers, more cities and, ultimately, hopefully, more meaningful dialogue and positive professional growth among working baristas.

The four scheduled stops on the Bloom Tour include:

• Atlanta: Monday, June 17; hosted by Counter Culture Coffee
• Washington D.C.: Wednesday, June 19; hosted by Small Planes Coffee
• Salt Lake City, Utah: Monday, June 24; hosted by Campos Coffee
• Los Angeles: Wednesday, June 26; hosted by Coffee Manufactory

Organizers have confirmed 20 speakers for the event thus far, with plans to add additional program elements designed to cater to the local and regional markets. Speakers currently slated to hit every city on the tour currently include Erika Vonie of Trade Coffee, and Chad Robertson and Chris Jordan of Coffee Manufactory. Many more 2019 speakers are shown here, and all the Bloom talks are followed by an open dialogue with attendees.

Coffee tastings from Intelligentsia Coffee at the Bloom 2018 event in Providence, Rhode Island.

The SCA is offering early-bird registration rates for attendees until June 11, with tickets costing $50 for SCA members and $65 for non-members. After June 11, prices will be $60 for members and $75 for non-members. Rates for groups of five or more are available for both periods for $40.