On September 20, 2023, the final competition of the Panama Coffee Roasting Competition 2023, a competition to test Panamanian coffee roasting techniques, was held.

 

The Panama Coffee Roasting Competition (PCRC) 2023 is a competition held for the first time this year, with the aim of promoting the quality, deliciousness and diversity of Panamanian coffee.

This is a qualifying tournament-style roasting competition limited to Panamanian coffee, and is hosted by BRISA&TIERRA, an importer of carefully selected Panamanian specialty coffees.

 

BRISA&TIERRA representative, Munemitsu Yamaguchi

 

Entries will open on July 5, 2023, with over 80 roasters participating.
The preliminary rounds were held in two categories, the "Traditional" and " Geisha ", which are based on different varieties, with participants divided into blocks of several people each.

 

The judges, consisting of veterans with plenty of experience in competitions, including Masakuni Sakata , a roaster who will be participating in CROWD ROASTER , selected the roaster with the highest overall score in each block to advance to the finals. Eight roasters made it to the finals in each of the two categories.

 

The finalists are:

 

Traditional Category

Keisuke Anzai (μM)
Kensuke Kudo (Reiwa Cafe ZIZZ)
Masato Hoshi (hinata cafe~coffee roastery)
Hitoshi Takahashi (AMAZING COFFEE ROASTER)
Koike Iwama
Daigo Shinohara (Cafe Satori)
Yuta Nakaoka (WayMaker Coffee Roasters)
Shinya Kobayashi (Japanese Coffee Shop)

Geisha Category : Ryoji Tsukioka (Tsuki Coffee Co., Ltd.)
Eiji Dobashi ( ignis )
Ryutaro Nakayama (dotcomspace tokyo)
Yuka Abe (Mountain Mover Co., Ltd.)
Koike Iwama
Junya Keita (NAKAMURA COFFEE)
Shinya Kobayashi (Japanese Coffee Shop)
Haruka Morita, Hiroaki Yanagi (Nekojita Coffee)

*Titles omitted

 

The final event was voted for by guest judges and the audience.

The winner will be determined based on the results of a team of judges' evaluation.

 

The final results will be announced and the award ceremony will be held at CROWD ROASTER booth at SCAJ2023 from 3pm on Thursday, the 28th, after a talk event featuring a Panamanian farm owner!

Please come along to witness the birth of the champion of this first ever competition.

 

>> Click here for more information about CROWD ROASTER 's SCAJ2023 booth

 

 

What's unique about this competition is that in the preliminary round, each block has a different set of beans, and each bean has its own evaluation point.

Through this competition, participants can experience the differences in Panamanian Geisha depending on the farm and lot, and the diversity of Panamanian coffee.

In the finals, eight roasters will roast the designated beans for each of the traditional and Geisha categories.

At the finals event, the cupping was done blind, without knowing which cup belonged to which roaster.

 

 

The challenge beans in the Traditional category were a new Panamanian variety called "Auromar Farm Lupao Natural," and in Geisha category were "La Huelia Geisha Natural N97 Anaerobic Lot 2."

 

Each cup focused on a different flavor and texture, showcasing the individuality of the roaster, and participants seemed to have a hard time deciding which cup to vote for.

 

The guest judges judging the contest. Usukura from CROWD ROASTER also participated as a guest judge.

 

Finally, the Geisha category was voted for by a panel of guest judges made up of experts in Japanese tea, wine, craft gin, etc., while the Traditional category was voted for by the audience at the venue, bringing the competition to a close.

 

This result will be added to the evaluation by a team of judges to determine the winner.

CROWD ROASTER will also be selling a tasting set of the brands used in the finals, made by the winning roaster and the participating roasters of CROWD ROASTER .

The event will also feature participants tasting the designated beans used in the competition, so please look forward to it!

 

 

2023.9.21

CROWD ROASTER