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and varied goings-on at the conference, it would have to be sustainability redefined. Sustainability has long been a cornerstone issue of the progressive coffee industry, as illustrated by the explosion of coffee certifications and claims of direct trade in the last decade. On Friday, even before the keynote speech, Jay Caragay's workshop "Breaking Bad" noted the uncomfortable arithmetic every shop owner must undergo when struggling between cost of goods and labor. Jay encouraged his audience to push back against the status quo and break from homogeneity, noting that the income we can offer our employees using traditional pricing is not sustainable in a very personal way for the line baristas in our industry. It is a lucky lady who can afford a mortgage on $8.25 plus tips. In his keynote address, James Hoffmann (2007 WBC winner, CEO of Square Mile Coffee in London, and blogger at www.jimseven.com) took a new direction from his recent talks at the Nordic Barista Cup and the SCAA, which were both focused on the retailing of coffee and customer experience. His talk at MANE was a view from the other side–our side. He spoke of the importance of failure, and discussed the danger of doing what you are "supposed to." He added, with brutal simplicity, that there are more than six jobs in coffee (barista, barista trainer, roaster, manager, production, green buyer)—the kind of truth that seems so obvious, but only after someone else points it out. This is a piece of data that is vitally important for the youngest parts of our industry to become aware of: There is room for everyone, and you don't have to be a supertaster, or willing to be on the road nine months out of the year, or have the temperament to stand next to a 400-degree machine for hours every day. There are sales positions and marketing jobs and who knows what else, but there is a place for any skill set, any enthusiasm, and that fact has not always trickled down to the folks looking to advance. As for the budding entrepreneurs in the audience, James's advice was simple: Do not give in to the myth of the heroic 100-hour workweek. It is easy to fall into this trap, especially as an owner-operator, as that is, after all, what we are "supposed to do." If you are working 80 hours a week and are spinning your wheels, then, he concluded, you are underfunded, or have bad systems—or both. James's talk spoke to the same point as Jay's—that we need to recognize the need for sustainable growth not just in our overseas partnerships, but also right here at home. We need to do a better job illustrating a path—be La e-art champion Ryan Soeder led a endees of the annual Mid-Atlantic/ Northeast Coffee Conference (MANE) in Rhode Island in the "La e-Art Hands-on Workshop," where baristas learned techniques to help them produce exceptional la e art. Ryan also taught the students common mistakes and how to correct them, before breaking into small groups to practice their skills with instructors Teresa von Fuchs, Mark Hundley, and Liz Clark. it up, down or sideways—for people who want to stay in our little corner of coffee. To continue to grow as an industry, we need to not only attract intelligent, creative folks, but also work to retain them, and to move them into positions where they can affect change in a meaningful way. The other side of that coin is finding a way to financially empower baristas who want to stay baristas. There are no easy answers, but the questions are starting to get asked. Following the keynote, the crowd engaged in the consumption of a brew or two, as well as a bit of light carousing. Your earnest reporter, eager for an early start on Saturday, quietly made his exit, stage left. As is the tradition, Saturday at MANE is the only full day of programming. This year's Saturday began with a hearty breakfast, accompanied of course by copious amounts of brewed coffee and the kind of early-morning conversation you'd expect from a group of highly invested and totally stoked members of a niche industry: focused, geeky, excited. This was, after all, what some of them had driven all day on Friday to attend. The day ahead looked like this: full-group panel discussion, then smaller workshops or more focused panels, then lunch. Following lunch, another set of classes, then a second all-MANE panel, a break for dinner, then reconvening for the official MANE party and throwdown. It was to be a full day for sure, educationally and socially. The first panel on Saturday saw Adolfo and Benjamin joined by Rik Kleinfeldt, of the event host New Harvest Coffee, Bob Garver of Bard Coffee, and Jamie Schoenhut of Royal Coffee New York. Moderated by Gimme! Coffee's Colleen Anunu, the level of coffee knowledge on the stage was overwhelming. The focus of the discussion was direct trade, though not always by that name. Colleen led the group through the years building up to Adolfo's present relationships, wherein it was made clear what an expense, and potential risk it is to enter competitions like Cup of Excellence. For Adolfo, this risk was fruitful: He enjoys a relationship with New Harvest www.baristamagazine.com 47