Coffee awards and competitions

Coffee awards and competitions

Support Cup of Excellence

What was to become the Cup of Excellence program began over a decade ago in Brazil. The goal was to recognize the efforts of individual farmers who were producing outstanding coffee, often lost in blends at the time. Today, there are COE competitions in nine countries which select the best coffees produced each year. Coffees are cupped at least five times by a jury of national and international judges, and must achieve high scores each round to move on. Final winners are sold to the highest bidders in an internet auction.  Not only does the farmer get a very good price for the award-winning coffee, the farm and producer are recognized for their quality, attracting attention from roasters for future crops. Often this recognition also trickles down to benefit the entire community.

COE is owned and managed by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, a non-profit organization based in the U.S. It is funded by partners, corporate sponsors, and members. Currently, COE has 220 Community Supporters (primarily roaster, many small roasters), 58 Benefactor Supporters (larger roasters and importers) and 17 Lifetime Pioneer members. In 2010, COE added a Solo Supporter membership category.  Coffee & Conservation paid our dues as soon as we learned of this opportunity to support the program, and are among the 35 charter solo members.

Among the benefits of a solo membership is an 8 oz share of COE award-winning coffee. This year, it was from the 2011 Nicaragua COE:  Finca Bella Aurora, Dipilto, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua.

Farmer Joaquin Augusto Lovo Lopez grows caturra on 33 ha at 1350-1400 m. The coffee scored 88.17, earning it 6th place. Bella Aurora previously ranked 27th in 2010, and 14th in 2007. The coffee sold for $5.10/lb in the auction held in June 2011. It was purchased by Invalsa Coffee® (USA) with Specialty Coffee (Korea), Java Blend (Canada), Montana Coffee Traders (USA), Rojo’s Roastery (USA), Willoughby’s Coffee (USA), Social Coffee (Canada) and Brasett AB (Sweden).

We really enjoyed this coffee — and part of it was simply knowing what it represented.

Coffee awards and competitions

SCAA Sustainability Award 2011

Each year since 2004, the Sustainability Committee of the SCAA has given out a sustainability award, presented at their annual event. The award is open to individuals, businesses, and organizations that have created innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability within the coffee world while inspiring others to initiate similar endeavors that are replicable, scalable and raise the bar of sustainability.

This year’s winner was Grounds for Health. This organization has a simple and focused mission: to work with coffee-growing communities to establish sustainable cervical cancer prevention programs. Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for women in developing countries, yet it is one easiest cancers to detect, treat, and cure when caught early.

Other finalists were:

  • Cenicafé for “Participatory bird census in coffee-producing areas in Colombia.” Cenicafé is the coffee research arm of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). Part of its mission is to develop scientific programs favoring environmental conservation and biodiversity in the country’s coffee regions. Since 2004, Cenicafé has been engaging coffee farmers, their families, and researchers to conduct bird inventories in and around coffee farms. Twenty-nine communities and hundreds of farmers have now participated. The project  includes educational programs including games and workshops, and publications (more than 100,000 copies of educational bulletins and thousands of posters have been distributed so far). The project has resulted in conservation and reforestation initiatives, educational programs, and has recorded nearly 450 bird species…and counting. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service International Program’s Wings Across The Americas, The Nature Conservancy’s Migratory Bird Program, and Optics for the Tropics.
  • Café Femenino. A social program for women coffee growers in rural communities around the world, founded by Gay and Garth Smith, owners of Organic Products Trading Co. (OPTCO). The Café Femenino project helps women in Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru gain empowerment, build social and support networks, and earn income through the production and sale of the Café Femenino Coffee, of which OPTCO is the exclusive importer.
  • Efico, Rainforest Alliance, and Anacafe for “Climate-friendly coffee farming.”  This project, which rain for 18 months through January 2011, aimed to develop the climate-friendly module that can be added to Rainforest Alliance certification which I wrote about here and here. Using pilot locations in Guatemala, the project conducted workshops for farmers and auditors, helped raise awareness of climate issues and adaptable farming practices, and tested the robustness of criteria (carbon storage metrics, greenhouse gas reduction best management practices), the practicality and usefulness of the module.

Coffee awards and competitions / Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality – April 2011

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.

Coffee awards and competitions / Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality – Dec 2010

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: