Everything is set for the eighth edition of the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, And the expert jury who will decide the winner has been confirmed

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Nov 06, 2023, 09:00 ET

27 producers from 9 countries will compete in New York
to win the award for best sustainable coffee of the year

TRIESTE, Italy, Nov. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- illycaffè has unveiled the jury responsible for determining the recipient of the "Best of the Best" award at the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award 2023. These judges will convene on November 16th in New York to assess the coffees meticulously chosen by illycaffè's quality labs. Throughout the year, these labs have scrutinized samples from the 2022/2023 harvest and selected the finest lots and producers, focusing on the company's quality and sustainability standards.

This year, 27 producers, three from each of the following countries – Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda – have secured their place in the final round of the eighth edition of the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award. This prestigious accolade, named in memory of Ernesto Illy, the son of the company's founder, commemorates more than three decades of productive collaboration with coffee producers.

The international panel consists of three seasoned tasters, three renowned international chefs, and three accomplished journalists. Together, they bring a wealth of diverse expertise that will enable them to discern the intricate nuances of the coffees that illy deems the world's finest in order to select the "Best of the Best."

This year's panel includes the skilled Guatemalan taster Silvia Escobar; the President of the Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado, the Brazilian Glaucio De Castro; and the director of the CoffeeLab quality laboratory, the Indian Sunalini Narayan Menon. They will be joined by chef Ricard Camarena, who has been awarded two Michelin stars and a green star for his dedication to sustainability at his Ricard Camarena Restaurant in Valencia, alongside the American chefs Carrie and Rupert Blease, managing the Michelin-starred Lord Stanley restaurant in San Francisco. Additionally, there is Andrea Aprea, a Michelin-starred chef with a restaurant bearing his name in Milan, and the French writer and journalist Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnere, who serves as editor-in-chief of Point de Vue magazine. Inga Griese, founder and editor-in-chief of ICON, the style supplement of the German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag, and Angelina Villa Clarke, a journalist contributing to respected English publications including Forbes, complete this esteemed jury.

Consumers will also have the opportunity to evaluate the nine finalist coffees and voice their preferences through a series of blind tastings held in illy flagship locations worldwide during the weeks leading up to the awards. The coffee that garners the most votes from consumers will earn the "Coffee Lovers' Choice" award.

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933 which has always set itself the mission of offering the best coffee to the world. It produces a unique 100% Arabica blend composed of 9 different ingredients. The company selects only 1% of the best Arabica beans in the world. Every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home and in the office, in which the company is present through subsidiaries and distributors.

Since its foundation, illycaffè has oriented its strategies towards a sustainable business model, commitment that it strengthened in 2019 by adopting the status of Benefit Company and in 2021 becoming the first Italian coffee company to obtain the international B Corp certification. Since 2013 the company is also one of the World Most Ethical Companies. Everything that is "made in illy" is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 125 international artists, or coffee machines designed by internationally renowned designers. With the aim of spreading the culture of quality to growers, baristas and coffee lovers, the company has developed its Università del Caffè which today holds courses in 25 countries around the world. In 2021, Rhône Capital became a minority shareholder of illycaffè with the aim of contributing to the company's international growth plans.

In 2022, the company had 1230 employees and a turnover of €567,7 million. The illy single-brand network has 190 points of sale in 34 countries.

SOURCE illycaffè