На аукциона Cup of Excellence Brazil по-рано тази година, международното жури даде оценка от 95.18 точки – най-високата индивидуална оценка давана на кафе. Свидетели сме на великолепни кафета, които получават все по-високи оценки в конкурсите Cup of Excellence и на 16.12.2015г. организаторите на конкурса (ACE – Alliance for Coffee Excellence) изпратиха писмо до своите членове, с което уведомяват че минималната оценка за кафета „Cup of Excellence“ се увеличава от 85 точки на 87 точки – т.е., за да може едно кафе да се класира като финалист в конкурса „Cup of Excellence“, то ще трябва да получи минимум 87 точки.
Когато Cup of Excellence започва преди години, кафета с оценка от 85 или 86 точки не са били толкова често срещани, докато днес голяма част от специалните кафета получават над 85 точки при къпинг. Това се дължи на факта, че днес много от фермерите в Латинска Америка произвеждат едни изключителни кафета, които получават над 85 точки при къпинг.
Публикуваме нередактиран текст на имайлът, който получихме днес от Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) относно програмата Cup of Excellence:
Excellence: The Next Movement
Dear ACE Members,
For the past 15 years, Cup of Excellence has been one of coffee quality’s greatest advocates and has given the global specialty coffee movement some tremendous gifts. It has catalyzed powerful changes in the way we think about the intrinsic value of coffee, and enabled an industry to break through the barriers that discouraged farmers from investing in quality. It established a protocol for rewarding craftsmanship and spectacular taste with equally spectacular premiums that have altered the lives of thousands of coffee growers. It has thrust into the spotlight a steady, decade-long stream of quintessential craft coffees, carefully evaluated and curated by a growing army of passionate, industry-leading coffee professionals.
So now what?
Here is a glimpse at what the next movement of excellence looks like for ACE and COE:
- New, industry-leading quality control standards for COE competitions
- Increase in the minimum score requirement to 87 (from 85) for COE winning coffees
- Online sales of COE international-week winners scoring 83-86.99, made available in small batches for direct purchase and shipping
- Post-auction logistics support for buyers and speedy delivery of coffees!
- Detailed lot quality data provided for every bidder
- New tools to collect and use data to help farmers cultivate quality
- Detailed feedback for every farmer who enters coffee in the competition
- Regular communications and active dialogue with members
- Expanded COE training program
- New ACE coffee lab, certified by SCAA
In nearly every coffee region of the world most farmers still labor in obscurity, and latent quality still goes unseen and unrewarded. Both farmers and specialty buyers often feel disconnected and distant. With a new generation of roasters looking to make their mark by offering coffees of the highest caliber and a new generation of coffee growers eager to build reliable partnerships, there is massive need for an instrument like the Cup of Excellence to help establish relationships and unlock quality potential. There is much more to discover–many thousands of farmers with unrecognized treasures that could become tomorrow’s most celebrated coffees.
In 2016, we will be working to connect more farmers with more roasters. We will be operating with greater precision and better logistics to discover quality in places where it remains hidden from sight. We are developing new tools to help clearly identify the fundamental elements of coffee quality, and to increase our ability to communicate articulately about them among ourselves and with both farmers and consumers. We hope that you are as excited as we are about what the future holds, and we invite you to reach out with any questions, suggestions or ideas you would like to share.
On behalf of the entire ACE board and staff, we wish you a brilliant finish to the year and welcome your support to help us move forward through what we expect to be a groundbreaking new year!
Respect,
Geoff Watts
Chairman of the ACE Board of Directors
