Coffee awards and competitions

The Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality recognizes Rainforest Alliance certified coffees, highlighting the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality. There are 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 last week at the annual Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Coffee Breakfast at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual event.

This spring’s cupping included 77 coffees from 12 countries. The top scorers were:

1. Hacienda La Esmeralda (Panama ) – 89.94. This farm is famously known for its “discovery” (or at least popularization) of the Geisha variety, and it used to sweep all awards where it was entered. The last time it was in this competition was in 2009, when it took first place with a score of 88.99.
2. Banko Gotiti (Ethiopia) – 89.69. This farm that is part of Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), which currently represents over 43,794 farmers belonging to more than 300,000 families.
3. Inambari (Peru) – 87.38. Inambari  is one of the organic cooperatives that is part of CECOVASA (Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras de los Valles de Sandia), a group of Fair Trade cooperatives totaling nearly 5000 members. CECOVASA has also been working with Conservation International. CECOVASA has won coffee quality awards before, with members winning Cupping for Quality awards the past several years, as well as an award for their work preserving biodiversity. The Inambari logo is a stylized hummingbird.
4. Moredocofe (Ethiopia) – 87.06. Family-owned, also organic and UTZ Certified. Their logo features a Northern Carmine Bee Eater (Merops nubicus).
5. Teppi Green Coffee Estate (Ethiopia) – 86.84. A very large (10,000 ha) farm managed by Green Coffee Agro Industry. Despite its large size, a portion of the coffee is still grown in fairly rustic conditions, as the company is a major exporter of “forest coffee” in the country.
6. Ururi (Peru) – 86.05. Another CECOVSA branded coffee.
7. Manantiales del Frontino (Colombia) – 86.13. Growing 10 varieties (including a Geisha which won the SCAA’s Coffee of the Year in 2011) at 1500-2000 meters; the farm includes 170 ha of forested area. Scored 84.48 in last April’s competition.
8. Biloya (Ethiopia) – 85.94. Another member of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU).
9. Los Cedros (Colombia) – 85.84.
10. Finca Kassandra (Mexico) – 85.81. In central Veracruz, at 1200 to 1500 m. Scored 85.46 in 2011 competition. Their logo has a stylized bird, perhaps a motmot.

The average score of the 9 past winners from the last 6 years is 87.95, so the winner this spring is above average. The average score of the top ten from the past 6 years is 85.20, while this year it was 87.11.

Previous results are available here in the archives in the Coffee Awards and Competitions category.

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:

1. Idido (Yirgacheffe) Ethiopia — 86.13
2. Wottona Buituma (Sidama), Ethiopia — 84.88.  This co-op is one of the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. Also certified organic.
3. Grupo Supia Zona La Quiebra, Colombia — 84.85
4. Gidibona Sheicha, Ethiopia — 84.83. Another member of the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. Also certified organic.
5. Green Coffee Agro Industry, Ethiopia — 84.75
6. Grupo Aguadas Zona Viboral, Colombia — 84.70
7. 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.
8. El Injerto, Guatemala — 84.45
9. Adame Gorbota, Ethiopia — 84.18
10. 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.

The Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality award is designed to recognize exceptional 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 — including Brazil, Peru, Kenya, Tanzania and Indonesia — compete. These are the results of the December 2011 cupping.

This year, there were 45 coffee samples from eight origins submitted.

1. Tunki, Peru (87.92). This organic, Fair Trade coffee, from the Tunkimayo sector in Puno, also won in 2009. It consists of mostly typica and bourbon grown at 1300 to 1800 m. Tunki is one of the coffees from CECOVASA (Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras de los Valles de. Sandia), a group of cooperatives totaling nearly 5000 members. CECOVASA has been working with Conservation International, and has won an award for their work preserving biodiversity. ”Tunki” is the local name for the national bird of Peru, the spectacular Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, depicted in their logo. Equal Exchange has a good article on a visit to CECOVASA.  Peru is not one of my favorite origins, but I had this coffee at a blind tasting at an SCAA event, and it was outstanding.
2. Deep River, Kwanyoka Estate, Kenya (86.06).
3. Ururi, Peru (85.25). This is another organic, Fair Trade CECOVASA coffee (see #1, above), grown at 2000 m from the Pata Inambari Valley.  As outlined in this Equal Exchange post, CECOVASA has really been working on quality. Just two years ago, Ururi only scored at 75.48 in the Cupping for Quality competition. What an improvement!
4. Mihando, Kenya (85.19).
5. Madan Coffee Plantation,  Papua New Guinea (84.56). Located in the Western Highlands of PNG, this 320 ha, privately-owned estate was acquired by Highland Arabicas in 2003.  They grow primarily Blue Mountain typica, but also Arusha and Mundo Novo.
6. Githaka, Kenya (84.50).
7. Kihuri Estate, Kenya (84.41).
8. Machure Estate, Kenya (84.33).
9. Muthaite, Kenya (84.31).
10. Parry Estate, Kona Gold Coffee Plantation, USA (Hawaii)  (84.25).  A family-owned, 354 ha estate at 610 m on Kona (not to be confused with Perry Estate, also on Kona).

