**The Online Auction for COE Colombia was May 31st, 2011**
Cafe Imports secured the #1 winning lot from Arnulfo Leguizamo
Last month I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate as an international juror for the Colombian Cup of Excellence competition in Santa Marta Colombia for the 2011 auction. Santa Marta is a historic town on the northern Caribbean coast where the mountains come down to the beach and it is Sunny, hot and humid. It was an opportunity to be at one of the greatest coffee cupping events of the year combined with a little bit of sunshine and surf. This means a lot to someone who spends their winters battling snow and ice on the great northern tundra of Minnesota where we had a record 76 inches of snow this year.
Of the initial 500 entries, there were 44 coffees that scored above 84 and made it in to the final leg of the competition. The first day was calibration cupping led by Paul Songer who was our head judge, mentor, statistician and teacher for the week. If you ever have a chance to work with this man or speak with him about coffee, he is one of the best sources of science, coffee information and passion and it was truly an honor to be led by Paul for the week. The international jury was composed of four cuppers from Asia, four Europeans, four North Americans, two from South America, two Colombians and two observers plus Paul.
Day two we cupped 24 coffees, day three we cupped 24 coffees because of some re- roasts, day four was the top twenty again and the last day we did the top ten and that was a day to live for. The best 500 coffees out of Colombia reduced through giant efforts to 10 after a good nights sleep with a fresh palate.
These COE cuppings are a serious cupper’s workout. Imagine a table with ten coffees, four cups of each; you hit them all three times. That’s at least 120 slurps but the seriousness of this event and the fact that it can move a producer in to relative coffee stardom and economic success makes you pay utmost attention to every slurp and sensation. So you go back and do it again and again. After an hour of this, you talk about them with your peers for an hour and then do another ten until your kidneys are crying uncle and your whole body shakes and quivers like the methadone line.
Colombian coffees have been some of the world’s richest with big body and overtones of chocolate. The coffees from the south have tropical fruit fragrance, intense acidity and still the chocolate and caramel body notes. Coffees from the South have performed well in the COE auction and this year once again Of the top 22 scoring coffees this auction there are 19 from the South and 17 from the state of Huila specifically.
This year’s winning coffee was produced by Arnulfo Leguizamon from the town of San Augustin in the state of Huila. He is a member of an association of producers called Los Naranjos de San Augustin. The Cup of Excellence auction is May 9th and the pre-cupping of these coffees will be held prior to that online auction. So look for these items on your table and support this excellent program if you have a chance.
-Andrew Miller
Various styles of slurp and spit seen at COE Colombia
To see the mobile version of the video, click HERE
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