The CCS Acevedo Cup 2018 Awards Ceremony
The inaugural Acevedo Cup was one of the most inspired/inspiring events CCS was a part of in 2016. What a motivating way to finish off the year. It’s difficult to imagine just how much preparatory work the Fairfield team had done in advance of the competition but the resulting four days we spent cupping, discussing, scoring and ranking the top 20 lots were an absolute pleasure.
Those of you who’ve cupped at origin know how arduous full cupping days can be, so the fact our group of judges enjoyed cupping and re-cupping these coffees says everything about the standards to which the Fairfield team operates.
This competition was a great way to start our work in the Acevedo municipality of Huila. It gave us the opportunity to taste a wide variety of cup profiles available within this community, while the closing ceremonies, in turn, gave the community the opportunity to learn about CCS’ and Fairfield’s work and ambitions for working in and around Acevedo.
Between 20-30 families came to the closing ceremonies and while many of them weren’t “winners” in the sense of having submitted top-20 coffees, it was fascinating to speak with several of the families afterward and learn about their perceptions not only about the competition, but about how they view working with Fairfield and us in the long-term. Some well-established community leaders were in attendance and they had already decided to organize meetings amongst Acevedo Cup winners and their neighbours to first discuss the winners’ protocol and strategies for the winning lots, and then determine how and what strategies neighbouring farms could implement to improve their own production.
Left to right Eduardo Urquina of Fairfield Trading, Miller Bustos collecting the certificate for his brother Fernando Bustos, and Alejandro Renjifo of Fairfield Trading.
Field Notes
Day 1
Calibration round + two competition tables. Screened 29 coffees down to 12 which will move on to the next round.
Learned about the National Learning Service (SENA), a government initiative that provides workers, adults and youths with technical training within the areas of industry, trade, agriculture, mining and cattle breeding. Some of volunteers helping with the Acevedo Cup are students of SENA and are currently undergoing training to become professional baristas, cuppers and roasters.
Day 2
Screened 29 coffees down to 12. Day 3 is the cupping of the top-24 coffees from Days 1 & 2.
First introduced to the winning coffee which I described as one of the best coffees I cupped all year. I gave it a score of 93 points with the following aroma/flavour descriptions: a floral, lemony, jasmine, and bergamot aroma. Cup is complex, juicy, well-structured, citrusy, clean, with a red currant finish. This coffee has all the elegance of great washed Ethiopian coffees, while also maintaining a Kenyan-like acidity.
Day 3
Top-24 coffees screened down to top-20. Ranks 11-20 determined today; top-10 will be cupped and ranked on Day 4.
Visited Los Angeles farm, owned by Maria Bercelia and her partner, Jose Erazo. We purchased coffee from them for our first ever shipment from Acevedo and are pretty certain at least one of their coffees will be amongst the winning coffees.
Day 4
Final round/table of top-10 coffees.
Winners, lot sizes (per 70kg bags) and varieties are as follows:
#10: Jhon Wilson Poveda, 11 bags, Colombia & Caturra
#9: María Bercelia, 15 bags, Colombia & Caturra
#8: Otoniel Morales, 7 bags, Castillo
#7: Nicolas Delgado, 18 bags, Colombia & Castillo
#6: Ciro Lugo, 12 bags, Colombia
#5: Elizabeth Abaunza, 5 bags, Caturra
#4: Ciro Lugo, 12 bags, Colombia
#3: Alexander Ordoñez, 12 bags, Colombia & Tabi
#2: Fernando Bustos, 18 bags, Colombia
#1: Jesucita Cuellar, 5 bags, Tabi
Jesucita is a new grower to Fairfield and the Fairfield cupping team hypothesized that this coffee would win the competition during their screening of all the coffees submitted for competition. Must learn more about the Tabi variety!
Ciro Lugo won 4th and 6th place.
Final Notes
A big thank you to our three roaster judges:
Ria Neri, Four Letter Word, Chicago, IL
Tali Robbins, Barismo, Cambridge, MA
Dillon Edwards, Parlor Coffee, Brooklyn, NY
The remainder of the judging panel were Ana Beatriz Bahamon, Eduardo Urquina Sanchez, Esnaider Ortega & Alejandro Renjifo, all of Fairfield Trading; along with David Stallings & myself, who represented CCS.
Until next time,
Melanie