TRIESTE, Italy – The 23rd Ernesto Illy Quality Award for Espresso Coffee already has a winner: Simone Dias Sampaio Silva, from Araponga (MG).
The coffee grower received a check for R$ 60,000 for her sample being chosen amongst more than 500 analyzed by the Judging Committee. In total, illycaffè distributed more than R$ 200,000 to the producers who occupied the best positions in the national and regional editions.
Second place went to Cláudio Esteves Gutierrez, from Chapada de Minas, who received R$ 35,000.
Third place of the Ernesto Illy Quality Award went to Clovis Carvalho, from Cerrado Mineiro, who received R$ 18,000. Fourth and fifth places, two coffee growers from Matas de Minas: José Roberto da Silva Gomes, who received R$ 9,000, and José Carlos Pereira, who received R$ 5,000. The producers who occupied the 6th to 40th positions were awarded R$ 1,200.
In addition to the winners of the national edition, regional winners were awarded in the State of São Paulo, the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Center West region, the North and Northeast region, the South region, Matas de Minas, Chapada de Minas, Cerrado Mineiro and the South of Minas (see the names in the table below).This segmentation helps illycaffè to discover grains of excellence vouched for in new localities.
“The purpose of regional categories is to promote greater participation of producers in the whole of Brazil, to the extent that, once again, we have received samples from all the participating areas. We will continue encouraging the participation of these suppliers, always assisting them in obtaining quality coffee”, declared Andrea Illy, CEO of illycaffè, during his speech.
The choice of the best coffees was made by a judging committee, with national and international specialists, through tests with ultraviolet light and through the classification of the grain as to appearance, dryness, color, type, moisture content, roasting and as to the quality of the drink, with espresso tasting.
Also during the award-winning ceremony, the classifiers with more samples selected among the finalists were awarded. The winner, Edivaldo Batista Generoso, received R$ 3,500; the first runner up, Wellington Carlos Pereira, R$ 2,500; the second runner up, Valdeci Miguel Rodrigues, R$ 1,500; and the third runner up, Mauro Henrique Dias, R$ 1,000.
The public present at the event also met the Supplier of the Year, Eduardo Pinheiro Campos. He was elected by the jury of the Clube illy do Café — a loyalty program of illycaffè which gathers the best suppliers of the company.
To decide the winner, they analyzed criteria such as: loyalty and efficiency of the producer, punctuality of delivery, presentation of the product, achievement of quantity and quality sold, correspondence of the batch with the original sample and participation in the Sustainability Program and in the Award.
The winner will win a cultural trip to Italy, with the option to take a companion, to visit the headquarters of illycaffè, in Trieste, among other attractions.
Here is the full list of winners:
| Position | Producer | State |
| 1st | Simone Dias Sampaio Silva | Minas Gerais |
| 2nd | Cláudio Esteves Gutierrez | Minas Gerais |
| 3rd | Clovis Carvalho | Minas Gerais |
| 4th | José Roberto da Silva Gomes | Minas Gerais |
| 5th | José Carlos Pereira | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Amanda Ribeiro Pinto | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Ana Luiza Resende Pimenta | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Armando Santos Júnior | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Claudio Martins Belo | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Comercial Mineira S.A. | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Daniela Maria Maringoli Muniz | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Edio Anacleto Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Edivandro Martins Amancio | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Eduardo Lima Souza | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Eduardo Pinheiro Campos | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Elisa Myaki Silva | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Geovane Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Guilherme Gotelip | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Homero Teixeira de Macedo Júnior | São Paulo |
| Finalist | Imaculada Maria Viana Ramos | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Janelive Sartini Muniz Garcia | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Jayme Santos Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | João Henrique Rodrigues de Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | José Dalmo de Araujo | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | José Mauro Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | José Roberto Canato | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | José Serra Netto | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Leonardo Costa Marinho | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Marco Alan Batista de Castro | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Maria Aparecida Milagres Miranda | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Mariana de Carvalho Junqueira | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Marta Dias de Castro Pereira | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Matheus Lopes Sanglard | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Matheus Ribeiro Miaki | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Paulo Ricardo da Silva Oliveira | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Raimundo Dimas Santana | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Thiago Henrique Maringoli Muniz | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Tomas Podolsky Rossilho | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Túlio Mambrini | Minas Gerais |
| Finalist | Virgilio Dias Pereira Sobrinho | Minas Gerais |
