VARGINHA, MG, Brazil – Next Tuesday, February 2, promises good results to the winners of the Cup of Excellence – Naturals 2015, considered the ‘Oscars’ of natural coffees worldwide. On this date, the auction of the 32 winners of the main quality contest in Brazil for beans picked and dried inside their cherries will take place.
The event is organized by the Brazil Special Coffee Association (BSCA) in a partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), with support from Sebrae.
The Cup of Excellence – Naturals 2015 champions come from five Brazilian producers: Mantiqueira de Minas (Geographical Indication), Sul of Minas, Matas de Minas, Média Mogiana and Alta Mogiana (Geographical Indication).
These lots will be offered, via internet, for purchasers around the world, and can achieve values substantially superior than those practiced in the market.
For the next Tuesday’s trading, which will start at noon (Brasília time), the minimum opening price was defined at US$ 4.00 per pound, which corresponds to over R$ 2 thousand (US$ 529.12) per 60 kg bag and represents a premium of over 200% compared to prices practiced on the New York exchange, the main world platform for Arabica coffee trading.
In the previous contest, the product cultivated by brothers Antônio Márcio and Sebastião Afonso da Silva at Sítio Baixadão, Cristina, MG, Mantiqueira de Minas (Geographical Indication), was bought by Starbucks Coffee Trading Company for US$ 23.80 per pound, breaking the contest record.
This bid corresponded to *R$ 9,384 (US$ 3,148) per 60 kg bag and resulted in total proceeds for this lot of *R$ 144,733 (US$ 48,552).
The current contest champion is Sebastião Afonso da Silva, one of the partners of the winning lot from the 2014 harevest, this time with the coffee cultivated at his Sítio São Sebastião, also in Cristina, MG.
Besides the first place finish, highlights also included the coffees produced by sisters Maria Rogeria and Maria Valeria Costa Pereira at Fazenda Irmãs Pereira, and by Ralph de Castro Junqueira at Fazenda Kaquend, both in Carmo de Minas, also Mantiqueira de Minas (Geographical Indication), second and third places, respectively, and which, along with the champion, obtained scores above 90, which is considered exceptional in the coffee market.
The full list of winners can be accessed on BSCA’s site: (http://bsca.com.br/cup-of-excellence-late-harvest.php?id=28).
* Dollar at R$ 2.981, according to March 4, 2015 close.
