Big Improvement in Myanmar’s Cupping Competition

The second-ever cupping event hosted by the Myanmar Coffee Association was a rip-roaring success with scores throughout the competition considerably higher than last year’s maiden iteration.

Following the criteria laid out by the Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA), 56 of the 60 (93%) lots entered would have met the minimum grade required to be classed as a high-quality speciality coffee.

The winning variety – a fully washed SL34 lot from Pyin Oo Lwin’s Green Land Coffee Estate – topped the charts with an impressive 87 points, a score that would have placed in the top fifteen Brazilian coffees from last December’s Cup of Excellence event.

The second-highest rated coffee came from the smallholder community of Shan State.

Last year, the first-placed coffee received a score of 84.25 and only 21 of the 58 (36%) lots surpassed the 80-point barrier.

The event was founded by a number of organisations that are working together to improve the coffee industry in the country and was part of the USAID-funded Value Chains for Rural Development project.

For this competition, three international judges joined two local observers in cupping and grading the coffee. The international judges included Andrew Hetzel from the SCAA and Sustainable Harvest’s Relationship Manager Dane Loraas.

In a further feather in the cap of the country’s fledgling industry, some of the highest ranked coffee will make the journey from Myanmar to Atlanta, where it will be showcased at next month’s SCAA event in Atlanta, Georgia.