ETHIOPIA
The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and the Ethiopia Coffee and Tea Authority announced the country’s first Cup of Excellence competition will take place in March 2020.
The event is expected to identify new market opportunities by showcasing the efforts of smallholder producers.
“Coffee is not just a cash crop for us. It’s part of our tradition and who we are as Ethiopians, the competition is not just a promotional tool for the world market, but also an exciting event for Ethiopia,” says Dr. Adunga Debela.
ACE executive director Darrin Daniel said that “it has long been the dream to bring the COE to the birthplace of coffee. Ethiopia represents the quintessential specialty coffee origin and with our program operating in Ethiopia, we hope to further discover and reward smallholder farmers who need market access via our competition and auction.”
Each year, thousands of coffees are submitted for consideration, with winning coffees sold in global online auctions at premium prices. The majority of auction proceeds go towards farmers.