12 Oct 2009
Cup of Excellence program in Wellington

NZCRA & COE Cupping workshop. 1-3 October 2009

" Refined and cradling acidity, with a silky smooth body, and flavour notes of tangerine and toasted grains"

This is typical of the words spoken over the recent three day cupping workshop held by the New Zealand Coffee Roasters' Association in conjunction with A.C.E. (Association for Coffee Excellence) who run the annual Cup of Excellence competitions.  It was a great chance for roasters to learn more about the process of cupping coffee, with the aim of improving the overall standards of coffee in NZ.

Erwin Mierisch and Susie Spindler of A.C.E. were in town to pass on knowledge and give us a better idea about how "Cup of Excellence" works, and how to get the most out of the C.o.E. in terms of buying auction coffees and building better and closer relationships with coffee farmers.

As an attendee I learnt a huge amount even though I've been cupping coffee regularly for three or so years now. Previously I might have stood around a table slurping and talked about coffee using a very general vocabulary to describe things I liked or didn't like, whereas here we were exposed to topics such as differentiating various kinds of acidities and exploring how they would affect other sensorial aspects like mouthfeel and finish. One thing I really took away from this event is the ability to quantify different characteristics present in a cup of coffee using the C.O.E cupping formula (sweetness, acidity, mouth feel, flavour, aftertaste and balance).  A major thing that this event brought to my attention is that sometimes you have to really step away from the flavours in a cup of coffee and focus on other attributes, and in doing so you may start to appreciate a certain coffee origin for another set of reasons altogether.

This event also showed that when coffee farmers put a huge amount of care into the growing, picking, and processing of a coffee, it really affects how good that coffee is as a finished product, as long as the roaster can fully realise the flavour potential given to him by the farmer. Cup of Excellence helps the farmers who do put in that extra care to reap the rewards they deserve in terms of the price payed for their coffee. We were presented a series of  "before and after" photos of a coffee farmer's house who had done well in a C.o.E. competition. He was able to build a bigger family home, get a new motorbike and small truck, as well as keep his wife happy with a new fridge freezer and washing machine. That seems to me to be the fairest trade of all. The farmer had done the best job he could with his coffee, and therefore the price it reached was high. Also with more and more farmers interested in being a part of C.o.E. the quality of coffee will continue to improve, benefiting us all.

All in all it was a very beneficial event and a great chance for a chat with like-minded people interested in lifting the bar of coffee in New Zealand. Well done NZCRA. Thanks also to the volunteers, and especially Fraser Lovell, for making it run as well as it did.

Ralph... Coffee Supreme