This is an exciting event for myself. I have been invited to join the international cupping jury for the 2007 Cup of Excellence competition in Bolivia.

“You are formally invited to be a member of the international jury for the Bolivia Cup of Excellence® competition that will be held in Coroico, Bolivia, from October 8th- 12th, 2007. The Bolivia Cup of Excellence competition is coordinated by a group effort made up of industry organizations in Bolivia and is owned and managed by The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE). We are thrilled to have you as a member of the international jury for this event and know that this competition will prove to be exciting and unforgettable for both the jury and the winning farmers.”

(Read the rest of this post)

This is the most excited I’ve been while waiting to receive a new shipment of coffee, and now, its finally here.   The Yemen Mokha Sana’ani is the most unique tasting coffee we’ve offered our clients, or, that I have tasted myself.

I remember the first sip at the cupping table with Joel and John and all three of us at the same time put down our spoons and stared at each other in disbelief.   We started laughing and then began to describe the flavor we just had.   This coffee starts out rich and earthy, kind of like a Sumatran, but then moves into a bright fruity flavor and sweet acidity like an Ethiopian or Kenyan.  What really got us was the lingering blueberry finish!! You have to try this coffee to truly appreciate this flavor. This is not your “normal” coffee, but is sure to please the person looking for something unique.  (Read the rest of this post)

Its auction time again, however this time it isn’t Nicaraguan’s, itsGuatemalan’s. This Thursday we will be joining in on the Cup ofExcellence auction to try our best in getting another lot of theseexciting coffees.We just finished sampling all 19 of the farmers who qualified this year,and all of them were fantastic. The number 1 lot had an impressive fullround body and clean finish. Its wasn’t as spicy as I like Guatemalancoffees to be, but the extremely large beans gave a visual impressionsimilar to the Maragogippe bean popular in the 90’s. They were muchlarger then a screen 18, which is the largest screen, and could havebeen a screen 20-22 (if it existed).So wish me luck on Thursday as I hope to get us one of these 19 lots.

PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICSFarm: Los MilagrosFarmer: Julio César RealRank: 15City: JinotegaRegion: JinotegaCountry: NicaraguaFarm Size: 3.50 HectaresCoffee growing area: 3.50 HectaresAltitude: 1050 maslCertification: None COFFEE CHARACTERISTICSVariety: CaturraProcessing System: Washed and sun driedLot Size: 21 bagsInternational Jury Score: 86.63Cupping Number: 1148Jury Descriptions: refined acidity (7), smooth (13), well balanced (7), lingering chocolate finish (10), cocoa, syrupy, caramel, rich, creamy, smooth, fruity aromaPlease Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.

This was a long 5:30 hours today, but the auction is finally over. The top coffee sold for an astounding $47.06 / lb which is a record for Nicaraguans.Fratello Coffee has purchased its first lot of COE’s and are going to look forward to receiving this to product to offer to our clients. We assume that this will be ready to purchase with in 2 months time.The farmers in Nicaragua were astounded at the responses they received. It goes to show that the 3rd Wave of coffee drinkers will pay farmers for the hard work they put into their crops.Fratello Coffee Co chose from “Los Milagros” Estate, Jinotega.Please read more about this fantastic coffee below:

“Los Milagros” Estate, JinotegaDon Julio César Real, a peasant with deep roots, invites us to go down the narrow pass of the mountain where a colorful coffee mill and pulp processor rises.  (Read the rest of this post)

Here are some more pictures of us cupping the Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence.

Auction Lot - NicaraguanWell tomorrow is the first Auction Lot for the 2007 Cup of Excellence program. It is a 6 hour online auction process, and after this is complete, Fratello Coffee Co. will be the proud owner of Nicaraguan’s finest coffee. We will be bidding on the top 7 (out of 34) farms who qualified this year, and we are gunning for #1.Guatemala is the next action taking place; however, this doesn’t happen until mid June. We will also be bidding on the top farms (out of 18) that qualified this year.For those of you, who don’t know about this program, please read the PDF attached out lining what this award is about. (Read the rest of this post)

I have been cupping a lot of really good and unique coffees lately as we are looking to expand our offerings to our clients. The most recent arrivals are the top 34 farms from Nicaragua who entered the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition (you can learn more about this at www.cupofexcellence.org) and we also have the top 18 farms from Guatemala who also entered the COE. I have yet to roast and cup these but will be soon.What I want to know is if you think our market is demanding this type of coffee. These are excellent coffees; however, will our clients and their customers appreciate it and able to market it? I really hope that they will and that they do. I personally think that the Western Canadian market is looking for something different and something special. I just don’t know if the COE’s are what they are looking for. I say this as the geographical regions available is: Colombian, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras and Brazil. These aren’t exactly NEW Coffees or something that our clients haven’t had before (excluding Bolivia and El Salvador). Do you think that they would purchase these geographical regions for a large premium over what they typically purchase them for? COE are auctioned off to roasters, and go for a LARGE premium. Last year Brazil’s top coffee sold for $13.20 US per lb GREEN.Let me know your thoughts as we are just about to begin our testing.

What a hard job!! Poor Russ.