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C

SUSTAINABLE

QUALITY

HONDURAS’ COOPERATIVA COCABEL WINS
ERNESTO ILLY INTERNATIONAL COFFEE AWARD

illycaffè is a family-owned Italian company founded in Trieste
in 1933, whose goal from the onset has been to offer the world’s
best coffee. Every day, over 8 million cups of illy coffee are enjoyed
worldwide in over 140 countries, in the best coffee bars, restaurants,
and hotels, in illy brand stores, and of course at home. For this, the
company makes a unique 100% Arabica blend that combines 9 of
the world’s best coffees.
But to created the best blend one needs to know everything
about coffee and take a very special care of it, from seed to cup.
Through “Ernesto Illy Quality Award for Espresso Coffee”, which
was established in Brazil in 1991, illy has helped disseminate know-
how, achieved higher prices for growers of high-quality illy coffee,
and established partnerships on the basis of the principles of sus-
tainable development. The company has also founded its own Uni-
versity of Coffee, with the goal of promoting coffee culture at all
levels. The university provided comprehensive and practical train-
ing for growers, baristas, and coffee lovers covering all aspects of
this product. Anything ‘made in illy’ is made more valuable through
beauty and art, two of the brand’s core values, starting with the logo
designed by the artist James Rosenquist and encompassing the illy
Art Collection cups, decorated by over 100 international artists.
Every year, illycaffè’s quality lab selects the best batches of
coffee on the basis of quality and sustainability parameters. The
countries that stood out the most during the 2019/2020 harvest
were Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras,
India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda.
The best three producers from each country made it to the
final round of the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award 2020,
where each national winner became one of the nine finalists in the
international competition. An independent panel of international
experts, chefs, and food critics conducted a blind tasting of the nine
finalists, sampling various preparations — espresso, moka, drip, and
filter coffee — and picked a winner on the basis of the richness and
complexity of the bouquet, the elegance and balance of flavours,
and the intensity of the aroma.
Creating such a big community of coffee lovers, on Decem-
ber 3 illy has gathered everyone to announce the winner of the
Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award 2020.

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