Inaugural Ecuador Cup of Excellence garners global recognition
Farmers, National Jurists and ACEDE staff together during the auction
The first Ecuador Cup of Excellence (CoE) auction proved to be a big hit with the global marketplace, bringing in buyers from around the world and surpassing the previous average price per pound record set by the Ethiopia CoE auction earlier this year. A total of 113 bidders representing 23 countries competed for the 23 lots, with the total revenue of the auction amounting to $250.068.45.
The first place coffee, a washed Typica Mejorado from the Saraguro, Loja region in Ecuador produced by Abel Salinas Pacheco, received the top price of $97.10 per pound. The entire lot, which was split for the auction, was purchased by the Taiwan-based Haru International Corporation.
“We like Ecuadorian coffees very much,” said Anderson Wong of HARU International Corporation. “The first place lot was my favourite; very strong floral notes and extremely clean,” he followed mentioning the rarity of finding lots from the Loja region. The company plans to send samples of the coffee to Taiwan and China.
In fact, the top two coffees were purchased by companies based in Taiwan with Orsir Coffee purchasing the second place winning coffee. The top five coffees were purchased by companies representing five countries including the US, Japan, Taiwan, UK, and China.
Many of the lower-ranking coffees fetched high prices. For example, the 20th place coffee, a honey Sydra produced by José Luis Eguiguren Pozo of Santa Gertrudis in the Loha region, received $29 per pound for his coffee which was purchased by Wataru for Voila Coffee.
“Well, the truth is I was surprised. If my coffee reached $20 per pound, I would have been satisfied given its ranking, but its good buyers valued it much more,” said José Luis Eguiguren Pozo.
Farmers together with National jurist and Asociacion de Cafes Especiales del Ecuador (ACEDE) staff gathered at the Universidad Ecotec in Guayaquil to watch the auction live.
Cup of Excellence in partnership with ACEDE promotes the production and consumption of specialty coffees nationally and internationally while highlighting the craft and effort of Ecuadorian coffee growers to produce high-quality coffee. All coffee farmers in the country are able to participate in the competition. More information about the 2022 edition will follow in due course.
For more information on the winning coffees and details on the auction results, visit: allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/ecuador-2021.
