|
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Munson
Phone: 917-669-1579
Email: jimm@dalliscoffee.com
ECAFE™ Holds First International Coffee Competition in Ethiopia
ECAFE Foundation™, Inc. is sponsoring the ECAFE Gold™ Competition to select the best Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees of 2005. The competition will be held from February 21-25, 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. An Internet auction of the winning coffees will take place under the auspices of the Specialty Coffee Association of America on May 10, 2005.
ECAFE Foundation™ is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the agricultural and economic development of farming communities that cultivate and produce rare and exemplary Arabica coffees. ECAFE Foundation’s educational programs help producers identify high quality coffees and conduct regional and national cupping competitions as a means of promoting these coffees.
Cupping, like wine tasting, is the coffee industry’s tool for setting and ensuring standards of quality. Coffee buyers from the smallest to the largest determine which coffees they will buy through cupping. “While it would be hard to imagine a winegrower who doesn’t taste the end product of his labors, this is the reality throughout most of the coffee growing world,” says Jim Munson, an ECAFE board member and Vice President of Dallis Coffee in New York.
Farmers rarely receive the education and the tools to monitor the “cup-quality” of their beans. Consequently, it is the case that many growers of rare and exceptional coffees, coffees of high retail value, have little idea of what their coffee is worth.
“What we’re trying to make available is cupping and marketing knowledge in the hands of the farmers who grow the coffee, which translates into direct economic benefit for the farmer. Our goal is to democratize the educational resources ECAFE Foundation provides so that a broader base of farmers and consumers can experience the rewards,” says Colleen Crosby, one of the founders of ECAFE Foundation and owner of Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.
For the producers of the selected coffees, winning the competition is not only a welcomed acknowledgement of the expertise and hard work that go into producing an exemplary coffee, but also a much needed economic opportunity. Though green coffee prices have remained low over the last several years, coffees selected in competition for their outstanding quality may earn many times the standard market price at auction. Furthermore, the attention these coffees receive increases the likelihood that buyers will seek them out in the future.
Though ECAFE Foundation’s emphasis is educational programming, it also hopes to foster enduring cross-cultural relationships between top quality coffee growers and appreciative buyers.
Of all the coffee growing countries in the world, Ethiopia has perhaps the most ancient and distinctive coffee culture. Coffee enthusiasts around the globe recognize Ethiopia as “the birthplace of coffee.” At the heart of Ethiopia’s coffee heritage is the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Like a Japanese tea ceremony, the coffee ceremony is a beautiful and elaborate ritual performed by Ethiopian women daily while members of the community gather to exchange news and honor tradition.
“ECAFE aims to educate both farmers and perspective coffee buyers,” Munson explains. “By bringing these two groups together we expect that they will develop an appreciation for each other’s values and perspectives.”
While farmers gain valuable exposure to the desires and expectations of American and European consumers, the ECAFE Gold Competition creates a bridge through which centuries of Ethiopian coffee culture and knowledge can enhance the consumer’s experience of quality. “It isn’t one coffee fits all,” says Ms. Crosby. “In a coffee bean is the heritage of centuries, a heritage that began in Ethiopia, but one that belongs to all mankind.” |
