Rwanda is to host Africa’s 1st Cup of Excellence Competition in August, Alex Kanyakole, the Director General of National Coffee Board has announced.

The Cup of Excellence is an internationally sanctioned and highly prestigious coffee competition and online auction of the best specialty coffees in the world.

"It is a platform through which Rwandan coffee can be promoted on the international market,” Kanyakore explained during a fundraising dinner for the event at Serena Hotel on Wednesday.

Adding that it is a high level promotional campaign of coffee based on its experience elsewhere. During the competition, winning coffees are selected through a three-stage process.

The process begins with pre-selection and judging by a national and international panel of juries. The aroma, sweetness, cleanliness, flavour, acidity, aftertaste and balance are all considered.

Non-winning coffees from the Cup of Excellence Competition will be sold at a live auction while winning ones are to be sold via an Internet auction.

Kanyakole said stakeholders in the coffee sector have been sensitised. He asked them to use this opportunity to promote Rwanda coffee.

He is optimistic that the event will have a multiplier effect and impact on the other sectors of the economy for development.

Agnes Kalibata, State Minister for Agriculture, asked stakeholders in the coffee sector to fully exploit the event. She said some of the competitors may win prestigious awards.

The cup of excellence comes at a time when Rwanda has in the past held its own coffee competition. There was a national coffee competition last year; the 2007 Golden Cup.

During the Golden Cup competition, five of the top ten Rwandan coffees scored at least 90/100 as evaluated by that competition’s international jury.

It is believed that the Golden Cup contest served as spring board to demonstrate to Cup of Excellence officials that Rwanda was ready to host their world-renowned competition.

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