First-ever Sustainable Coffee Cupping Signals Emerging Culture and Growing Market for Higher-quality Coffee

At its first-ever formal cupping event, the emerging field of "certified-sustainable" coffee received gourmet evaluation by a panel of leading coffee experts.

The Rainforest Alliance event, sponsored by Citigroup, "Cupping for Quality," on March 14-15, was the inauguration of what will become an annual gourmet tasting of Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees. It marked the first time that a panel of experts specifically evaluated sustainably-grown coffee beans for their gourmet characteristics.

It also underscored how, as more of the painstakingly produced, environmentally and socially sustainable beans hit the US and other consumer markets in the form of specialty coffee, their higher quality is gaining recognition from the gourmet food world, while industry analysts predict ever-growing demand as consumers discover their superior flavors.

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