Last Saturday, September 4, an Avianca Fokker took me from Bogota to San Juan de Pasto or Pasto (capital of the department of Nariño) to participate in the eighth edition of Colombia’s Cup of Excellence. Pasto is an old city, with beautiful colonial-style buildings, dotted with churches. It owes its name to its first settlers, the Pastos Indians, who inhabited the Atriz Valley, where the city is located, before the arrival of the Spaniards. Today it has a population of 400,000 people.
Pastusos are friendly, hospitable and very devoted to God and Mother Earth.
I am in the southwest of Colombia, in the Andes mountain range and one presence dominates everything: the imposing Galeras volcano, which exploded just a week ago. Pasto is at an altitude of 2,527 meters above sea level, and I think it will be the first time that I will have to descend instead of ascending to visit the coffee plantations.
As the contest does not start until Monday, I take advantage of Sunday to visit with the agronomist engineer of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, Cristian Castillo, some of the coffee villages in the area. So, very soon, we took the Circunvalar road towards the eastern face of the volcano. With their notorious yellow shirts with their logo, the agronomists of the Federation, or extensionists as they are called here, are very much appreciated by the farmers who find in them advice and help in any agricultural work not only related to coffee.
In such good company and after a hearty breakfast of eggs in casserole (fried eggs), pan tajado (slices of bread) and lulo juice (acidic tropical fruit), we set out for a day of coffee study.
On the way Cristian tells me some of the particularities of the coffees of Nariño. This denomination of origin is divided into two well-differentiated zones: the western mountain range and the central eastern one, which is the one we are heading towards (by the way, the coffees from this zone will end up occupying the first places in the contest). Between the two areas there is a total of 32,500 hectares under coffee cultivation, distributed in 32 townships. This is a land of smallholders, with an average of 0.7 hectares per coffee grower.
The crops are located between 1,500 and 2,100m above sea level and most of them are shaded, have sustainability certifications and show great respect and love for nature.
As we speak, the landscape has become increasingly majestic with towering mountains of gently rolling peaks cultivated to the highest parts, tremendous slopes of 60-70% and ravines like the Olla del Rio Güaitara, all spectacular. I try to take pictures to get an idea of the depth of this natural paradise, although it seems impossible to reflect so much grandeur. We stop at a trapiche on a bend in the road to drink a refreshing guarapo (sugar cane juice) mixed with lemon juice. This drink, also called “aguapanela”, is delicious, healthy and very refreshing.
We visited the “Bellavista – La Fortuna” farm of Moisés Enríquez, in the El Ingenio area. This passionate coffee grower explains to me in detail the devastating effects of a disease that attacks the leaves of the coffee tree: rust (Hemileia Vastatrix). This fungus is transmitted through the air and this year has attacked with extreme virulence, aggravated by the effects of climate change and the La Niña phenomenon. Difficult to combat, the traditional caturra variety trees suffer from it to such an extent that the “sticks” become leafless and the fruit rots before ripening.
Don Moisés estimates that he will lose between 50 and 60% of his production in the next harvest; a real drama for these farmers.
Cenicafé, the National Coffee Research Center that is part of the Federation, has developed new varieties (Supremo, Castillo) resistant to the disease with which the farms are being repopulated; these new coffee plants will need 3 to 4 years to begin to give significant production…
We visited in the municipalities of Sandoná (“distant mountain flower” in the language of the Cuisires Indians) and Consacá (name of an ancient tribal leader) the farms of Mr. José Elías Castillo and Mr. Román Antonio Arteaga Rosero respectively. I had the pleasure of visiting the latter in the company of the engineer Fredy Guerrero (Technician of the Federation of Coffee Growers in Consacá). Cenicafé, the National Coffee Research Center which is part of the Federation, has developed new varieties (Supremo, Castillo) resistant to the disease with which the farms are being repopulated; these new coffee trees will need 3 to 4 years to start giving significant productions…
And I continue to admire these coffee growers who “hang” on slopes with slopes between 60 and 70% with their basket (coconuts to collect coffee) in which they end up collecting 10 kg of cherry coffee.
