Chris: Networker Chris Deferio, networking on the steps.

Out in the hallways, I ran into David Griswold, a past president of the SCAA, and we chatted briefly about what he's doing at the show. He's chairing a discussion of ICO type countries about coffee, and possibly a move back to some kind of quota or more favourable distribution system to help farmers get a better wage for their coffees. The hope is, lessons learned from the last quota system will be applied here, and devastating floods of the coffee market, like what Vietnam did in the 1990s, can be avoided. If it's good for farmers, I'm all for it. David owns a company called Sustainable Harvest, so if he's involved, I have high hopes.

I had some discussions with Stephen Schulman of Dallis Coffee about where their product was going. They are a big roaster (in terms of our specialty coffee market) and they have a 4 bagger (600lb) roaster, but are doing interesting things in the New York market. They aren't a Stumptown or Ecco Cafe or even a Counter Culture, but they are definitely one of the good guys and pushing the quality envelope for the hotel and restaurant trade.

Also had a quick chance to say hi to Chris Deferio, latte art whiz, and one of the best in the world at it.