This is the first year of the new awards program, the Good Food Awards. There’s not really a prize to be won, just bragging rights. In the category of coffee, this is what the judges were looking for:
The winners of the Good Food Award for coffee will be distinguished by exemplary flavor – sweet, clean, well developed body, balanced acidity and phenomenal aromatics. To qualify for entry, roasters must emphasize fairness and transparency from seed to cup, and certify that their coffee beans are grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides.
Finalists were announced today, and they are as follows:
Allegro Coffee Company “ Panama Esmeralda (Thornton, CO)
Alterra Coffee Roasters “ Guatemala Hunapu (Milwaukee, WI)
Barrington Coffee Roasting Company “ Ethiopia Nekisse (Lee, MA)
Blue Bottle Coffee “ Kemgin (San Francisco, CA)
Carrboro Coffee Company “ El Aguacate (Carrboro, NC)
Coava Coffee Roasters “ Kieni Kenya (Portland, OR)
Counter Culture Coffee “ Finca Kilimanjaro (Durham, NC)
Cuvee Coffee “ San Jose Ocana (Spicewood, TX)
Ecco Caffe “ Kenya Kiunyu (Santa Rosa, CA)
George Howell Coffee Company “ Konga Ethiopia (Acton, MA)
Gimme! Coffee “ Finca San Luis (Ithaca, NY)
Heart Coffee and Roasters “ Kenya Nyanja (Portland, OR)
Intelligentsia Coffee “ Kenya Thiriku (Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA)
Klatch Coffee Inc. “ Guatemala Covadonga (Los Angeles, CA)
Madcap Coffee “ Los Lobos Costa Rica (Grand Rapids, MI)
Montana Coffee Traders “ Etiopian Peaberry (Whitefish, MT)
Noble Coffee Roasting “ Kenyan Kiaora (Ashland, OR)
Oren’s Daily Roast “ Guatemala Sacatapequez (New York, NY)
PT’s Coffee Roasting “ Hacienda La Esmeralda Mario Carnaval (Topeka, KS)
Public Domain “ Kona Cloud Forrest (Portland, OR)
Ritual Coffee Roasters “ Kenya Kiandu (San Francisco, CA)
Wrecking Ball Coffee “ Kenya Kiangoi (Washington, DC)
The winner will be announced January 15, 2011, so stay tuned!