I have accumulated detailed data on the Cupping for Quality competition going back to 2007. Including these current results, this consists of seven competitions because Rainforest Alliance went from one to two annual cuppings in 2009. While not all countries were represented in each competition, even within the geographically-limited events, the mix of countries changes from one year to the next. So while this isn’t a totally homogenous data set, the numbers I’ve compiled are still interesting.

The average score for the top ten in this current event was 85.08, which is slightly below the previous average of 85.22. The top score of 87.92 was also below the average of previous top scores (88.35).  So far (as this data goes), none of the scores has broken 90 points yet. I don’t think this is necessarily a reflection on the quality of Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees in general.  Not all farms compete, and some well-known certified farms don’t or haven’t competed  for some time. In fact, I suspect that some of the well-known farms don’t feel they need to, and that entrants may be biased toward up-and-comers that are striving for recognition.

Congratulations to all these farms for their commitment to sustainability and quality.

The next round will be announced in late April at the SCAA event, after which I’ll update the averages and perhaps present some additional data.

As promised in the last post, here are the winners of the Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality awards from the April 2011 cuppings, which covers countries in Latin America, Ethiopia, and India. The award is designed to recognize exceptional coffees carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal and to highlight the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality.

In the April cupping, 76 coffees from 10 origins competed. Aside from the origins of the top ten winners noted below, the other competing countries were Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

1. Aguadas Rainforest Group (Alegrias, El Diamante, Villahermosa), Colombia (89.00). Located in the Andean rainforest in northern Colombia, the group has over 1800 ha under certification, at 2100 m.
2. Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, Ethiopia (86.79). Also Fair Trade.
3. El Diviso, Colombia (86.46). Near TimanÁ¡, Huila at 1550 to 1700 m.
4. COMICAOL, Honduras (86.07). A cooperative out of El ParaÁ­so, growing at 900 tp 1500 m.
5. Santa Teresa, El Salvador (85.71). A rather well known estate located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region, near Ahuachapan, part of the Cofinanzas Estates. Also produces Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certified coffee from its certified organic crop.
6. Jumboor Estate, Tata Coffee Ltd., India (85.50). Tata is a very large company running multiple farms. Jumboor is in northern Coorg (which is in southern India), growing S795 (which has Kents variety in its background) and HDT x catuai on 370 ha at 915 m.
7. Finca Kassandra, Mexico (85.46). In central Veracruz, at 1200 to 1500 m.
8. El Guayabito, Catalina, Los Naranjos, San Antonio, Colombia (85.36).
9. Finca el Zapote, Guatemala (85.35).
10. ADESC, Guatemala (85.29).

Congratulations to all the participating certified farms.

The Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality award breakfast at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) annual trade show is always the first function we attend each year at this event. The award is designed to recognize exceptional coffees carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal and to highlight the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality.

The number of farms that are RA certified, and thus participating in the award program, has grown a lot since the awards began in 2003. Last year, RA sought to manage this growth by having two annual cuppings and awards, divided by geography. In December, coffees from the southern hemisphere — including Brazil, Peru, Kenya, Tanzania and Indonesia — compete. These are the results of the December 2010 cupping, which included coffee from 35 competitors. In my next post, I’ll give the most recent winners, announced this morning at the breakfast.

