Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson was the emcee, Martha Stewart stopped by, there were models and coffee growers galore—it was the “Academy Awards” of Coffee held at the New York Public Library. Sponsored by Italian company illycaffè, which aims to offer the best coffee in the world, the evening culminated a day which saw judges weighing the values of coffee from nine finalist countries.
A panel of nine experts, chefs, and journalists blind tested coffees from Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda each selected for richness and aromatic complexity, elegance and balance of flavor, and intensity of aroma.
This year’s winner, cited for “a rounded, wholesome, and fully bodied cup, with rich yet mellow flavors of a balance of chocolate, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted almonds on a bed of refined brightness with a lingering finish of mild, gently, yet harmonious sweetness”(!) was Brazil’s Arabica which took home the Ernesto llly International Coffee Award, presented by Andrea Illy, Illycaffè Chairman and grandson of the founder who cited the product’s “regenerative agriculture.”
Illy’s unique blend of Arabica, selected from one percent of the best Arabica beans in the world, is served every day in cafes, restaurants, hotels, and single brand shops in 140 countries around the globe. Known for sustainability and collaborations with noted international artists, since 2013 Illy has been listed among the World’s Most Ethical Companies, and departing guests were gifted a set of demitasse cups created by Judy Chicago for the Illy Art Collection.
