The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) announced on 31 January that Jesimar de Oliveira Sandi won the top prize for the Brazil Late Harvest (Naturals) Cup of Excellence competition. Never having entered the contest before, Sandi said he was overwhelmed to be named first place among the 22 winners at the recent celebration held in Varginha, Brazil. His final score of 92.13 after six cuppings ranked him almost 2 points over the next contender, the ACE said in a statement. “Sandi will now join a select group of farmers that rank among the best producers in the world,” ACE stated. “Flavour descriptors for the winning coffees were dominated by the sweet notes of caramel, honey and brown sugar with fruity notes of stone fruits, raisins, wine, berries and tamarind. The highest quality naturals have very creamy body and these were no exception.” The coffees were judged by an international jury hailing from 11 different countries. They spent a week cupping at the MINASUL cooperative, one of the largest coffee cooperatives in the world, with 5000 grower members and processing 1.2 million bags of coffee a year. The jury, staff and farmers were met with an international film crew creating a documentary about exceptional coffees and the Cup of Excellence competition process. Naturals account for 88 per cent of Brazil's coffee production. While most winners came from Carmo de Minas, the top three places went to growers outside this famous growing region. All 22 of these Brazil winning coffees will be auctioned to the highest bidder on 14 March 2013 on the new Alliance for Coffee Excellence website. To register for samples of the incredible winning coffees and renew or sign up for a complete 2013 membership log on to www.allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org