1. Quecha, Peru (85.88). A brand of the CECOVASA farmer cooperatives, the Quecha coffees are grown at 1400 to 1750 meters in the Sandia valleys region of the Andes. CECOVASA is Fair Trade certified, and about half the members grow organic-certified coffee. Since 1998, CECOVASA has worked with Conservation International, and two years ago was recognized for its work preserving biodiversity by the Peruvian ministry of the environment. Last year, another CECOVASA coffee, Tunki, placed second in this competition (it also won best of origin in the SCAA Coffee of the Year competition), and Quecha came in 5th. Congrats to this hard-working federation for the excellent coffees they are producing, in a really sustainable manner!
2. Wahana Grahamakmur (exporter), Indonesia (83.65).
3. Fairview Estate, Kenya (83.23). Managed by Coffee Management Services. Growing the SL28 variety on 121 ha at 1750 m. Natural forest on the property is preserved, reforestation efforts have taken place, as has the planting of shade trees. Also UTZ certified.
4. Thiriku Farmers Co-op Society, Kenya (83.02). Nyeri – SL28 and SL34 at 1700 m.
5. Ipanema Agricola, Brazil (82.96). An enormous enterprise, often considered the largest single producer in the world, at 2600+ ha. They do produce single-farm brands, but no information on the particular source of this coffee was given.
6. Ibonia Estate, Kenya (82.81). Managed by Coffee Management Services.
7. Fazenda Itaoca, Brazil (82.75). 215 ha total, of which 30% is reserve land, in Mantiqueira region, southern Minas Gerais.
8. Korona Enterprise Ltd, Papua New Guinea (82.67). Female owned from near Aiyura in the Eastern Highlands.
9. Yandini Estate, Kenya (82.46). Managed by Coffee Management Services. Also UTZ Certified.
10. Baragwi Farmers Co-op Society, Kenya and Kandara Farmers Co-op Society, Kenya (tie, 82.17). Baragwi has 1200 members, and is in Kirinyaga district and grows both SL28 and SL34 at 1600 m. Kandara grows SL28 and Ruiru 11 varieties at 1600 to 1800 m in the Kandara area, and this was one of the first producer organizations in Kenya to get RA certification.

Previous results reported on here:

• Rainforest Cupping for Quality 2010, round 2 (#1 = El Injerto, Guatemala — 89.73).
• Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality 2010 winners, first round 1 (#1 = Kigutha Estate, Kenya — 86.54).
• Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality 2009 (#1 = Hacienda La Esmeralda, Panama — 88.99).
• Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality winners 2008 (#1 = Hacienda La Esmeralda, Panama — 89.93).

For the past several years, I’ve covered the Rainforest Alliance (RA) Cupping for Quality awards, a competition for RA-certified farms. In its first year, 2003, eight countries submitted 40 coffees for consideration. There is now so much participation, and to accommodate the variable seasonality of the world’s coffees, that two cuppings are held each year: May for Central America and India, and December for the southern hemisphere including Brazil, Peru, East Africa, and Indonesia.

My last report was for the December 2009 cupping, and just recently RA announced the winners of the May 2010 cupping.  There were 68 coffees submitted, mostly from Central America, but with India and the Dominican Republic competing for the first time.

Here are the top ten winners and their scores.

1. El Injerto (Guatemala) — 89.73. Four time winner of the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence. 470 of the 720 ha of this farm in Huehuetenango (15.564794, -91.941574) is forested.
2. El Cashal (El Salvador)  — 86.95  Located in AhuachapÁ¡n in the western part of El Salvador (map here).
3. Coopranaranjo R.L. (Costa Rica)* —  86.45. A cooperative/mill in Naranjo, Central Valley. Markets coffee under five different brands. There isn’t any mention of which/how many producers are RA certified.
4. La BendiciÁ³n (Guatemala)  —  86.38. Located in Chimaltenango (14.486317, -91.004567). An allied farm, Santa Elisa Pachup, came in second place a couple of years ago.
5. San Diego Buena Vista (Guatemala) —  86.37. Acatenango, Chimaltenango (14.543416, -90.975137).
6. Coopedota R.L. (Costa Rica) —  86.20.  A large cooperative and mill, marketing at least eight brands. One, Cafe Hermosa, is marketed as RA certified. The mill also has facilities for separating micro-lots from individual producers.
7. La Hilda (Costa Rica) —  85.95. A single estate. A look at this video, which I believe to be the correct place, shows that the production area is primarily sun coffee, as is typical in much of Costa Rica. You can look at it in Google Earth as well (10.093514, -84.216667). It looks like the production area is sun, but that there is adjacent forest. Portland Roasting works directly with this farm more info at their site.
8. El Zapote (Guatemala) —   85.78. There are multiple farms with this name in Guatemala, but I am pretty sure this is the finca in Acatenango, Chimaltenango (14.547683, -90.968283).
9. Cafetalera TirrÁ¡, S.A. (Costa Rica)  —   85.13. Processes and markets the coffee grown in Poas and Alajuela.
10. Jesus MarÁ­a (Nicaragua)  —   85.13. I think this is near Matagalpa.

*Aside from #7, the Costa Rican winners are cooperatives and/or mills.  Coffee from Costa Rica is often named or branded by the mill, which processes coffee from farms in the surrounding region, so farm source can sometimes be difficult to determine. These are pretty large entities, and Rainforest Alliance explained to me that while not all members/suppliers of the named winner are certified, the mill or co-op submits a representative sample of 100% certified coffee from a RA-certified farm or farms. RA requires segregation and traceability of their certified coffee from the rest of the coffee moving through the supply chain.