FEATURE NEWS
A virtual world
As the world adapts to life during coronavirus, coffee judging competitions have vowed to continue in a revised, virtual format, to support farmers and share top quality coffees with the world.
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here’s something special about cupping a freshly brewed coffee in the origin of where it’s produced. It could be the sound of Spanish words echoing in the room, the squawk of a toucan in the nearby tree, famers looking on, or the unique slurping sounds of international judges who collectively make the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition one of the most revered in the world. This year, however, due to COVID-19 restrictions, lockdowns, and bans on international travel, COE international jurors are prohibited from cupping some of the world’s finest coffees in the countries they were created. Instead, they’ll be doing so from a distance. “This year will be unlike any other,” says Campos Coffee Founder and CEO Will Young. “I, like many experienced and new COE judges, will not be travelling to origin for the COE. It’s a real
shame, but we are grateful we can still participate and honour some of the best coffees in the world.” Campos Coffee in Sydney has been nominated as one of five Global Coffee Cupping (GCC) centres to participate in the international judging of COE competitions, starting with the Nicaraguan COE in May. “We are the only Australian judging representative. It’s a heavy weight, but we’ve been one of COE’s top buyers for a long time. They trust us to follow the new guidelines and critique each coffee to the highest standard,” Will says. The other GCC participants are located in Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States. After national judging, 40 green coffee samples are sent to each representative, with instructions to roast, calibrate, and solo cup the coffees over two rounds. The entire process must be completed within 10 days of
the coffee arriving. “It is the ultimate blind cupping experience. We never know what the coffees are from start to finish,” Will says. “Once they are cupped and scored, we send the results back to Portland [at the Alliance for Coffee Excellence headquarters] for a final cupping. The coffees remain blind until all results from GCC representatives are received.” Ethiopia was the first country to have an altered COE judging program due to coronavirus restrictions. Green samples from the national jury selection were then sent to Portland in April where ACE Head Judge John Thompson roasted the coffees for a small and experienced jury to cup. At the time of print, judging for the Ethiopia COE had just finished, and ACE Managing Director Darrin Daniel assures BeanScene the quality of coffees judged did not suffer. “There are some stunning coffees
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