Coffees from Around the World Earn Top Honors at Superior Taste Awards

A panel of over 250 chefs and sommeliers recently judged coffees from across the globe based on taste. This evaluation was part of the International Taste Institute’s (ITI) Superior Taste Awards. The awards are recognized in the food and beverage industry as a prominent taste certification standard.

This year, a variety of coffee types, including whole-bean, ground, instant, capsules, and decaf, gained Superior Taste accolades. The judging process was conducted blind, ensuring impartiality. Judges evaluated the products on several criteria: first impression, vision, olfaction, taste, and final sensation for drinks.

The judges focused on taste and awarded products achieving scores above 70% with a Superior Taste Award.

Products received ratings of one, two, or three stars based on their scores. Notably, nineteen coffees received top ratings of three stars. Some of these are accessible in the United States through coffee retailers and online importers.

Among the award-winning coffees, Lavazza’s La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia and Tales of Italy Canal Grande, both available in America, earned three stars. La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia is described as a full-bodied and balanced blend with notes of tropical fruits, lime zest, and jasmine. It is a 100% Arabica blend sourced from Colombia, ideal for espresso.

Tales of Italy Canal Grande, a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans, offers chocolate notes and scores 8 out of 10 on the intensity scale.

Five whole-bean coffees from Italy, three from Spain, and others from South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Japan, and Taiwan received three-star recognition.

Café San Alberto of Colombia’s ground coffee also won a three-star award. In the capsule category, Costa Coffee Professional from the United Kingdom received multiple three-star awards for various blends.

Malaysia’s Oriental Kopi Classic White Coffee was the only instant coffee to achieve a three-star rating.

According to ITI, products scoring between 70% and 80% earn one star as high-quality options in their category. Those scoring between 80% and 90% achieve two stars. Three-star products, scoring above 90%, are considered exceptional.