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Video Podcast: Crazy About Coffee
Monday, 17 April 2006
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We visited Willem Boot, a coffee expert volunteering with eCafe to strengthen the specialty coffee market in Ethiopia. Coffee which can be grown using high-quality methods can be sold in the specialty market segment, rather than the "c-market," or commodity market. The farmers earn more for their coffee, so there is more money to save and invest in their communities.
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Award Ceremony Concludes the 2nd ECAFE Gold International Competition for Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees and Sends 27 Lots to High-Profile Internet Auction
During a ceremony at the Coffee Quality Control and Inspection Center in Addis Ababa on Saturday, February 25, awards were presented to coffee cooperatives for 27 washed and sun-dried coffees of exemplary quality. A panel of professional cuppers from North and Central America, Europe and Ethiopia served as the international jury in this competition which featured high-quality Ethiopian coffees produced by smallholder farmers and marketed through unions. Coffees of over 65 cooperatives from five unions—the Sidama, Oromia, Yirgacheffe, Kafa Forest, and Tepi Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Unions—were represented in the competition.
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2ND ECAFE Gold International Competition for Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees Concludes with 27 Lots Selected for Auction
A jury of distinguished international judges at the 2ND annual ECAFE Gold Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees Competition has selected 27 winning coffee lots, which will be available through an internet auction in May. The auction will include 12 rarely offered grade one washed coffees from the Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Tepi regions. Particularly unique in this auction are the 15 specially selected and processed unwashed varieties from the Yirgacheffe, Jimma and Sidamo regions. “This second ECAFE Gold competition has again proven that natural coffees from Ethiopia present exemplary flavor profiles rarely found in other coffee origins,” comments Willem Boot, co-founder of ECAFE Foundation.
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NEW YORK, NY, July 12, 2005 — Coffee wakes up millions of people every morning – and a lot of them are too groggy to think much about its flavor or its origin. But even in New York -- where weak deli coffee is still a staple -- there’s increasing interest in what are called specialty coffees. |
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Years ago, I consumed my first cup of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee. While savoring
the intense, sweet, berry-like notes, I became so intrigued by the depth of this flavor that it was an almost ‘love at first sip’ experience. Last year, I traveled as a Coffee Corps volunteer to Ethiopia to assist in delivering training programs for the three unions of coffee cooperatives in this country. My trip was truly unforgettable; after visiting the cooperatives in Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, I was determined to return to Ethiopia with more volunteers to organize a coffee competition for all cooperatives in this country. |
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The sound of 17 cuppers slurping coffee resounded in Ethiopia’s Central Liquoring Lab. Through the cacophony, one deep, slow slurp resonated and caught my attention. “Too fast and you can’t catch the depth of the flavor,” Abraham Begashaw, head of the Ethiopian Coffee Authority and masterful cupper, would later say. “Fast is for defects. If you slow down, your senses will capture the completeness of an exemplary cup.” |
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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.
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First Ever International Competition for Ehthiopian Cooperative Coffees Underway
The 1st annual ECAFE Gold Cooperative Coffee Competition of Ethiopia is officially underway in Addis Ababa. Out of 194 coffee samples originally entered by Ethiopia’s four largest coffee-growing cooperative unions, 96 were selected in late January to compete for top honors in this country’s first ever international cupping competition. At a calibration session yesterday, Abraham Begashaw, Director of Ethiopia’s Central Liquoring Lab, and ECAFE President Willem Boot welcomed 15 distinguished international judges from the United States, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and France. Joining the International Panel are three Ethiopian judges from the Central Liquoring Lab who participated in preselection. Together they will be responsible for awarding first, second, and third prizes in ten categories following four days of intensive cupping.
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1st Ever ECAFE Gold International Competition for Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees Concludes with 26 Lots Selected for Auction
A jury of 16 distinguished international judges at the 1st annual ECAFE Gold Ethiopian Cooperative Coffees Competition has selected 26 winning coffee lots, which will be available in an internet auction hosted by the SCAA on May 10, 2005. The auction will include 14 rarely offered grade one washed coffees from the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions. Particularly unique in this auction are the 12 specially selected and processed unwashed varieties from the Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, and Nekemte regions. “These outstanding naturals,” comments Colleen Crosby, co-founder of ECAFE Foundation, “embody the rich aromatics and flavors found in the Ethiopian spice market. Exotic fruits and elegant floral notes contribute to the distinctness of these exemplary coffees.”
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