Cooxupé has Classifier of the Year chosen by the Ernesto Illy Award

Luiz Evandro Ribeiro, a Cooxupé professional for 36 years and who works in the cooperative's Classification and Quality Control Laboratory, is the winner of the Classifier of the Year Award, promoted by illycaffè/Experimental Agrícola do Brasil.

The announcement of the top three winners took place during the ceremony of the 31st Ernesto Illy Coffee Quality Award for Espresso, on the evening of May 05th, in São Paulo. The Classifier of the Year Award takes place to recognize the effort and dedication of professional classifiers in the constant search for quality coffee.

According to Luiz Evandro, his presence in the award ranking between 1st, 2nd and 3rd place has already occurred approximately 15 times. “Being champion means the result of a year of dedication and a lot of work with our members’ coffees. It is fundamentally important to know the qualities of a special espresso coffee,” he says. This year, in addition to a plaque, he also received the amount of R＄7 thousand.

Challenges

To win the title of Classifier of the Year, Luiz Evandro says that the challenges are constant. “It takes a lot of experience to separate the best batches in drinking tests, as well as evaluating appearance, humidity and, thus, finalizing all these analyzes in the cup of espresso”, he explains.

He also praises the importance of Cooxupé in his career and professional achievements. “The cooperative represents everything, as it offers me the conditions to serve our members, always improving all coffee classification processes”, he ponders.

He also highlights the added value - both financially and motivationally - for classifying professionals and, especially, coffee producers. “Just as there is an award for the Classifier, there is also an award for the cooperative members, in this case the Ernesto Illy Quality Award for Espresso, in the 31st edition of which there were champions who are Cooxupé cooperative members. I am very proud to be a collaborator of this great cooperative”, he concludes.

Ernesto Illy Award – Classifier of the Year:

1st national place - Luiz Evandro Ribeiro (South of Minas)

2nd national place - Marcos Leoncio de Araujo Alvarenga (Cerrado)

3rd national place - Edenilson de Oliveira Cabral (Matas de Minas)