BOGOTA, Colombia – Eduardo Armero (picture), a coffee grower and cup taster from the Association of Producers of La Unión (AsproUnión), Nariño, won the National Cup Tasters Championship.
The competition was held within the framework of Latin America’s leading specialty coffee expo, ExpoEspeciales Café de Colombia, which brings together the entire coffee chain and hosts the National Cup Tasters Championship, the Colombian Barista Championship and the National Coffee Quality Competition.
Armero, who also won the national championship in 2010, will now represent Colombia in the next World Cup Tasters Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
The 33 year old won by a wide margin: eight correct answers in 2 minutes 26 seconds and 41 hundredths. With six correct answers in 3 minutes, 47 seconds and 81 hundredths, Daniel E. Morales won 2nd place.
Third place went to Walter O. Acevedo, with six hits in 4 minutes, 32 seconds and 43 hundredths.
Participants had to taste eight sets of three cups (triangulation) to identify the different cup. The goal is to obtain the highest number of correct answers in the shortest possible time.
“This is such an honor. I won the national championship in 2010, represented Colombia in the world championship in 2011 and obtained 5th place. I hope to qualify for the final round next year and represent Colombia in the best possible way,” noted Armero at the awarding ceremony.
“I’ve lived my entire life in La Unión, Nariño. I studied geography at Universidad del Cauca and worked in a project that mapped different cup profiles. That’s why I learned to taste,” he added.
A total of 95 cup tasters participated in 2016’s National Cup Tasters Championship. As Armero noted, the level of competitors is risingannually, confirming the growing sophistication of the domestic industry.
“I will continue cup tasting the best coffees that we have in Colombia. Thanks to our coffee growers, we have a unique raw material.”
