Cup of Excellence returns to Colombia

The 15th Colombian edition of Cup of Excellence was held in Ibagué, Tolima on 26 September. The national jury approved 39 coffees for the international jury to analyse, with 29 of those progressing to the auction stage. A Colombian record of six lots received the Presidential Award, which are coffees receiving 90 and above. This year’s  jury was comprised from 12 leading coffee roasters and importers around the world:  United States, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, Norway, Belgium, China, Denmark, Colombia, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom.  Orlando Ospina’s second-place farm, La Maria, which is located in Cundinamarca region, entered his natural gesha, scoring an impressive 90.78. Ospina, a trained agronomist with his first harvest as a coffee farmer chose a natural process due to the lack of infrastructure, but also because of its ecological impact.  The winning farm, Mirador-El Naranjo, scored 91.28 and was produced by Rodrigo Arley from Buesaco, Nariño. Arley’s coffee was a fully washed blend of caturra and castillo grown at an astounding 2050 meters. Other winning regions included, Huila, Tolima and Nariño. Varieties included: bourbon, castillo, colombia, tabi, gesha and typica. The program was supported by ASECC (the Asociacion Colombiano para la Excelencia del Café) along with the Gobernación de Tolima, SENA, the University of Ibagué and Catholic Relief Services. “Colombia continues to lead in the specialty coffee sector with its exotic flavors and this jury confirmed it with descriptions such as mango, granadilla (passionfruit), honeydew melon, papaya and other exotic flavours,” Executive Director of ACE, Darrin Daniel said. Longtime Cup of Excellence jurist, Sascha Spittel, owner of Tres Cabezas, a leading Berlin Roaster commented, “This was one of the best juries and Cup of Excellence’s I have ever been on.” The Auction will be live on 7 November on the Alliance’s website: www.allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org.