It is a very hard, almost impossible job that allows us to enjoy one of the coffees with the most personality in a cup.
When the sun sets, the temperature drops suddenly and it gets cold. Back at the hotel, a warm “sancocho” (broth with vegetables, yucca, chicken and legumes) is appreciated.
Monday is the start of this edition of “The Cup” and the first thing to do is to make the introductions between the international team of tasters and the Colombian team. I meet again with old friends such as Erwin Mierisch (expert taster and coffee grower, owner of the San José estate in Nicaragua), who is the lead judge of this edition of the competition, and I get in touch with other tasters with whom I had not met before.
The first day is for calibration and theory. Erwin explains that the work began four weeks before our arrival with the reception of 875 samples (lots) from coffee growers in the coffee growing departments of Colombia, mainly those that are in this harvest period (Antioquia, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Huila, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima and Valle).
The twelve national judges have done a great job and have left us with 51 coffees with scores above 84 points.
For twenty-three consecutive days, these tasters, with Erwin Mierisch at the head, have made up to six tasting sessions per day of eleven samples in order to have the selection ready for the international stage of the competition. Two of the national judges will accompany the international jury in the selection of the ten best coffees (Top Ten) and those that will be part of the auction at the end of October.
In Colombia there are two coffee growing cycles with a difference of six months due to the climatic differences between the north and the south of the country and consequently there are two harvest seasons.
Tuesday is the start of the competition itself and over the next three days we will evaluate 51 finalists.
There is a fierce competition for the top ten positions and I am aware of the privilege of tasting so many samples blind, it is the best way to know the cup profiles and therefore, the coffee culture of a country. In general, we are finding in the samples we tasted floral, citrus, bright acidity, honeyed, fruity (peach, mango, lemongrass, red fruits), creamy, complex, delicate, elegant notes. Attributes that undoubtedly define exceptional coffees. And at the end of the day, a meeting at La Catedral pastry shop to have a peach cake with a “hervido” (passion fruit, raspberry or lulo juice, very sweet mixed with aguardiente and served hot) and continue chatting about coffee.
Friday is the grand finale. We already have the selection of coffees that have obtained 84 points or more for the auction (in the end there will be only 23), now we have a final tasting of the top 10 coffees to choose the winners. It is a day to evaluate but above all to enjoy the excellence of these selected coffees. I give 100 points to my favorite coffee (sweet, juicy, transparent, silky, balanced and complex) I think it deserves the highest possible score, I also give marks above 95 to three other coffees.
I am pleased to confirm that my personal assessment coincides with the jury’s verdict and my favorite coffees win the “Presidential Awards” distinction.
And in the evening, the great awards ceremony with speeches by local authorities and representatives of the Cup of Excellence. None of the 51 finalists were absent and we had the presence of Juan Valdez, an idol among coffee growers who received him like a Hollywood star. Great expectation, both on the part of the contestants and the jurors since, except for the auditors, no one knows the names of the winners, but we finally know who they are:
- Jose Antonio Gualguan. Nariño (Buesaco)
- María Carmen Herrera. Nariño (Samaniego)
- Ligia Díaz. Nariño (El Tambo)
- Lucas Germán Melo. Nariño (Consacá)
On Saturday I returned home, but not before thanking the Cup of Excellence organization (especially Susie and Grant) and the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation for making this contest possible; to “sensei” César Herrera and Fernando for the excellent organization of the tasting room; to the “aguateras” for their perfect coordination; to Chuco and Pablo for their impeccable work in the roasting of so many samples; to Arinson and the backroom staff for grinding, preparing and cleaning the cups for all of us; to Luz and the auditors for their work with the scores; to my fellow tasters for their professionalism; to my fellow tasters for their professionalism; to my fellow tasters for their work with the scores; to Arinson and the backroom staff for grinding and preparing and cleaning the cups for all of us; to Luz and the auditors for their work with the scores; to my fellow tasters for their professionalism, friendship and priceless coffee chats and, above all, to Madlyn for taking care of all of us and making everything perfect. I would also like to thank Luz and Cristian for reading the draft of this review and for their timely and interesting contributions.