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When we arrived in Tegucigalpa, I was initially struck by the shiny malls and modern roads. I didn´t come with a ton of preconceptions, but I was definitely not expecting to see this. However, we'd just arrived and had only driven a little bit out of the airport. The landscape quickly changed into tiny and crowded tin houses perched precariously on hillsides, bumpy roads, people riding horses and mules. A lot of people ride in the back of trucks and many people hitch rides randomly. From what our airport escort told us, Honduras is a country that is quickly developing in certain ways: lots of roads are being constructed and as the brand new supermarkets and malls indicate, there are more people with disposible income. The scenery on our way to the hotel was mostly farms, huge green valleys, scattered houses and lots and lots of pine trees (another surprise).
After we arrived at our hotel - three and a half hours outside Tegucigalpa - and sat down to dinner, it quickly became apparent that the Cup of Excellence program is very important to the economy in this region (Marcala), as expressed in the many welcome speeches by local government officials. I can´t even count how many expressions of thanks I heard, as well as the earnest appreciation for what the jury panel is doing this week for the coffee industry here. Monday was calibration day and all the judges and observers got together and cupped some blended coffees (the coffees were blended because the organizers don´t want us to be able to identify individual coffees during official cupping) and then discussed each coffee and the scores they received. We did a couple rounds of calibration and called it a day. For the most part, jurors fell within a tight range of scores, but some coffees were definitely controversial and it was very interesting to hear why people disagreed on their scoring. The cupping room itself is beautiful: brand new tiled floors, high ceilings and big, spread out cupping tables. We meet in a gazebo after every session of cupping and discuss the round in warm and breezy outdoor air. I´m not sure how common it is to do this kind of thing outdoors, but for me, it´s a great way to refresh after sensory overload.
Everywhere we go, we´re treated like VIPs. After cupping is done for the day (around 1pm), we break for lunch and have the choice to participate in daily cultural activities. The towns we visited both yesterday and today obviously planned weeks in advance for our arrival because we received official welcome speeches from the mayors and watched organized performances by local artists and dance groups. Tomorrow, the national congress will be coming to our hotel for the express purpose of meeting us and finding out how the first days have gone. It's all a bit crazy.
It would be easy to view Honduras as a peaceful and easygoing country that is tourist-friendly based on the treatment we've received. But in order to actually believe that, you would have to ignore the fact that every time we leave the hotel, we travel in an entourage (straight up!). Yesterday it was a line of identical red trucks book-ended between police cars with their lights flashing. Today it was a tour bus with the same police entourage. On top of that, there are military men with rifles traveling in separate trucks from ours. WHAT THE WHAAT?!
Joking and absurdity aside, we're here to cup coffee. And that's what we are all doing with much pleasure and the utmost respect for the hard work these farmers do. What we are constantly reminded of by Sherri, our head judge, is how much of an impact these events have on the coffee industry. Although specialty grade coffee isn't even close to what most companies will buy in any given year, the rewards and benefits to winning farms of COE are enormous. Today I heard a story about a farm that had gone into receivership about eight years ago. Someone suggested to the farmer that he submit coffee to COE and the farmer, with nothing to lose, agreed. His farm ended up winning the competition and with the money it earned from auction, the farmer was able to get himself out of receivership and go on to place in the top three the following year. Economics aside, we cupped some beautiful coffees today: florals, sweet citrals, crisp acidity, almond/pecan nuttiness, chocolates, caramels... These are just a few of the descriptors. Tomorrow we'll cup the remaining 20 coffees and then re-cup all 39 coffees on Thursday. The 39 coffees that made it here have already gone through a national jury panel and we're the last stop before auction. Friday, the winners will be announced and we'll all celebrate another year of great coffees from a country that is establishing itself as a distinct and high-quality coffee growing region.
It's been daunting and a bit overwhelming for me, a novice cupper, to get past my inexperience and the fact that I'm surrounded by some very talented and world-renowned cuppers. With a clear head, an eagerness to learn and an excitement at having the opportunity to taste wonderful coffees, I've been able to overcome (mostly) all that surround this event. My first day of real cupping went well: my scores were close to the range of most jurors, with only a few exceptions. Hopefully the next few days will go as well.
