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

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

 

Trieste, November 6th, 2023 – 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.