A coffee washing station in Rwanda
The second Cup of Excellence was held in Kigali on 29th and 30th of August 2010. A total of 22 local coffees from Rwanda were awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence out of 154 lots that entered the competition. The 22 coffees came from eight different privately owned and nine cooperative coffee washing stations, of which five are clients of SNV. This is the first time clients of SNV have received the award.
The Cup of Excellence is the most esteemed award for quality top coffees in the world. The winning coffees this year were chosen by a select group of international cuppers. This year there were 21 from nine different countries over the world. The coffees are cupped at least five different times during the competition. The winners are awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence and their coffee is sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction, which will be held in about a month from now. The number of coffees given this prestigious award depends entirely on the quality of entrants.
The awarded coffees are of extremely high quality and therefore very rare and fetch high prices during the auction. The winner of the 2008 Cup of Excellence was able to sell its coffee for 40 USD a kilo where he would normally only get 3 to 4 USD a kilo. More than 3000 Rwandan farmers benefited from Cup of Excellence award in 2008 and earned over 170 000 USD in profit1.
The Cup of Excellence was initiated by a group of coffee connoisseurs to more effectively recognise farmers monetarily for their hard work and effort. Nine countries have joined the programme, with Rwanda being the only participating country from Africa. The jury that selected the best coffee noted that Rwandan coffee has gained international reputation and a prestigious profile which has resulted from increased sales with high prices from coffee roasters, retailers and coffee shops around the world. The Cup of Excellence programme builds the bridge between the high quality producing farmer, the high quality trade and eventually the consumer.
SNV Rwanda together with its strategic partner OCIRCafé has played a large role in promoting the sector, in improving quality, and strengthening management of producer groups, resulting into increased revenues for coffee farmers. Investments in the sector increased substantially over the last couple of years. The number of coffee washing stations increased from 115 in 2007 to 177 in 2009. SNV supports 29 of these coffee washing stations. Specialty coffee increased from 1100 metric tonnes in 2005 to 5690 metric tonnes in 2010. Our partnership with the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation (FLO) has also proven its value. Out of the seven coffees awarded from our clients, five were FLO certified.
The Cup of Excellence programme encourages farmers to further improve their product and compete on the global market and it puts Rwanda back on the map as serious high quality speciality coffee producer.
For the SNV Rwanda coffee team and the local capacity builders, seeing their clients attaining such high results is a definite crown on their hard work and it underlines their dedication to the sector. SNV and its partners and clients are looking forward to receiving even higher recognition in the next Cup of Excellence in 2011.