In a year marked by the pandemic, ABIC holds the ABIC Best Quality award and the XVI ABIC National Coffee Quality Contest - Origins of Brazil - 2019 vintage in virtual format

Both events take place on the same day, November 24, in order to celebrate and recognize producers and industries that stand out for the quality of their products.

For the first time in history, the Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry (ABIC) will hold the Best Quality Awards and the XVI ABIC National Coffee Quality Contest - Origins of Brazil - 2019 vintage on the same day. for November 24, it aims to honor the brands and companies that stood out in 2020 and also promoted the consumption of quality beverages. In a year marked by the pandemic, the decision to organize the two events virtually aims to ensure everyone's safety without neglecting the celebrations.

The program will begin with the revelation of the winners of the XVI ABIC National Coffee Quality Contest - Origins of Brazil - harvest 2019, valuing the best coffees in Brazil, both Arabica, Robusta / Conilon, as well as companies that invested the most in quality. The purpose of the contest is to encourage the production of excellent beans, the best agricultural and sustainability practices, promoting all production origins, adding value to the product and bringing the best Brazilian coffees to the final consumer.

The winning coffees must be produced in the national territory and the evaluation was carried out by a technical jury of specialists in classification and sensory analysis using the methodology of the ABIC Coffee Quality Program (PQC). The lots must reach the minimum score of 7.3 on the PQC scale, which represents 90% of the final score, computing the remaining 10% after the sustainability evaluations of the producing properties.

The public will then meet the winners of the ABIC Best Qualities award. Created in 2006, the award recognizes the best in each of the categories (Extra Strong, Traditional, Superior and Gourmet) and by company size (small, medium and large). In addition to obtaining the highest overall quality scores in each category, winning products must have the Seal of Quality stamped on their packaging.

The selection of companies is also based on the PQC, based on collections of approximately five thousand coffee samples on the shelves of supermarkets, emporiums, bakeries and bakeries. These samples are sent to accredited laboratories and are sensory evaluated on a scale of 0 to 10 points, where the minimum level of quality tolerated is 4.5 points.

“In these new times of adaptation and reinvention, producing and delivering quality to the customer is not that easy and you really need to love what you do. ABIC's quality programs were developed to raise the quality of the Brazilian product and, through these awards, we will value Brazilian origins and brands aligned with food safety and concerned about delivering quality coffee to their consumers ”, he explains. Ricardo de Sousa Silveira, president of the Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry (ABIC).

The ceremony will take place on November 24. It will be broadcast live, starting at 4 pm, on ABIC's YouTube channel, and will be open to the public.