Page 102 - #52 English

In a short interview we did right after the announcement, Mr.
Rivera told us that he is a big fan of auctions, and he was thrilled
when he first learnt that Best of Auction El Salvador was going
to be held this year. In his opinion, through auctions producers
can take advantages of having small productions, and show the
world “not having big areas (farms) is also good”.
Raul also gave the honour to his team, saying “part of
the winning effort is having a good team, the team takes care of
the smallest details”. He emphasized that having a close monitor
of every move is crucial, “we know where every little bag comes
from in the farm, that helped us also know how to become better
every time”. Group photo of judges and volunteers.

Judging
There were 19 judges who participated in the Best
of Auction El Salvador, including 11 experienced judges and
8 shadow judges. “Experienced” meaning have participated in
Cup of Excellence or any other international cupping competi-
tions before, such as Best of Panama. Preferably these judges
would have formal certificates, such as a Q-Grader’s certificate.
Less experienced cuppers were categorised as “shadow judges”,
however only the scores from “experienced” judges counted.

” The whole experience was inspirational for me, when
we go back we want to follow the same direction, and farmers to
produce better coffee”, said one of the shadow judges Victor Leong,
from Lighthouse Coffee, Malaysia.
Sasa Sestic with the two 1 place producers, Ever Leonel Diaz Perez Project Origin encouraged anyone who want to experi-
st
of Finca Milaydi (Washed) and Jorge Raul Rivera of Finca Santa ence and learn to participate as shadow judge. “Anyone” can be
Rosa (Natural/Honey).
barista, coffee roaster, green bean buyer, etc. it is an opportunity
offered to learn about the country, the farms, the coffee and
On the contrary, Finca Milaydi never participated in cupping skills from more experienced judges.
any auction before winning the 1st place of Washed category
this time. Owner Ever Leonel Diaz Perez cannot speak a word of
English, and his farm is much smaller compared to Finca Santa
Rosa. “How do you feel?” we asked (through the help of transla-
tion), “Feliz!”; despite not speaking Spanish, we still understood
through his smiles, “happy!”.
A friend told Mr. Perez to enter the auction, otherwise
he was going to save his winning lot for self-consuming in the
winter. Now more coffee lovers get to enjoy this good coffee,
thanks to the auction.
At the end of our short interview with Mr. Perez, we
asked “do you know why you won?”. It was a question we were
eager to hear the answer, also a question we were not sure what
to expect. With a slight pause, “God’s blessing”, he said.
It was interesting to see the gap, even between produc-
ers. From seed to cup is a two-way relationship; the importance
of buyers or roasters to come to coffee origins is no longer just Sasa Sestic with Mr. Honey (Katsuhide Izaki) - one of the most
about learning about where the coffee comes from and how it respected and experienced international judges.
has been grown, but also about educating producers about the
other end of the chain. “I wanted to experience an international competition,
and I like the philosophy of this auction (Best of Auction by Project
Origin) - getting in touch with farmers and building relationships”,
said one of the shadow judges Tim Williems from Cuperus Koffie,
Belgium.
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