The 2011 Awards for Coffee Excellence
The most prestigious honours in the coffee industry were once again presented at the SCAE's World of Coffee event in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in late June.
The hotly contested Awards for Coffee Excellence go to individuals, companies or groups that have been nominated by SCAE members all over the world.
SCAE members nominated individuals and organisations in three categories, and a special international panel considered these and chose the winners. (Members can make as many nominations as they like in any of the categories, and the nominees do not have to be SCAE members.)
The 2011 Awards were presented in the following categories:
Young Entrepreneur: This award is for an enthusiastic member of the coffee industry, preferably under 35 years old, who shows great drive both to persevere in his/her field, and to be successful in the business. This winner will be young, both in age and in heart, and will be realising a dream.
Innovation: A person, company or organisation that has created a process, product or concept that promotes the ideals of speciality coffee.
Lifetime Achievement: The Test of Time. This could be an institution or person that has furthered the interests of the industry by promoting the concept of quality coffee in a statesmanlike manner. The winning person or organisation is recognised for experience and knowledge of the trade, and for focusing on the promotion of quality.
The Winners Circle 2011
The SCAE's Awards for Coffee Excellence were presented at a special reception at Maastricht's 17th-century City Hall just before the opening of World of Coffee in late June.
The SCAE's highest Award, for Lifetime Achievement, went to veteran trader and African coffee expert John Schluter. (Pictured above: Lina Chiodo of Bunn presents John Schluter with his Lifetime Achievement Award (photo by Charles Prager)).
The Lifetime Achievement Award winner has decades of coffee trading experience running Schluter Trading, and currently heads the Cafe Africa charity, which is concerned with development issues in coffee growing communities on the African continent.
Sponsored by Bunn, the Awards also included a presentation to the winner of the Young Entrepreneur category, Laima Vezeliene of Lithuania, who runs the Vero Cafe chain.
Presenter Lina Chiodo of Bunn also announced the winner of the Award for Innovation, Yiannis Taloumis of Greece's Taf.
Also on the Awards evening, SCAE Membership Committee Chair Pauline Sherwood named Spain's Rafael Moral as the 2011 SCAE National Coordinator of the Year.
Han de Groot of Utz Certified, sponsors of the 2011 SCAE Photo Competition, announced the top three images chosen by the judges out of a field of over 80 entries for the annual photographic prize. Liu Bowen of Beijing Horst Coffee Corp entered the image 'Uncle Bean', which won first prize; David Craig of Espresso Warehouse, produced his image 'Pea Sorting' to take second; and Amy Elizabeth Yildizli (American-born but based in Turkey), won third prize with her image 'Smoke gets in your eyes'.
SCAE Past President Colin Smith hosted the Awards evening, and outgoing President Nils Erichsen and Maastricht's Deputy Mayor Dr Nüss welcomed the assembled guests to the city.
Previous Awards for Coffee Excellence Winners
The 2010 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in London)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Heili Politanov (Estonia)
* The Inventive Communicator Award: James Hoffman (United Kingdom)
* The Outstanding Producer Award: Lorie Obra, Rusty's Hawaiian (USA)
* The Lifetime Achievement Award: Patrick Bewley (Ireland)
Nomination notes for the Winners of the 2010 Awards for Coffee Excellence
The 2009 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Cologne)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Filip Åkerblom (Sweden)
* The Passionate Communicator Award: Franz Grünwald (Austria)
* The Hidden Treasure Award: Rob Berghmans (Belgium)
* The Outstanding Producer Award: Ipanema Coffees (Brazil)
* The Lifetime Achievement Award: Neal Robinson, Bunn (USA)
Nomination notes for the Winners of the 2009 Awards For Coffee Excellence
The 2008 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Copenhagen)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: The Coffee Collective (Denmark)
* The Passionate Educator Award: Serif Basaran (Turkey)
* The Hidden Treasure Award: Omkafe (Italy)
* The Innovation and Design Award: Efico (Belgium)
* The Lifetime Achievement Award: Hacienda La Esmeralda (Panama)
The 2007 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Antwerp)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: John Sytmen (Turkey)
* The Coffee Teacher/Trainer Award: Sonja Grant (Iceland)
* The Coffee Technician Award: Gerard-Clement Smit, Technivorm (Netherlands)
* The Originality in Design Award: Zander Nosler and Randy Hulett, Clover (USA)
* The Sustainability Award: Daniele Giovannucci (USA)
* The Better Coffee World Award: George Howell, Terroir Coffee, (USA)
The 2006 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Berne)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Enrico Maltoni (Italy)
* The True Sustainability Award: Susie Spindler (USA)
* The Coffee Ambassador Award: Michael Segal (UK)
* The Innovation Award: Vincenzo Sandalj (Italy)
* The Better Beans Award: Women in Coffee movement under the Coffee Quality Institute (USA)
* The Hidden Treasure Award: Coffeelab (India)
The 2005 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Athens)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Preben Oosterhof (Norway)
* The Enthusiasm Award: Alekos Sanozidis (Greece)
* The Innovation Award: Silvio Leite (Brazil)
* The Hidden Treasure Award (tie): Monmouth Coffee (UK) and Fazenda Passegueiro (Brazil)
* The Test of Time Award: Probat-Werke (Germany)
* The Statesmanship Award: Lakshmi Venkatachalam (India)
The 2004 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Rimini)
* The Endurance Award: Dr Alberto Hesse (Italy)
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Kentaro Marayama (Japan)
* The Enthusiasm Award: Luis Norberto Pascoal (Brazil)
* The Bold Initiative Award: Walter Zwald (Switzerland)
* The Silent Achiever Award: Samuel Zenger (Switzerland)
* The Miracle Maker Award: The Brazil Specialty Coffee Association
* The Vision of Quality Award: Dr Ernesto Illy (Italy)
* The Producer Interest Award: The Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Cup of Excellence
* The True Sustainability Award: Finca Irlanda (Mexico)