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20 Tea & Coffee Trade Journal | www.teaandcoffee.net NCA-commissioned study on the eco- nomic impact of the coffee business on the U.S. economy. They noted that coffee represents 1.3 percent of the U.S. eco- nomic output, is responsible for $27.7 billion in taxes, and has on overall $22.52 billion total impact. The International Women in Coffee Association (IWCA) held its annual luncheon during the convention. This year's speaker was Henriette Kolb, head of the Gender Secretariat at the International Finance Corporation, who also presented "Business Case Diversity in the Coffee Sector" during the break- out session. In her speech, Kolb quoted a McKinsey & Co. report, "The Power of Parity," which found that USD $12 trillion could be added to the global GDP by 2025 by advancing women's equality…but the public, private and social sectors will need to act to close gender gaps in work and society. In the breakout session, Kolb further noted that women make up 50 percent of the labor force in coffee value chains and are responsible for "key activities that determine harvest quality and quantity but they face constraints." Mark DiDomenico, director of busi- ness development, Datassential, revealed findings from the NCA's 2016 National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) report. A sampling of the findings can be reviewed in this month's Facts, Figures & Findings section (page 24). Other sessions included those on cof- fee science and regulatory issues ("What You Don't Know COULD Hurt You"), mitigating coffee price volatility and mak- ing coffee the first sustainable agricultural product. The keynote speaker on day two, was Jason Redman, former Navy SEAL officer, who spoke about leadership (see Editor's Letter, page 14). The 2017 NCA Annual Convention will take place in Austin, Texas, March 23 -25.—Vanessa L. Facenda World Tea Awards Honor Tea Industry The best and the brightest from the tea industry will be honored at the World Tea Awards on June 15 th during World Tea Expo, which takes place June 15-17 th (with a pre-conference program June 13-14 th ) in Las Vegas, Nev. Samantha Hammer Mitchell, an event director with Penton, which owns World Tea Expo, and the World Tea brand lead- er, said, "We're thrilled to continue the World Tea Awards, now in its third year. It's the perfect platform to recognize the industry as a whole, in addition to hon- oring tea 'champions' in a broad range of key categories." This year, the World Tea Awards event will be open to all World Tea Expo attendees as a complimentary program versus being a separate, off-site ticketed affair. The event will also be referred to as the "Welcome Reception and World Tea Awards," and is intended to be an inclusive program and celebration with all World Tea Expo delegates, exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and press. "We want everyone from the tea com- munity and those in allied fields to gather and celebrate while recognizing this year's award winners," added Hammer Mitchell. Tea experts and authors Kevin Gascoyne and Bruce Richardson return as hosts of the World Tea Awards. "I'm delighted to be a part of the World Tea Awards again," said Gascoyne, who co-hosted with Richardson in 2015. "Changing the set-up so that everyone at World Tea Expo can be there, is a great idea." World Tea Expo is expected to attract thousands of professionals from over 50 countries for a platform of new tea prod- ucts, education sessions, workshops and business-growing activities. The education curriculum covers a broad range of topics to help businesses across different vertical markets boost sales and profit through tea. Core con- ference sessions are designed to meet the specific needs of retailers, foodservice businesses, distributors, product devel- opers and others with different levels of experience. Numerous focused tea tast- ings offer 90-minute organoleptic explo- rations of tea styles, tea regions and tea pairings. The skill building workshops hone important industry skills. Other World Tea Expo highlights include: The North American Tea Championship (NATC) Winners Tasting Circle; World Origin Tasting Tour; Tea Business Boot Camp; and World Tea Academy Live. For more information on World Tea Expo or the World Tea Awards, or to register, visit: at www.WorldTeaExpo. com.—Zachery Bridgeman Coffee Fest's Return to NYC a Success CoffeeFest New York 2016 kicked off March 11 th for an eventful and, unsur- prisingly, successful show, the 76 th of its kind. The floor of the Javits Center in New York City was packed all weekend with educational opportunities, compe- titions, exhibitors and attendees, who participated in the new features incorpo- rated into this year's schedule. One such new feature was displayed for attendees to encounter as soon as the walked onto the show floor: The New Product Showcase was laid out in tall glass display cases following the New Product Showdown on Friday morning, sponsored by SelbySoft Inc. and in part inspired by the television show Shark Tank. During the competition, new product inventions were presented for a panel of judges. Hosted by Anna Gutierrez of Barista 22 Syrups and Sauces, each product representative was allotted three minutes to prove their product worthy of first place to four judges, who determined the top three consumable and non-consumable product winners. This year, the company Ripples took first place for the non-consumable catego- ry with their impressive late art invention, the Ripple Maker. Using patented print- ing technology, the machine reproduces any image or text atop the foam layer of coffee drinks. Arguably the most popular and packed exhibitor at the show, many attendees were highly impressed by the image of their own face looking back up at them from their cups of coffee. Other winners of the Showdown included Just Panela for first place in the consumable category for its hand-crafted sugar and second place to Earnest Eats for its "energized hot cereals." Additionally, attendees voted on the products displayed in their cases throughout the weekend, resulting in Portable Espresso winning the New&Notable