(openPR) - Hamburg-based grinder manufacturer is the exclusive provider of coffee grinders for the “Cup of Excellence”, the most prestigious award for quality coffee.

Hamburg, February 1st, 2012 | Promoting the quality of coffee both at national and international level has been a high priority for MAHLKÖNIG for many years. This year, the grinder manufacturer is also supporting the world’s most important competition for quality coffee in the producing countries, the “Cup of Excellence”. The best coffees of one year’s crops from eight Latin American and two African countries are ground for cupping with the versatile MAHLKÖNIG Guatemala Lab grinder.
The Cup of Excellence is an international quality improvement program for coffee growing countries. The aim of the competition is to find the best green coffee beans produced by each country, a selection process that includes many cuppings and takes three weeks. The competition is open to all coffee producers in that country. They can submit samples of their coffee, which are initially evaluated and pre-selected by a national jury of experienced tasters. The green coffee samples are roasted and freshly ground for every tasting. This involves experts evaluating the aroma and taste, but also the country-specific qualities of the coffees. After the initial selection stage by a national panel, the selected green coffee beans are scored again by a jury of international roasting and tasting experts. After several rounds of tasting, the final order and the winning coffee is finally chosen. Every coffee entered into the Cup of Excellence is cupped at least five times, the best ten even six times. The winning coffees are subsequently sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction. For years, the best coffees have fetched record prices at auction, the majority of the record price goes back directly to the coffee growers. Only coffee beans of outstanding quality which have been awarded a minimum number of points by the jury during tasting receive the coveted and protected seal of the Cup of Excellence.

With the Guatemala Lab, MAHLKÖNIG provides the competitions in the individual countries with a precision grinder which was designed for use in laboratories, tastings and roasteries. It grinds even small amounts of roasted coffee without
residue. Cross-contamination when grinding different coffees is reduced to a minimum, e.g. a special spout with knock off device facilitates the removal of left-over coffee powder before the next grinding operation.
The Cup of Excellence will start at the end of January in Brazil, followed by El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Burundi, Ruanda and Colombia during the course of the year. MAHLKÖNIG Guatemala Lab grinders will be used in all national competitions to grind fresh coffee for each round of tasting. This is particularly important for these exquisite qualities, as even the finest nuances of flavor play an important role in the evaluation.

Apart from the Cup of Excellence, MAHLKÖNIG has been involved in improving the quality of coffee preparation for many years. As a long-time grinder sponsor of the World Barista Championships, the company is consistently implementing its philosophy of promoting quality coffee.

About the Cup of Excellence:
The Cup of Excellence is the most sought-after award for top quality coffees. For more than ten years, these awards have been bestowed as part of a strict annual competition that selects the very best coffees produced in that country for that particular year. Traditionally, mainly coffee growing countries from Middle and South America have taken part, but for a number of years now, African countries have discovered the benefits of the quality competition for themselves. The winning coffees are chosen by a select group of national and international cuppers and are cupped several times during the competition process. Only coffees with a consistently high score are allowed to move forward in the competition. The final winners are awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence® and are sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction.

For more than 80 years MAHLKÖNIG has been the leading brand for high quality professional grinders. The MAHLKÖNIG logo stands for quality leadership and innovations. As part of our philosophy our products are developed by MAHLKÖNIG engineers and manufactured by hand in order to fulfill individual customers` needs and requirements. Today MAHLKÖNIG ensures the distribution and servicing of over 400.000 MAHLKÖNIG grinders worldwide through own subsidiaries and over 150 distributors and service partners. This way the knowhow of MAHLKÖNIG is used daily worldwide. MAHLKÖNIG is official Espresso Grinder Sponsor 2012 -14 of the WBC, WLAC, CIGS and grinder sponsor of the WCTC.

KaffeeSATZ PR
Sabine Jürgenmeier
Obere Stahlindustrie 4
44793 Bochum
Germany
sj@kaffeesatz-pr.de
www.kaffeesatz-pr.de