NEW YORK, U.S .– On November 1st, illycaffè, the Trieste based family-owned Italian roaster, leading brand in top quality coffee, presented the 1st Annual Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award at the Delegates Dining Room of the United Nations.
With this award, illycaffè wants to recognize the coffee growers’ commitment to quality and sustainability, emphasizing the importance of working hand-in-hand with them, while also pursuing the company’s dream to offer the greatest coffee to the world.
The illy Quality Lab in Italy identified, among the 2015–16 season’s crops, the 3 best coffee lots from the 9 most representative coffee producing countries of the unique illy blend.
This year the competing countries are Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India and Nicaragua. Then, an internal jury selected the one that, among those 3, represents the best of each country.
Hosted by the Illy Family and featuring Master of Ceremonies Gordon Elliott, the award gala honored and recognized all of the 27 finalists, who nurture the best quality beans in the world for illycaffè.
The coffee producers involved in the event traveled to New York with the support of United Airlines, which now proudly serves the illy blend on all domestic and international flights and lounges.
“Exactly 25 years ago, my father Ernesto Illy created the Brazilian Quality Award, which triggered the transformation of Brazil into a high quality coffee producer – said Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffè – Today we celebrate this important milestone by extending this prestigious award to all the major producing countries of the unique illy blend, with the aim of building the future of coffee by bringing together growers & coffee lovers”.
The 9 country winner coffees were tasted yesterday by an international independent jury in different preparations, to choose the ‘best of the best’ coffee of the 2015–16 season’s crops.
The jury – mentored by author Mark Pendergrast and illy Quality director David Brussa, and composed by Peter Giuliano (SCAA Director), Kerri Goodman (publisher), Corby Kummer (journalist), Grace Hightower (philantrophist), Suvir Saran, Viki Geunes and Luigi Taglienti (Michelin starred chefs), Maria Loi (chef, restaurateur, Greek food ambassador), Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira (Chairman of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association) – awarded Ahmed Legesse from Ethiopia with the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award.
“This is an Ethiopian coffee with an intense and delicate flavor. Its unique high intensity floral jasmine notes are mixed with a slight hint of citrus and fresh fruit. Coffee is believed to have originated in the forests of Ethiopia, and the coffee plant still grows here in the wild, amid the shady vegetation.
It is picked by hand in the plantations and even in domestic gardens, where coffee ripens alongside the other crops – the jury’s spokesperson declared about the winning coffee – A special coffee with a mild, delicate aroma and a unique perfume with distinctive floral notes of jasmine and a hint of citrus fruit”.
An honorable special mention went to Honduras, which took second place obtaining an equal Global Quality Score, but was surpassed by the Ethiopian coffee in the judging category evaluation of Aroma Intensity of Espresso.
During the event, Andrea Illy recalled the 3 virtues of coffee – pleasure, health and sustainability – and the virtuous circle between the well-being generated by the consumer response and the economic value benefiting the producing countries. This virtuous circle must be nurtured and accelerated by increasing product value with quality, differentiation and sustainability.
Finalists:
Brazil
1. Juliana Tytko Armelin
2. Daniella Romano Pelosini
3. Arabela Pereira Lima
Colombia
1. Carlos Arturo López Guarnizo
2. Ovalle Duarte
3. Eliecer Torres
Costa Rica
1. Mauricio Barrantes
2. Warner Quesada Elizondo
3. Johnny Marin Badilla
El Salvador
1. Jose Antonio Salaverria Jr.
2. Leopoldo Muyshondt
3. Miguel Angel Caceres
Ethiopia
1. Ahmed Legesse
2. Seada Shifa
3. Yismashewa Seyoum
Guatemala
1. Jorge Bolaños
2. Jose D. Guerra
3. Edward Andres Esteve
Honduras
1. Juan Angel Milla
2. Dario Enamorado
3. Omar Acosta
India
1. Mohamed Suhaib
2. Tanveer Jabbar
3. Anand. J . Mathais
Nicaragua
1. Jose Arauz
2. Carlos Alberto Cruz Lopez
3. Victor Hugo Castillo
More information about illy and its products can be found at www.illy.com and www.facebook.com/illy Follow illy on twitter twitter.com/illyUSA Follow illy on Instagram instagram.com/illy_coffee
