From sustainability improvements to barista competitions and coverage boards, this yr’s African Positive Coffees Convention & Exhibition highlighted the worldwide affect of Africa’s espresso sector.
BY BHAVI PATEL
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Pictures courtesy of Bhavi Patel
Early final month, members of the worldwide espresso neighborhood descended upon the high-altitude hills of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for every week that may solely be described as a caffeine-fueled renaissance. The twenty second African Positive Coffees Convention & Exhibition (AFCC&E) and the third Africa Espresso Week (February 2–6, 2026) weren’t simply business gatherings; they had been a homecoming.
As delegates from throughout the globe gathered on the Addis Worldwide Conference Heart (AICC), the air was thick with the scent of the best coffees from the continent and the electrical hum of a continent prepared to say its seat on the head of the worldwide desk.
Sensory Science and Round Sips
The exhibition ground was a masterclass in trendy commerce, however the true magic occurred within the specialised tasting rooms. The B2B Cupping Pavilion remained the guts of the occasion, the place consumers from Seattle to Seoul stood shoulder-to-shoulder with producers, slurping their approach by means of the “Regional Style of Harvest” winners.
One specific hit was the Sip, Savor, Maintain: Ethiopian Cascara Tasting, organized by the Heart for Round Economic system, supported by the Worldwide Commerce Heart. In a world more and more specializing in sustainability, this occasion showcased how espresso cherry husks (cascara) are being reworked from waste right into a premium beverage. Past being a tasting, it was a proof-of-concept for a closed-loop business the place “waste” is a forgotten phrase.
Cocktails, Canapés, and Aggressive Cups
Networking isn’t work when it’s completed on the Opening Cocktail in Addis. In opposition to a backdrop of feet-tapping music, the worldwide elite of the espresso world toasted to new partnerships. This spirit of camaraderie carried into the African Barista Championship, the place the continent’s best expertise demonstrated that African espresso tradition is simply as subtle within the cup as it’s within the soil.
The occasion noticed some superb panel discussions protecting a spread of subjects from branding origins to coverage pathways for inclusive espresso extension. A Sustainability Day was additionally celebrated in collaboration with Rainforest Alliance.
Other than the panel periods, there was an exhibition that includes among the best producers, exporters, roasters, packaging producers, and plenty of different allied merchandise from all the world over. The espresso governing authorities of various African nations additionally arrange stalls to showcase their coffees.
Energy Breakfast and Coverage Perks
The week noticed an simple surge of vitality on the Worldwide Girls’s Espresso Alliance (IWCA) Breakfast. Underneath the theme “Shaping Girls’s Management for the Subsequent Espresso Era,” the IWCA hosted a powerhouse panel that bridged the hole between seasoned veterans and the rising youth. It was a morning of uncooked honesty relating to fairness, but additionally a celebration of the tangible progress ladies are making in management roles throughout the East African sector.
Concurrently, the Excessive-Stage Coverage Discussion board, organized by the Inter-African Espresso Group (IACO) and United Nations Industrial Growth Group (UNIDO), shifted the main target to the massive image. Ministers and stakeholders hunkered down to debate the Advancing Local weather-Resilience and Transformation in African Espresso (ACT) Espresso Program, a roadmap designed to remodel African espresso right into a climate-resilient, value-added powerhouse.
The Verdict: A New Period
Because the 2026 Africa Espresso Week drew to a detailed, the takeaway was clear: Africa is not only a supply of uncooked supplies. By innovation, feminine management, and a fierce dedication to sustainability, the continent is defining the subsequent century of espresso. For the baristas, roasters, and consumers who made the pilgrimage to Addis, the message was loud and clear: The way forward for espresso is African, and it has by no means tasted higher.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bhavi Patel is a meals author specializing in espresso and tea, and a brand-building specialist with a background in dairy know-how and an curiosity in culinary historical past and sensory notion of meals.
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