ABHA, Saudi Arabia – The Saudi Coffee Company, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, has announced the launch of the second edition of the Saudi Sip of Excellence Competition, in partnership with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. This competition is designed to educate and empower coffee farmers in the Southern Region of the Kingdom while celebrating their achievements.
Participating farmers from Jazan, Al-Baha, Mahayil Aseer, and Rijal Almaa will have the opportunity to showcase their crops to a panel of judges from the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. This panel comprises experts from leading coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Nicaragua, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, the United States, Australia, and Japan.
The competition will last a full month, during which 25-kilogram samples of green coffee from each contestant will be examined and evaluated. The judging panel will select 12 winners from the participating cities, who will have the chance to win financial prizes totaling SAR240,000.
Additionally, winners will gain access to new markets through connections with a network of importers, exporters, auctions, exhibitions, and retail outlets. This initiative aims to highlight the quality of Saudi coffee on a global scale.
CEO of the Saudi Coffee Company Eng. Khalid Abu Theeb emphasized that this year’s competition will feature broader participation in terms of the number of farmers and cities
It will also concentrate more intensively on each stage of coffee production to empower local farmers, enhance the global reputation of Saudi coffee, improve the quality of coffee grown in the Southern Region, and develop the Kingdom’s coffee industry.
Farmers interested in participating are invited to submit entry forms along with 1-kilogram coffee samples between January 5 and 9, 2025. Those qualifying for the second stage of the first round will need to provide 25-kilogram samples by January 18.
The competition will consist of three rounds to examine and evaluate the coffee samples. The first round, scheduled for January 25, will review and qualify 40 contestants. The second round, on January 29, will assess 20 samples, and the final round, on January 30, will evaluate 12 samples. The winners will be announced at the International Saudi Coffee Exhibition.
