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A panel of more than 250 chefs and sommeliers evaluated coffees from around the world for taste.
The judging was part of the International Taste Institute’s (ITI) Superior Taste Awards, which are “widely regarded in the food and beverage industry as the most prestigious taste certification worldwide,” according to the ITI.
This year, dozens of coffees from around the world — ranging from whole-bean coffees, ground coffee, instant coffee, capsules/pods and decaf products — earned Superior Taste Awards.
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Jury members perform the tasting process blind and in complete silence. They know nothing about the items being tasted ahead of time, except for their category, according to the awards criteria.
The food and drinks contain no identifying markers. The panel judges them on five criteria: first impression, vision, olfaction, taste and texture (for food) or final sensation (for drinks).
The judges award products achieving an overall score above 70% with the Superior Taste Award, “a stamp of indisputable quality and prestige,” according to the ITI. Products are further evaluated with ratings of one, two or three stars.
Nineteen coffees won three-star designations. Among those, some are available for purchase in the U.S. through specialty coffee retailers and online through importers, and a couple are more widely distributed.
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Two Lavazza brand coffees, available in America, earned three stars: La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia and Tales of Italy Canal Grande.
La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia is “a full-bodied and balanced blend, with aromatic notes of tropical fruits, lime zest and jasmine,” according to retailer Italy Best Coffee.
“This 100% Arabica blend is sourced from Colombia. This blend is ideal for espresso preparation.”
Tales of Italy Canal Grande contains a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans with notes of chocolate and scores 8 out of 10 on the intensity scale, according to Walmart.com, which imports the coffee from Great Britain.
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In total, five whole-bean coffees from Italy earned three-star recognition, along with three from Spain and one each from South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Japan and Taiwan.
The only ground coffee to receive a three-star Superior Taste Award was Café San Alberto by Café San Alberto of Colombia.
Costa Coffee Professional, all from the United Kingdom, earned three three-star awards in the coffee pod/capsule category for Signature Medium Decaf, Podio Capsule, Signature Medium Roast, Podio Capsule and Colombian Character Roast, Podio Capsule.
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The only instant coffee to receive a three-star award was Oriental Kopi Classic White Coffee by Oriental Coffee International of Malaysia.
One-star products scoring between 70% and 80% are considered good products with high taste quality within their category, according to the ITI’s website.
Two-star products stand out within their category and score between 80% and 90%, while three-star products, scoring 90% and above, are considered by the judges to be exceptional, top-quality.