Saudi Coffee Company has launched its second annual Saudi Sip of Excellence Competition in partnership with the global nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence.
Designed to educate, empower, and reward coffee farmers from Saudi Arabia’s Southern Region, this year’s competition will give entrants from Jazan, Al Bahah, Muhayil Aseer, and Rijal Almaa a platform to showcase their finest green coffees to a distinguished panel of international judges from Alliance for Coffee Excellence.
Through careful inspection and evaluation of a 25-kilogram sample from each contender over a one-month period, the jury will select 12 winners from the participating cities. The prizes for the top three positions in each city are: SAR 25,000 (US$6,657) for first place, SAR 15,000 (US$3994) for second place, and SAR 10,000 (US$2663) for third place.
With a total prize pool of SAR 240,000 (US$63,910), the competition will also award cash prizes to the fourth and fifth-place winners from each city.
In addition to monetary rewards, the competition is designed to connect winners with larger markets through new networks to importers, exporters, auctions, showcases, and outlets.
“This year marks a significant expansion for the competition,” says Khalid N. Abu Theeb, CEO of Saudi Coffee Company.
“With the involvement of more cities, more farmers, and a greater focus on every aspect of production, we hope events like this will help elevate quality Saudi coffee on the global stage while empowering our local farmers.”
After careful examination of their crop, farmers can engage with industry experts to receive constructive feedback on factors such as soil and water quality, implementing the right fertiliser, picking and pruning practices, securing tools and infrastructure, obtaining commercial records and licenses, and building their websites, marketing, packaging, and branding.
For farmers wishing to participate, submission of entry forms and one-kilogram coffee samples will be open from 5 to 9 January 2025.
Selected farmers will be asked to submit a 25-kilogram sample by 18 January. The initial round of phase two inspection and evaluation of 40 selected contestants will be completed by 25 January.
A second round of 20 samples will be further inspected on 29 January, and a final round of 12 samples on 30 January, with Saudi Sip of Excellence winners announced during the International Coffee Festival.
