Melitta North America

The holiday parties have started. I had the chance to join the teams from Melitta North America, @Cold Brew Foundry, and Win Win Coffee for an evening of community and collaboration. The panel with Todd Carmichael (Founder, La Colombe & Cold Brew Foundry), Dan Pabst (Innovations & Product Development Manager, Melitta North America), and Nikisha Bailey (Founder, Win Win) was a true highlight. Todd’s raw honesty, energy, and sharp insight landed with everyone in the room, setting the tone for a candid and inspiring conversation. If you need a speaker to share the good, bad and the ugly truths of coffee with wit, connect with Todd. A special shoutout to Nikisha who, despite being in the beginning of her coffee journey, was recently invited by the Colombian government to serve as a judge for their national coffee competition. They see exactly what many of us see: the momentum she’s building in Philly is real. And Dan, the panel moderator, shared the incredible origin story of Melitta founded in 1908 by Melitta Bentz GmbH & Co. KG, a woman who literally invented the modern coffee filter and reshaped how the world brews coffee. Topics ranged from innovation at origin to cold brew engineering, to the power of building inclusive, resilient coffee communities and the real surge in decaf demand. Huge thank you to Nikisha for the invite and to the teams like Barista Magazine who made this gathering happen from Philly & New Jersey. Whisha

I spent the last few days hanging out with some amazing coffee folks at the first-ever NCA Next Gen Coffee Challenge.☕ I had the honor of judging this event and was blown away by the clever concepts the teams developed in just two days. Location host Melitta North America pulled out all the stops. Their M-Lab was the perfect creative hub for this event. With their wide selection of coffee, variety of brewing options, pods for teams to strategize privately, and flexible space to deliver on all the components of the event, it was flawless. Shout out to the event organizers - the very clever and cheerful Nora Johnson , passionate Dan Pabst , enthusiastic Matthew Cariani and calm and collected Victor Mangano who executed the event with poise. 👏

Last week I had the privilege of joining the National Coffee Association USA Next Gen Coffee Challenge at Melitta USA’s M-Lab, an event designed by the Next Gen team, for Next Gen leaders across our industry. The format was as dynamic as it was real: ·     Teams created a brand from scratch. ·     They cupped 12 coffees, then bid in an auction to secure their lots. ·     They crafted blends, built marketing plans, balanced packaging and advertising costs, and even factored in sustainability programs, learning how each decision shaped their P&L. ·     Finally, they presented their product to the judges through a pitch deck and in the cup. I was honored to serve as a mentor to all four groups throughout the process and then as one of five judges for the final presentations. Watching the creativity, collaboration, and leadership of these emerging professionals reminded me just how bright the future of coffee is. Huge thanks to the NCA Next Gen committee, to Nora Johnson and Matthew Cariani for their leadership, and to our gracious hosts at Melitta Group and the M-Lab team. The energy in that room was inspiring. The next generation is not just preparing for the future, they’re already shaping it. And our industry will be stronger because of it.