Brazil Cup of Excellence winners achieve highest 2017 scores

Henrique Leivas Sloper de Araujo won the Brazil Naturals competition in the latest Cup of Excellence with a lot from Fazenda Camocim that was awarded a cupping score of 93.6. Located in the mountainous region of Epírito Santo, this coffee is the first biodynamic coffee to win the first place award in any Cup of Excellence competition and is the highest scoring coffee of the entire 2017 competition season. It is also the first coffee from Espírito Santo to take first place in Cup of Excellence. When asked to comment on his win Henrique wrote “This result comes from 15-plus years of hard work, respecting nature, it’s cycles and moods and with deep passion from all of us at Camocim farms.” A lot from Fazenda Bon Jardim, with a final score of 92.33 won the Brazil Pulped Naturals competition. This is the highest scoring coffee from the Cerrado Mineiro region and the first time a coffee from this region took the top spot among the Pulped Naturals. Gabriel Alves Nunes submitted the award-winning lot after returning from college to a historically well-known farm and focused on processing techniques. Three more Pulped Natural coffees and four more Naturals scored over 90 points. These seven other farms are located in Matas de Minas, Cerrado Mineiro and Mantiqueira de Minas. Presidential Award-winning coffees receive the highest prices at auction. All nine of these lots will be split in half to be sold to the highest bidders. The final international stage of the Brazil 2017 competition was held at the Instituto Federal-Venda Nova do Imigrante campus. The international jury hailed from 16 different countries and represented a variety of backgrounds and businesses. Scoring the two processing methods during the same week is relatively new. In past programs the Brazil Naturals were scored weeks later by a different jury.  Overall the two competitions awarded a Cup of Excellence to 25 Pulped Naturals coffees which will be auctioned on 28 November and 32 Naturals to be auctioned on 7 December. Among the 57 winners are small and large farms, seasoned and new winners and Organic, Fair Trade, Utz and Rain Forest certifications. Samples of these winning coffees are available until mid- November.