The 2012 Awards for Coffee Excellence
The most prestigious honours in the coffee industry were once again presented at SCAE's World of Coffee event in Vienna, Austria, in 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 Winners Circle 2012
The SCAE's Awards for Coffee Excellence were presented at SCAE World of Coffee, Vienna in June.
The SCAE's highest Award, for Lifetime Achievement, went to Alf Kramer. (Pictured above from left: Ron Kleist, Mick Wheeler (on behalf of Jan van Hilten), Alf Kramer, Moritz Waldstein, Luigi Lupi, Martin Elwert and presenter, Lina Chiodo of Bunn.).
Sponsored by Bunn, the Award for Young Entrepreneur category, was presented to Coffee Circle (Martin Elwert, Robert Rudnick and Moritz Waldstein) of Germany.
Presenter Lina Chiodo of Bunn also announced the winner of the Award for Innovation, Mark Loring Ludwig (USA) inventor of the Flavour-Lock roast process.
The award for Passionate Educator, was presented to Luigi Lupi (Italy).
And the final and fifth award for Changing Lives at Origin, was presented to Jan van Hilten.
SCAE Photo Competition 2012
Sponsored by Blue Mountain Coffee, an exhibition of 24 photographs were displayed at the trade exhibition alongside the WCE World Cup Tasters Championship arena. The top three images chosen by the judges for the annual photographic prize were: Strauss Group for their image 'The coffee sensory panel at work for Strauss-Group coffee, Israel', which won first prize; Johannes Beyer of Circle Products GmbH, produced the image 'Knock off work at the drying beds, Ethiopia' to take second; and Marex Melecis, for Grower's Cup (Denmark) won third prize for 'Green coffee hand sorting (Tanzania)'.
Previous Awards for Coffee Excellence Winners
The 2011 Awards for Coffee Excellence (presented in Maastricht)
* The Lifetime Achievement Award: John Schluter
* The Young Entrepreneur Award: Laima Vezeliene (Lithuania)
* The Award for Innovation: Yiannis Taloumis (Greece)
Nomination notes for the winners of the 2011 Awards for Coffee Excellence
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)