In February, 3 international judges and 5 resident national cuppers assessed 72 Myanmar specialty coffee samples (mainly dry naturals) using SCA cupping protocols in a competition format established by the Coffee Quality Institute.
The quality of coffees entered rose across the board for a second straight year, with 26 of 72 coffees achieving 85-points or better. A Ywangan micro-lot entered by Mandalay Coffee Group scored a record-breaking 89.58 points. Judges described the coffee as “clean and complex,” with the flavors of “orange, lemon, strawberry, and red currant.”