BOGOTA, Colombia – As part of its commitment to promote and bring visibility to the production of Colombia’s highest quality coffees, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) will organize the first edition of the contest Colombia Land of Diversity.
The contest’s awarding ceremony and auction will take place in Bogota, from October 4th to October 7th 2016, under the frame of the international specialty coffee fair ExpoEspeciales Café de Colombia.
Colombia Land of Diversity is part of the FNC’s strategy to promote quality, differentiation, and value added throughout the coffee chain.
The contest seeks to broadcast the flavor diversity enjoyed by Colombia’s coffees; draw domestic and international attention to excellence coffee; concentrate regional and departmental initiatives in one same national contest; encourage Café de Colombia’s major customers to evaluate, qualify and, ultimately, purchase the finalist coffees; and increase the income of Colombian coffee producers.
Who Can Participate?
Colombian coffee growers and those owning coffee growing farms in Colombia will be able to participate. There will be two major categories: Small Lots (volume between 500 and 2,000 kilograms) and Large Lots (volume between 25,000 and 27,500 kilograms).
In the Small Lots category, only one coffee per farm or producer may participate. The following sensory attributes will be evaluated independently and a total of US$ 8,200 will be awarded to each winner.
- Acidity
- Body
- Mildness
- Balance
- Exoticness
In the Large Lots category, only one coffee per producer or producer association may participate. There will be a single prize of US$ 8,200 for the best estate coffee.
Participants will be able to present their lots from June 1st to August 15th 2016. We encourage all interested producers to start preparing their lots. When the time comes, they will be required to present them at the purchase points located in their municipality’s coffee grower cooperative.Â
Best Coffees Will Participate in International Auction
In addition to the US$ 8,200 that will be awarded to the winners of each attribute, the top five lots within each category (there are a total of thirty categories) will be able to participate in an international auction under the frame of ExpoEspeciales 2016.
The base price will be of US$ 5 per pound for small lots and US$ 2 per pound for large lots.
The winners of each category will also be entitled to participate in next year’s contest. They will be placed directly in the international jury round, provided that their coffee meets the required quality standards.
