Colombian Cup of Excellence competition brings coffee to auction.

The 2009 Cup of Excellence schedule got off to a successful start with the completion of the Colombia's International Competition held March 9-13 in Pereira.

The online auction features unique, high quality coffees from 27 small farmers and from various coffee-growing regions around the country including Meta, Huila, Tolima, Quindio, Caldas and a newly represented region in Cup of Excellence, Risaralda.

The international jury, consisting of cuppers from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Norway, the UK, Canada, U.S. and Japan, brought a worldwide perspective to the judging process. During this final jury process, cuppers were presented with 56 coffees, each of which had already been cupped at least three times by the national jury. The coffees were then put through two more rigorous cuppings as the international jurors chose the final coffees to be sold at auction. The top ten scoring coffees were scrutinized a sixth time to determine the winner.

The winning coffee, El Porvenir, from the Meta region, scored a 91.68, followed by Bellavista from Huila, scoring a 90.63. All 27 coffees received more than 84 points from each of the cupping sessions-a requirement for them to be chosen as a Cup of Excellence winning coffee.

The winning farmer, Alejandro Florez (along with other Cup of Excellence winners) was presented with his winning certificate by Juan Valdez during the awards ceremony. All Colombian winning lots will be vacuum packaged to protect their quality while shipping, a service being offered for all 2009 Cup of Excellence coffees.

For more information, please visit www.cupofexcellence.org