Coffees Roasted at Origin to Be Celebrated This Summer in Paris

AVPA photo from the 2015 coffee competition.

Competition coffees come in either green or brown, with green (unroasted) coffee primarily highlighting the work of farmers, and awards for brown (roasted) coffee generally going to roasters and baristas. A unique competition taking place in Paris, France, this summer bridges that divide by celebrating coffees roasted by farmers themselves, as well as coffees roasted within the regions and the countries of each given coffee’s origin.

Registration is currently open for the second International Contest of Coffees Roasted in their Countries of Origin, presented by Paris-based L’Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles, which in English translates to the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA).

The nonprofit agricultural promotional group — which also holds origin-focused competitions for agricultural-based products such as honey, dried fruits and vegetable oil — has been concerned with coffee since its inception more than a decade ago, but the coffee competition was on a 10-year hiatus due to lack of interest from European tasters at the time.

The competition was reborn last year, with the group noting more availability of high-quality roasted coffees coming from areas where coffee is produced, as well is increased interest among European consumers in coffee’s origins as a high-end agricultural product. AVPA says a goal of the competition is to give coffee farmers the same kind of recognition as that given to producers of other high-end, terroir-reliant products such as olive oil or wine.

The contest collects three types of origin-focused roasted coffee submissions: Farm-level coffees from a single farm, roasted on the property on which it was harvested, or at least roasted by the farmer; Regional-level coffees that are roasted within the clear geographical indication of the coffee’s origin; and national-level coffees roasted within the coffee’s country of origin.

The deadline for submissions for the 2016 contest is April 29, 2016, and samples must be submitted by May 20. An awards ceremony is scheduled for June 30, while competition coffees will be featured in select Parisian cafés through part of June. See more on the contest here.