Finagro Plantations has won first place in the Tanzania Ngorongoro Private Collection Auction, scoring 88.22 points with a carbonic processed N39 Bourbon coffee.
“What an amazing accomplishment to win the top spot with a processing technique. This gives hope to growers everywhere to strive for excellence with what they have,” says Mark Stell, co-founder of Ngorongoro Coffee Group.
Jurist Hiver van Geenhoven of Chromatic Coffee says the carbonic maceration technique “really added that attention-grabbing depth and complexity of intense chocolate and vibrant tropical acidity, finishing clean, sweet, and round”.
The top 20 scoring coffees, including four farms, four processes, eight varieties, and one peaberry grade, will be offered for sale on 22 March at the Ngorongoro Tanzania Private Collection Auction. Lot sizes range from 32 to 300 kilograms.
Sample sets and auction seats are available by registration, which is open until 4 March at the Alliance for Coffee Excellence website.
Figaro Plantation will have five winning coffees in the auction.
“We are extremely proud to compete in the Ngorongoro PCA 2022 competition and delighted to have been rewarded with great scores,” says Neel Vohora, Director of Finagro Plantations.
“The coffee that earned first place comes from an area planted with N39 bourbon. It is well shaded and neighbours the indigenous Ngorongoro forest.”
Another strong contender to emerge from the competition is Acacia Hills Coffee, who won second, third and fourth place with three Gesha coffees.
“The Gesha variety was consistently excellent, boasting notes of bergamot and flowers,” says Hiver.
“The particular qualities in the mouthfeel, along with notes of chocolate and honey, highlighted the shared terroir that presented a unifying theme among all of the tables.”
Samples of the top 20 coffees are available until 4 March, ahead of the 22 March auction.
Opening bids start at US$4.00 (about AU$5.50) per pound for coffee with a score between 85 to 86.99 and US$6.00 (about AU$8.25) per pound for coffee with a score between 87 to 89.99.
To request samples and register for the auction, go to the Alliance for Coffee Excellence website.
