Speaker Bio: Samuel Gurel is a certified SCAA Q Grader instructor and has instructed several Q grader classes in China. Samuel has been involved in all aspects of the coffee industry for the past 10 years and has been on the judging committees of several barista competitions. He has presented about international coffee market trends on several panels and serves on oversight committees for several worldwide coffee projects. Samuel is bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese. Samuel grew up on a farm where he learned how to grow things, how to rebuild a carburetor, and how to care for livestock. His Jewish dad owned many businesses. At 18, he took over one of his dad’s agricultural businesses while finishing college but after two years of studying architecture, he moved to Alaska to follow his dream of being a bush pilot. Samuel graduated in 2001 from the University of Alaska in Business and Aviation, and when he worked as a commercial pilot providing essential air services to remote native villages and was quickly promoted to Station Manager and Training Pilot for Inland Aviation in Bethel, Alaska. In 2008, Samuel and his family moved to remote and under-developed Western China where his team was able to grow the Green House Coffee business revenue from $24,000 annually to $750,000 annually, and create 40+ new jobs with very little resources.
Abstract: Samuel will talk about the “WHY” behind coffee development. He cares about people. The reason he invests his time developing coffee is because he really believes that it improves lives. He and his staff work to increase coffee quality through training, education, and consulting. This education improves coffee quality, which improves quality of life. Quality of life is what he and his team are really passionate about.