Myanmar hosts first national cupping competition

Two women coffee farmers have been awarded the two top spots in Myanmar’s first national cupping competition held in Yangon, the countries largest city. Phyu Pu and Daw Mya Hnin were top scorers with samples evaluated at 84.25 points and 84.08 points, respectively. 
Both Pu and Hnin’s coffee is the Catuai variety, grown at 4000 feet, in Shan State, Myanmar. Fifty-eight Shan State samples were entered into the competition, which were evaluated by a panel of international Q Graders and regional observers. Twenty-one of the samples received were evaluated at 80 points or higher, qualifying them as within Specialty Coffee Association of America specialty coffee standards. Organised by the Myanmar Coffee Association and Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), the event was part of the USAID-funded Value Chains for Rural Development project. Implemented by Winrock International, the Value Chains for Rural Development project funds initiatives to improve agricultural productivity for smallholders, strengthen value chains and enhance private sector engagement. The event was the first coordinated by CQI in which producers received visual depictions of the sensory evaluation of their coffees.  Judges used the online application Tastify to collate numerical and sensory data collected in the competition. This data was then used to produce customised visual flavour wheels depicting the sensory descriptors of each coffee.  At the awards ceremony, every producer participating in the event received a colour printout visually depicting the flavour characteristics of his or her coffee.