UNITED STATES 26th April 2010

The Coffee Quality Institute, the SCAA’s research and development arm, in mid-April awarded its Leadership Medal of Merit to widely respected coffee quality consultant Sunalini Menon.

The award, presented annually by the CQI at a special lunch held during the SCAA Exposition in Anaheim, California, was presented by CQI Chair Ellen Jordan Reidy, who said that Sunalini Menon’s passion for quality inspired those who came into contact with her.

She was the first woman ever employed by the Indian Coffee Board, and soon became its head of quality control. When the Indian industry was liberalised in the 1990s, she set up independent quality assessment consultancy Coffeelab, based in Bangalore, which serves many of the most successful growers in India.

In accepting the award, Sunalini (pictured) thanked the Coffee Board, the staff of Coffeelab and her supportive family, as well as the coffee growers whom, she said, had trusted her with their produce and their livelihood.

Reviewing the CQI’s activities during the past year, Executive Director Ted Lingle said that the organisation had licensed nearly 300 new “Q” graders, and taken on four new in-country partners, while providing 2,500 volunteers for its Coffee Corps programme which operates at origin.

A new website will be launched shortly, he added, with a database linking “Q” graders and ICPs worldwide, and offering “Q”-graded samples to any buyers accessing the site. 2010 would also see the recalibration and re-certification of many of the existing “Q” graders, he said, and the expansion of the programme to Brazil.