COLUMBUS, Ohio, USA – Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has brought home double gold awards for its exceptional Wayfarer Blend and NARSA Natural coffees at the prestigious 2023 Aurora International Taste Challenge in South Africa.
“This is a monumental achievement for Crimson Cup, as independent judges rated two of our coffees among the best in the world,” said Founder and President Greg Ubert. He noted that the coffees have previously won top honors at competitions such as America’s Best Espresso and Golden Bean North America.
“These awards reflect the dedication and craftsmanship that goes into every cup, from traveling to forge long-term relationships with coffee farmers to employing skilled roasting profiles that bring out the nuances of each bean.”
The Aurora International Taste Challenge was established to recognize and award food and drink excellence internationally while helping consumers confidently purchase award-winning products.
Crimson Cup developed Wayfarer Blend and NARSA Natural coffees through its CRIMSON brand, which focuses on bridging the connection from producer to consumer and highlighting the people behind its coffees and other products.
Brandon Bir, CRIMSON’s Director of Sustainability, initiated relationships with the producers of both coffees.
“For over a decade, we’ve been working with farmers and processors at origin to develop exceptional coffees that command a premium price – allowing farmers to grow their businesses as we grow ours,” he said. “Competitions like Aurora International Taste Challenge showcase the hard work of the smallholder coffee farmers who produce some of our favorite coffees.”
A licensed Coffee Q Grader and Q Instructor, Bir also selected and prepared Crimson Cup’s entries for the competition. “I was especially impressed by the quality of the judges and third-party verification process used at Aurora,” he said. “This ensured a level playing field for all entrants.”
He called Wayfarer Blend “the epitome of a coffee lover’s journey.” Masterfully blended for all brewing methods, including espresso, batch, and single cup, this American Roast coffee offers a symphony of fruit, caramel, tree nut and chocolate tasting notes and a velvety finish.
“The name’ Wayfarer,’ which means traveler, reflects our vision of a blend that uses a rotating variety of current crop coffee,” Bir said. “Currently, it includes one natural-process coffee from Ethiopia and one washed from Peru.”
“This coffee is tasty on batch or drip, but it really shines as an espresso, where it looks like a rich maple syrup,” he added.
NARSA Natural, a single-origin coffee that offers exceptional complexity and balance, was developed through Crimson Cup’s relationship with NARSA (NEGOCIACIONES AGROINDUSTRIAL AREVALO S. A.). A coffee co-op headquartered in Peru’s Junin region, NARSA focuses on helping small coffee and cacao farmers gain market access.
Bir and his team have been working with NARSA since 2014 as a part of Crimson Cup’s unique Friend2Farmer initiatives. Through these initiatives, the company makes economic, environmental and social impacts in coffee farming communities.
“Our long partnership helps us source exceptional coffees like NARSA Natural while rewarding the coffee farmers fairly for their hard work,” Brandon said. “For example, Peru isn’t known for fruit-dried coffee, but we’ve discovered two real standouts through these connections – NARSA Natural and Natural Gesha, which was a finalist for a 2021 Good Food Award.”
A blend of Caturra, Typica and Bourbon coffee varieties grown at 1,850 meters above sea level, NARSA Natural was picked at the farm of NARSA Founder Don Julio Abel Arevalo Tello.
After picking the ripe cherries, the NARSA crew used stainless steel tanks to run a controlled fermentation for 48 hours. The cherries were transported and dried on drying beds at NARSA headquarters in La Merced. The drying process took approximately 20 to 24 days.
“With tasting notes of Watermelon candy and Papaya, we find tons of deep, dark fruit complexity in this cup,” Brandon said. “The Aurora judges agreed!”
Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea aims to enhance its place at the forefront of the coffee industry by expanding its relationships with farmers and refining its roasting techniques to create unparalleled coffee experiences.
“Our passion for sustainability and innovation helps us to deliver coffee that resonates with the true coffee enthusiast,” Ubert said.
