ACE REPORT ALLIANCE FOR COFFEE EXCELLENCE & CUP OF EXCELLENCE NEWSLETTER Q1 2012 2012: New Horizons for Cup of Excellence he Alliance for Coffee Excellence is excited to announce three entirely new Cup of Excellence programs in 2012 Tto make what will surely be an astounding (and very busy) year. When the Cup of Excellence began as a good idea in Brazil in 1999, no one would have imagined the changes to occur in the coffee industry over the next decade. Each with their unique history, politics and place in the global spectrum, producing countries have found Cup of Excellence to be a compelling way to reach the targeted pinnacle of international markets as well as stimulate their own producers toward new heights of quality. Cup of Excellence is still a good idea! This year, Mexico and Burundi will be added to the roster – as well as an all-new competition in Brazil spotlighting natural processed coffees. THE BRAZIL LATE HARVEST competition will be the first of the 2012 cycle – samples have already been REMINDER: tendered and pre-selection is underway. Natural processed coffees represent over ¾ of Brazil’s entire pro- Brazil Auction duction. For many years, ACE has been exploring ways to encourage growers of natural coffees (dried in Wednesday 18 Jan 2012 the cherry and then milled to remove the dried pulp) to participate more fully in the Cup of Excellence Cup these 25 lots & so that Brazil can showcase the very finest examples. And there has been increasing interest bid for your in this process from specialty coffee roasters who appreciate the body and complex flavors favorites! that the best naturals can display. “From our perspective at ACE, the ideal solution had always been to hold a separate competition only for naturals and we’re delighted that this will now be taking place,” explains Cup of Excellence Managing Director, Grant Rattray. Brazil will continue to hold the existing Cup of Excellence every October/November that will now be for ‘pulped’ and ‘washed’ coffees only. MEXICO – Coffee is produced throughout the southern part of the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic seaboards and fromMexico City all the way to the border with Guatemala. For years, Mexico has been reliant on exports to their neighbor to the north – the USA – and much of their coffee has simply been trucked over the border. The arrival of Cup of Excellence will bring a host of new buyers from the international marketplace. It will also challenge growers and mills to produce their very highest qualities and to help elevate the reputation of Mexican coffees from fine commercial to genuinely specialty grades. Mexico has been holding their own internal quality compe- tition for 4 years and the skills learned on this ‘Premio Cosecha’ will allow Mexico to host their first Cup of Excellence in May 2012. BURUNDI – It’s almost two years since ACE first started conversations with stakeholders in the Burundi coffee sector to join Cup of Excellence. Burundi is a tiny country but heavily dependent upon coffee for export earnings. Head Judge Paul Songer has spent many weeks in the country training cuppers and roasters in preparation for the 2011 Burundi Prestige Cup. This event had been planned as a scaled-down practice event to ensure that logistics were all in place. In fact, the International Jury week began with the full compliment of 60 samples, just like a regular Cup of Excellence competition! This was a huge challenge for the roasters who managed to prepare all the coffees on just a 3-barrel Probat sample roaster throughout the week’s cupping. On Saturday, the International Jury came together for a simple open outcry auction and we were thrilled that all 22 winning lots sold…within just 2 hours! A total of $118,000USD was raised for the growers, washing stations and organizers. Burundi is now ready and fully prepared for their first full Cup of Excellence in August 2012. Raising the Bar – New 85 Point Standard When the first competition continued to invest in improvements in quality. In the was held in 1999 in Brazil, past few years, more and more lots have achieved the the pass mark to be 84 score. If Cup of Excellence is to continue to offer the awarded Cup of Excellence ‘best of the best,' the scoresheets and standards must be was 80 points. As quality maintained to reflect these new realities. quickly improved on the farms and mills, the From the beginning of the 2012 season, ACE will be passing standard had to be challenging growers, washing stations and mills again by raised to 84 points in 2004. The 'famous' 84 points has increasing the score required to be awarded Cup of been in place ever since and every lot must score Excellence to 85 points. Importers and roasters world- consistently above this mark to pass each round and