Back in April, the judging for the 2018 Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence took place in Matagalpa, with five coffees breaking the 90-point mark. Since then, the country’s unrest has boiled over; protestors killed by authorities, food shortages, road blockages, and political strife have left the country at a standstill. This has given no small amount of uncertainty to the status of these valued COE lots. That’s why the Alliance for Coffee Excellence has taken the unprecedented step to not only ship the coffees to a safer location but to also move up the auction date by six days.
According to a press release, the auction originally set for June 19th has been moved up nearly a week to June 13th as a means of ensuring these coffees are accessible to buyers. In coordination with ACE Nicaragua, RGC Coffee, and Peralta Coffees, ACE has decided to immediately move the COE lots out of Nicaragua. All vacuum-sealed, the lots are currently in Corinto awaiting shipment on June 8th, with a scheduled arrival at the Port of Oakland on June 29th. They will then be stored in RGC Coffee’s warehouse until shipment to each lot’s purchaser.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of ACE, RGC, and Peralta, some of the best coffees produced in Nicaragua—including the highest scoring Nicaraguan coffee to date with an astounding 91.8 points—will not get lost in turmoil, but will make it to buyers around the world and more importantly, will fetch the much-deserved prices and much-needed income the farmers have worked so hard for.
Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
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