How I Decided to Host My First Coffee Experience in Oaxaca

Chatting over cups of coffee, the idea gradually crystallized.

The Specialty Coffee Association hosted its annual trade show in April 2025 in Houston, where coffee professionals from around the world converged. At the time, I was writing for a local newspaper in San Antonio, but I couldn’t shake my pull toward coffee. I knew I had to go.

I arrived that weekend thinking I wanted to be a coffee roaster. But as I wandered the convention center, teeming with more than 17,000 people, I sampled exceptional coffees and struck up conversations. Another path began to take shape.