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George Howell and the Cup of Excellence
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Who is George Howell?
In 1974 a remarkable man transplanted his young family from Berkeley to Boston, and a crucial step of development in the world of coffee began. George Howell opened The Coffee Connection and introduced specialty coffee to Boston. Nineteen years later he sold the business, which had grown to 24 stores, and continued his work as a coffee missionary by personally travelling to coffee-producing areas, serving as a quality consultant, and advancing models of economic sustainability for small coffee farmers. This work led to the formation of Cup of Excellence, a program designed to bring the spotlight and economic opportunity to growers of exceptional specialty coffee.
What is the Cup of Excellence?
Co-founded by George Howell and a few passionate coffee connoisseurs, including Susie Spindler, Silvio Leite, and Marcelo Vieira, the Cup of Excellence (CoE) was born in 1999 with a competition of 310 Brazilian coffee growers judged by a panel of 14 talented jurors. Today, CoE is considered to be the most prestigious award given to recognize the top quality specialty coffees produced in a given country and year. Multiple rounds of elimination result in a group of select coffees that are cupped a minimum of five times by renowned national and international cuppers. CoE currently has competitions for coffees from Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, El Salvadore, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Rwanda, and only the very best beans in each country progress through the rounds. The result? A handful of lots of very rare, wonderful, single source, green coffee beans that display the best qualities of their region’s soil, water, climate, and farming techniques. These winning beans are then made available to specialty roasters through internet auction.
How has Cup of Excellence Affected the Coffee Industry?
The impact that the CoE program has had on the world of coffee is profound. Small, socially conscious roasters are thriving as they gain the opportunity to introduce to coffee connoisseurs artisanal coffees, fresh-roasted to perfection. Through these roasters’ promotional efforts, consumers are brought closer to the sources of exceptional coffee that carry the commendation of respected experts, and they gain appreciation for the hard work of the family farmers who produce it. The winning farmers benefit economically, of course, but entire communities also prosper. Family farms are not only saved, they thrive; children are educated; jobs are created, and beneficial sustainable farming techniques are propagated. The magic of the free market comes into play when the winning beans are offered to bidders through the internet, netting the producers a fair return on superior crops, many times what can be expected even through Fair Trade venues.
Portland Roasting has participated in the Cup of Excellence competition in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Here they show what a competition looks like:
The spirit of Cup of Excellence does not stop with making money. In a remarkable gesture of good will and the best of human spirit, three US roasters have demonstrated the depth of relationship that is fostered by CoE. Read about it here: Three US roasters demonstrate impressive global leadership.
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