Introduction to the 2025 Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston

Hi everyone, Chris here, reporting live from the floor of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo in Houston, Texas. I’m thrilled to be covering the world’s largest specialty coffee showpiece event this year for CoffeeGeek. It feels like a natural convergence of two long-standing interests of mine: a deep and enduring love for coffee (not to mention an unhealthy dependence on), and a lifelong obsession with technology.

For some background on who I am, my most visible work has likely been through the Hiro Report, a weekly newsletter I publish under a pseudonym. The newsletter focuses on surfacing compelling tech, interesting gear, and thoughtfully curated Apple ecosystem app recommendations. Outside of writing and the tech world, I’ve been fortunate to live and work across five continents. These opportunities have taken shape in a variety of roles, including a position as a sous chef in a sushi restaurant and a diplomatic posting in Latin America.

I’m also an avid photography enthusiast, and for more than a decade, I’ve been using Fujifilm and Leica cameras. Photography has mostly remained a personal pursuit, though it has occasionally crossed over into professional territory. I hope to showcase some of my reportage style photography work in the SCA Expo articles coming up.

Despite the varied directions my career and interests have taken, one of the most consistent and rewarding parts of my daily routine has been making coffee. While I started drinking it in high school, my deeper connection with coffee began in college after receiving a Chemex as a gift. That experience pulled me into the deep rabbit hole of manual brewing and pour-over methods, and I’ve never looked back.

More recently, I’ve developed a strong interest in espresso. That growing passion led me to discover CoffeeGeek, which I believe is still the most reliable online resource for exploring coffee gear and learning more about the finer details of espresso.

When Mark reached out to ask if I would be interested in covering the SCA Expo this year, I lept at the opportunity. Part of the appeal was the opportunity to spend a weekend immersed in the latest developments in coffee, especially in the espresso space. It also helped that Houston is just a few hours from my home base in Austin, making travel logistics quite manageable.

For this year’s Expo, my focus in my CoffeeGeek reports will largely mirror the mission of the Hiro Report. I’ll be looking for innovative coffee and espresso gear, with a particular interest in technology that has not yet reached a broad audience. Some of this will come from larger, established brands, but I’m equally eager to discover smaller companies and newer entrants to the space. Often, the most interesting and experimental work happens outside the spotlight.

In addition to covering the products themselves, I also want to speak with the people behind them. I’m curious about what drives them, what challenges they have faced in bringing their ideas to market, and what compromises have been necessary along the way. The human stories behind the gear often provide a more nuanced understanding of the innovations on display.

Throughout the weekend, I will be posting same-day and next-day coverage here on CoffeeGeek. These updates will include impressions from the show floor, highlights of noteworthy gear, and conversations with the people shaping the future of coffee. After the event wraps, I’ll be following up with more in-depth reflections and analysis in a series of articles that will appear over the following week.

If you are at all interested in the latest gear, evolving technology, and behind-the-scenes insights from the world of specialty coffee, stay tuned here on CoffeeGeek and on our social channels. We’ll be sharing coverage from the ground and capturing as much of the Expo experience as we can.

Looking forward to seeing some of you on the show floor.