ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s preparation to host the Cup of Excellence (CoE), an annual competition held in several countries to identify the highest quality coffees produced, is well under way, said Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA).
The competition is organized in Ethiopia through an ongoing partnership between the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, the Ethiopia Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), ECEA, United States Agency for International Development, and Feed the Future Ethiopia Value Chain (FTFE-VCA).
Gizat Worku, Chair of Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association told The Ethiopian Herald that 2,000 coffee growers are expected to participate in the competition to be held in the coming march. ECTA is mandated to supervise the event while ECEA took the initiative with a fund obtained from Feed the Future Ethiopia.
According to Gizat, the COE will open doors for smallholders on the world stage giving them a platform to showcase the quality of Ethiopian coffee. Currently, the Association and stakeholders are providing awareness rising for coffee producers regarding delivering specialty coffee and the overall criterion of the competition.
Two weeks ago, the organizers have delivered training for coffee producers of Jimma, Bonga, Gimbi, Hawassa, Dilla, and Bulehora. Coffee producers of Harar and Chiro will receive training soon. The awareness-raising will also include some coffee producers of the Amhara State.
COE has a multiplier effect for Ethiopia’s trade and individual farmers. The experience of Brazil and countries in utilizing COE as a principal technique of promotion has a paramount impact on their export trade.
The COE will highlight Ethiopian coffee and stimulate new market opportunities for smallholder producers in the country, added Gizat. “The competition has finally come home where the best of natural coffee is produced.”
“Nearly two decades after our founding, it has long been the dream to bring the COE to the birthplace of coffee,” says Darrin Daniel, Executive Director of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.
“Ethiopia represents the quintessential specialty coffee origin and with our program operating in Ethiopia, we hope to further discover and reward smallholder farmers who need market access via our competition and auction.”
Since 1999, the COE has been a competition to find the highest quality coffee in any given country. Each year, thousands of coffees are submitted for consideration, with winning coffees sold in global online auctions at premium prices, with the vast majority of auction proceeds go towards farmers.
It’s believed that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia 1200 years ago, boasting more than 6,000 varieties with 95 percent of coffee qualifying as organic. Ethiopia is one of the largest coffee producers in Africa, with annual production exceeding 500,000 tons.
The Ethiopian Herald, November 21/2019
BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
