On June 17th, the 30th Ernesto Illy Quality Award for Brazilian Espresso Coffee winners were announced. This annual award gives recognition to the best coffee growers in Brazil, where most of illycaffè’s beans are from for their distinct blend. Chairman of illycaffè, Andrea Illy, emphasised the significance of this award that signified a crucial milestone in history for the company:
Exactly 30 years ago my father Ernesto Illy created the Brazilian Quality Award, confirming our strategy based on four pillars: working directly with producers, transferring knowledge to them, paying them in a way that makes production sustainable, and creating a club of illy producers, and in the meantime triggering the transformation of Brazil into a high-quality coffee producer, making it universally recognized and appreciated
Some of the executives of the company were present at the award ceremony. In addition to Andrea Illy, among the attendees were CEO Massimiliano Pogliani, a member of Board of Directors Anna Illy and coffee purchasing director Alessandro Bucci.
The ceremony, which was also broadcasted online, awarded the top three spots to two growers from Minas Gerais, Argo Fonte Alta and José Marques de Araújo, and one from São Paulo, Daniela Romano Pelosini. The exact ranking of the three for first to third place will only be revealed in December during the 6th Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award (EIICA).
However, the regional winners as well as the 4th to 6th winners were revealed. Ronald Marques de Araújo (from Mamas de Minas) snagged the 4th place, followed by Eduardo Pinheiro Campos (from Cerrado Mineiro) at 5th place, and Luís Manuel Ramos Fachada Martins da Silva (from Champada de Minas) placed at 6th.
For the EIICA ceremony in December, in addition to the ranking announcement, the top 3 Brazilian coffee growers will compete for the international award against 24 other growers from 8 other countries that also supply illycaffè. The EIICA started as the result of the overwhelming success of the original initiative, which has improved the relationships between companies and suppliers in Brazil.
