Cup of Excellence competition - George Howell's Photos- powered by SmugMug

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www.terroircoffee.com

I have grouped all the competition photos together. Many of these folks are among the finest cuppers I know.

Susie Spindler is the Executive Director and President of ACE - Alliance for Coffee Excellence a non-profit responsible for Cup of Excellence. She has been indefatigable in her efforts to promote quality farmers.

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George Howell > The international jurors convened the day after arriving in Rwanda and driving to Butare. The co-founder and executive director of Cup of Excellence, Susie Spindler, gave the first presentation.

George Howell > Panorama of most of the international jury.

George Howell > Next came Timothy Schilling who has been the director of the USAID/Rwanda SPREAD Project - see http://www.spreadproject.org/home.php for information on SPREAD. Tim is an agricultural development specialist from Texas A and M University. He went to Rwanda in 2000 to lead the USAID/PEARL project and was instrumental in bringing Cup of Excellence to Rwanda.

George Howell > Part of Tim's presentation....

George Howell > 26,300 square kilometers is 10,150 square miles, smaller than the state of Massachusetts.

George Howell > This is Jean Claude Kayisinga, who will be the first Rwandan to become director of the SPREAD project when Tim leaves in the next few months,

George Howell > A rare quiet moment in the coffee preparation room. The two one-pound Probat roasters can be seen in the background. Gl;asses are ready for the next cupping.

George Howell > Roasting the samples. Each one pound batch most be roasted to the same degree. This means that some coffees must be reroasted until they are right. Roasting went into many late night hours in preparation for the next day.

George Howell > Each glass on a tray is the same identical coffee. Precise amounts of beans are measured into every glass, then re-weighed after each glass' worth is ground. Twenty four glasses of each coffee are cupped in a single round in the international competition. Jurors, national and then international, will have cupped over 100 cups of a single coffee over several weeks and scored 84 or more points for that coffee each time for it to win a Cup of Excellence award. Two hundred and seven samples were submitted.

The international jurors convened the day after arriving in Rwanda and driving to Butare. The co-founder and executive director of Cup of Excellence, Susie Spindler, gave the first presentation.