Cup of Excellence Brasil ''Pulped Natural'' Chapter-2

Last November 28, I had the knife between my teeth for the Cup of Excellence Brazil auction, Pulped Natural.

And I finally got lot #3. Yes, yes, you read correctly, batch #3!

The CoE Brazil is in my opinion one of the most prestigious competitions among the participating countries. It was in Brazil that the Cup of Excellence was born in 1999 and this set the tone for the high standard and level of quality which has been improved from year to year. It is also the largest coffee producer in the world. So the challenge of identifying the 20 best coffees from the 2017 harvest is a daunting one.

This year, we had several good coffees in stock and we had saved money to buy an auction lot of the ''pulped Natural''. I wanted to add a natural type coffee because these are coffees popular with our customers. And finding a coffee of this type is quite difficult because high-quality natural coffees are rare.

So I followed the announcement of the winners with interest so that I could develop my strategy and target lots that would be my favorites during the auction. I wanted to have a complementary profile with the current offering of our Réserve Sélecte collection. I wanted body, warm spicy aromas, I fantasized about finding a coffee that would leave a cocktail of chai tea, apple cider, dark chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, cardamom… Well, I have a lot of imagination and my epicurean side was already jubilant, imagining a cup in my hand... I had bet on 4 lots out of the 21 available which corresponded to the criteria I was looking for: #3, 7, 9 and 18.

I had kept #3 in my targets even though at each auction I participate in, I have the impression of being a child in kindergarten in front of the big corporations who buy the best coffees. I have still managed to buy in the top 10 in the past, which, for a company of our size, is quite a feat.

So I was at my post on the morning of November 28, with the list of promoted cafes, last year's results, my budget, and my colleague Justin, our finance expert, who reminded me of the said budget.

It was one of my most painful shopping sessions which started at 9 a.m. and ended around 3 p.m. It was also a war of attrition, with 3 minutes and an increment of $0.10/lbs on one of the lots just a few seconds before the end of the timer. Which automatically starts the 3 minute counter again. So there was a heated battle during which I tried to stay active while avoiding ending the auction with two lots to my name. So I had to make sure I was always the highest on one of my selected lots, but never 2 at the same time. We end up going into a trance and looking a little manic when we let out a groan when a "fine strategist" bids $0.10 manually on a lot at the bottom of the ranking instead of putting an auto- bid, and thus forces all buyers to restart the 3-minute timer.

A titanic war took place on batch #1, which had a tasting score of 92.33! This coffee ended at 130.20$USD/lbs... It also broke the record for the highest amount paid, a record which was held until now by a batch of geisha from Honduras. To give you an idea, if we had bought this lot, we should have sold it for around $400/kg. Several buyers seemed to be targeting this lot in particular. And while I was putting my money in to buy #9, the price started to rise to exceed last year's price, which seemed less attractive to me. I then focused my energy on #3, telling myself that I was going to try to get my hands on this one.

Note that lots obtaining a score of 90 and above are divided into 2 to allow smaller buyers to compete on these lots despite the fairly high purchasing costs. So there is lot 3A and 3B. With a score of 90.83, we are in front of one of the best coffees in the world. Not something digested by an Asian skunk, real coffee! I was on fire, I wanted it, the description and the judges' notes spoke to me.

I was well in the saddle, when a comedian also decided to buy one of the two lots #3, unless he wanted to buy both lots. Difficult to say because we don't see the names of the buyers. We are assigned a number at random at the entrance. So I was stuck with an autobid on 3A and the comic who gave me $0.10... To bring me up to $18.40 while lot 3B remained at $17.10.

All this to tell you that I finished with lot 3A and that I was very happy despite the fact that I could have managed the end of the auction differently but I would have risked ending up with both lots # 3, which would have doubled the amount set by my budget (which I still exceeded a little).

So this is excellent news, because we will soon, somewhere in January, have the ^3rd best coffee from the gigantic Brazilian machine! With a score of 90.83!

For details, it is a Catuai, grown in Araponga in the state of Minas Gerais. Altitude of 950-1250 masl. Here are the tasting notes from the international jurors:

Descriptors:

Aroma/Flavor:

sugar cane, acai, honey, apricot, mango, pineapple, pumpkin pie spices, date, honey, molasses, lemon grass,

Acidity:

crisp, tartaric, bright, juicy, malic,

Other:

silky, citric, white chocolate, elegant, long finish, fresh fig, black currant, peach

We are already in contact with the producer Mr. Luís Mauro Araújo Miranda and his exporter to have the goods sent. Note that payment is made directly in USD$, without any intermediary and that I will coordinate the transport to Carleton-sur-Mer. Direct trade to the max!

This coffee will only be available in January 2018 because at the time of writing the coffee is in Brazil.

So, I repeat, this coffee will be available in January 2018 only.

Depending on the transport prices and the exchange rate at the time of payment, it should be sold for around $33 per 200g bag.

The total quantity of the lot purchased is 210kg, so we will have enough for a few months. We will roast about once a month in order to have as much fresh coffee as possible.

I'll keep you up-to-date. Until then, you can still taste the Costa Rica La Mandarina, which we bought at the Cup of Excellence auction for the 2016 harvest and which obtained ^7th place.

Thank you for following us in our selections!

Dany