The first Ecuador Cup of Excellence (COE) coffee auction broke the previous COE record of price per pound established in Ethiopia earlier this year. The Ecuadorian national judges met last week with the winning farmers and representatives of the Asociacion de Cafes Especiales de Ecuador (AEDE) at Universidad Ecotec in Guayaquil.
For the 23 winning microlot coffees, the total added up to slightly over $250,000 — this gives an average of $33.35 per pound. The top two lots were bought by Taiwanese companies — the best-scoring lot of washed-process, Typica Mejorado variety coffee, grown by Abel Salinas Pacheco, was bought by Haru International Corporation for $97.10 per pound; the second-best lot of natural-process Sydra variety coffee, grown by Pablo Andrés Eguiguren Calisto at El Aguacate farm, was bought by Oscir Coffee for $49.20 per pound.
The first-ever Ecuador COE is worth celebrating. We’ll host 4 to 5 public cuppings within Taiwan in our cafe and some interesting places like coffee events. Ecuadorian coffee has recently gained interest with customers here in Taiwan which has caused us to want to find extraordinary lots to bring into Taiwan, we will definitely promote it.
Oscir Coffee’s, Joe Hsu
The third best lot was also a washed-process, Typica Mejorado variety coffee grown by Curt John Madison at Alaska Del Sur. This was bought by US coffee companies Cometeer and George Howell Coffee for $75.10 per pound. The top six coffees were all grown in the Loja region, with others hailing from Pichincha, Chimborazo, Imbabura and Zamora regions.
The second Ecuador COE competition is scheduled for 2022.
