The Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality award is designed to recognize coffees carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal and to highlight the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality. There are now two annual cuppings and awards, divided by geography. In December, coffees from the southern hemisphere compete. The April cupping covers countries in Latin America, as well as Ethiopia and India. The following results were announced this morning at the annual Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Coffee Breakfast at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual event in Portland, Oregon.
This year, the April cupping evaluated 90 coffee samples (highest yet!) from 9 origins. Here are the top ten:
- Idido (Yirgacheffe) Ethiopia — 86.13
- Wottona Buituma (Sidama), Ethiopia — 84.88. This co-op is one of the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. Also certified organic.
- Grupo Supia Zona La Quiebra, Colombia — 84.85
- Gidibona Sheicha, Ethiopia — 84.83. Another member of the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. Also certified organic.
- Green Coffee Agro Industry, Ethiopia — 84.75
- Grupo Aguadas Zona Viboral, Colombia — 84.70
- Manantiales del Frontino, Colombia — 84.48. Part of the Colombian Mountain Coffee group, with 138 ha in the Valle de Cauca that includes a number of varietals, including Geisha/Gesha.
- El Injerto, Guatemala — 84.45
- Adame Gorbota, Ethiopia — 84.18
- Las Mercedes, El Salvador — 84.13
That’s a pretty tight pack, with an average score of 84.74. Weird weather made it kind of a tough year in Central America, which may account for the fact that the winning score and the top ten average were both lower than the previous five-year averages (88.28 and 85.20). The winning scores for each country except the Dominican Republic (see the rest below) were also below average.
The top scorers from the other countries represented were:
- Nicaragua — La Laguna, 83.65
- Mexico — Grupo de Productores AAA, 83.35
- Costa Rica — Finca Santa Anita, 83.93
- Honduras — Platanares, 82.60
- Dominican Republic — Spirit Mountain Ecological Reserve & Organic Coffee Plantation, 82.05
Previous results are available here in the archives in the Coffee Awards and Competitions category.
Revised on March 4, 2021