The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and Nicaragua Producers Fincas Mierisch have announced 1 5 lots to be auctioned in their upcoming competition of this well known coffee producers’ finest offerings, called Los Favoritos.
“It was an honor to lead the Cupping teams around the world to sample these unique coffees from these innovative producers,” Scott Conary, the head judge of the competition and owner of North Carolina’s Carrboro Coffee Roasters, said. “I was impressed overall with the consistency of the cupping experiences, both in terms of temperature changes through a single cupping, and comparing separate cuppings. This kind of consistency is a testament to the quality of these coffees, which also showed up when different judges from around the world described their experiences similarly! These top coffees sampled for the auction would impress anyone with their uniqueness, clarity and their sweet, well-structured character”
All the winning lots will be heading to an auction taking place online on May 18th. ACE is currently selling sample sets of the coffees for $350, and auction registrations for $25.
15 Winning Lots for the May 18th Auction:
The winners, 11 of which scored 88 points or above, represent six farms and five processes.
The first-place winning coffee, an Anaerobic Low Temperature processed Ethiosar from Los Placeres Farm, earned the competition’s only 90+ score with 90.30 points.
Overview:
> 15 Winning Lots
> 6 Farms
> 2 Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees, including the 1st place Ethiosar variety
> 5 Processes: Honey, Anaerobic Honey, Natural, Natural Anaerobic Low Temperature & Washed
> 3 Varieties
The quality competition and auction program is part of ACE’s ongoing Private Collection series, which launched in 2019 and features partnerships with origin-specific green coffee producers focused on quality focused production. While these small auctions are separate from the ACE long-running Cup of Excellence competition and auctions, both have the goal of supporting farms and farmers who work to create & increase quality in the industry as well as celebrating innovation and connecting farmers to buyers.
“The Ethiosar taking the highest score was definitely a pleasant surprise! We never would have expected that, and for it to have been processed using one of our new controlled fermentation techniques is equally fulfilling. This is the first time we’ve included this variety in any sort of auction, and it’s quite a rare variety to see in these types of circuits,” said Fincas Mierisch General Manager and Cup of Excellence Head Judge, Eleane Mierisch.
The Ethiosar variety – also represented in the 6th place winner – is a hybrid of the Ethiopian varietal Rume Sudan and Sarchimor, whose offspring is then re-crossed with a Villa Sarchi.
These coffees are lovingly cared for by the Mierisch family, Nicaraguan coffee producers since 1908; with farms perched in the beautiful mountains of Matagalpa and Jinotega. Their private auction ‘Los Favoritos’ was born in 2013 as an initiative to show the world the exquisiteness and allure of the coffees produced by them.
Characterized by cultivating different varieties and experimenting with distinct post-harvest processes, the lots are chosen from the cream of the crop of the family ‘s eight farms. “Quality is not a coincidence. Quality is hard work that is built every day. We are a generation that is passionate about coffee and our mission is always focused on continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainability“, says Eleane Mierisch, who is leading this project along with her family.
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