to wide will continue to find tremendous value in exclusive be awarded as Cup of Excellence. But as demand for coffees that have been cupped with the highest level of specialty coffee grows, producers and mills have scrutiny and consistently risen to the top! Rwanda Cup of Excellence he third Cup of Excellence competition held in Rwanda continued the Tongoing success story of international partnerships and of fascinating coffees that captivate cuppers and consumers around the world. The International Jury convened in Kayonza in the Eastern Province and were impressed by the submissions – giving 36 lots scores deserving the Cup of Excellence prize. Grant Rattray describes the scene at the awards ceremony: “The attendance at the award ceremony was overwhelming. A crowd of more than 3,000 coffee growers, washing station managers, coffee sector personnel, politicians and families from the communities at the south of Lake Kivu filled a football field andthe surrounding hillsides to see the winning growers and washing station representatives collect their awards. Perhaps nowhere else is Cup of Excellence so publicly recognized: it is advertised across the entire country, on the roadside, on buses and on television. Cup of Excellence is now the second largest annual event in the country after the naming day for the new baby gorillas!” ACE members responded in kind by cupping through the 36 lots and engaging in heavy bidding at the online auction at the end of October. When the dust settled, the coffees from Rwanda’s top washing stations were won by importers and roasters across an impressively even spread: Japan and North America; Europe, Australia and South Korea; and Taiwan and Hong Kong. The gross revenues of $596,000 and average of $8.05/lb are an amazing boon to the producers associated with each lot – some lots comprised the coffee of a dozen growers – some represented the work of over 100 small farmers. Look for these coffees to land and delight coffee drinkers in the new year! Café Show Seoul f Japan shares a recent coffee history with Cup of Excellence, ISouth Korea represents the turning pages of this next exciting chapter. No other country has embraced coffee and cafe culture as quickly and enthusiastically as Korea as is evidenced by the many blocks of Seoul with multiple coffee shops, by the overwhelming demand for training in all-things coffee, and by the many new Korean roasters who are members of ACE and buyers of Cup of Excellence. The ACE team all traveled to Seoul for the Cafe Show, a trade and consumer event The Cafe Show also gave ACE the opportunity to present a that doubled in size from last year and attracted 85,000 visitors! fascinating seminar that may only be possible through access to Cup of Excellence farms and coffees. ACE Executive From ACE Head Judge, Sherri Johns: “We love Korea. The food, Director, Susie Spindler, presented a tasting in exploration the people, the coffee. Korea is the fastest growing consuming of the variables that affect flavor in coffee. What are the market in specialty coffee today and for ACE a fast growing perceived differences of tasting the same varietal from group of CoE buyers. We were amazed at the high percentage different countries? Or different varietals from the same of CoE-educated consumers, of the 11,000 (more than twice farm? There is still so much to explore in terms of taste, of 2010), who visited our booth tasting recent CoE winning but Cup of Excellence coffees open the door for progressive farms roasted by our members in Korea. Korea brew on!” producers and likeminded roasters to work together. SCAJ Annual Conference Japan has a historically unique relationship with the Cup of Excellence. As CoE competi- tions, auction and coffees shifted paradigms around the world about what defines quality and traceability, Japanese roasters entered the marketplace and were early adopters of the new standards. Some smaller roasters built their businesses while participating on Interna- tional Juries and buying at auctions – creating brand awareness and then expectation and demand among their customers. Large roasters and importers also engage in CoE because of the niche market that has been created. You can see such strong support at each Cup of Excellence auction; ACE enjoys reciprocating support by attending the SCAJ Conference each year. Tokyo's Big Sight is the perennial venue for the conference and during the show hours, the place is buzzing with attendees eager to taste and talk. This year, ACE was able to feature the recent winners from Rwanda as well as a sneak preview of the Prestige Cup coffees from Burundi. As always, it was great to connect with many members, to be hosted by our friends in Japan and to make new connections within the growing coffee landscape.