Brazil’s Fazenda Serra do Boné Wins the Ninth Annual Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award

New York, November 13, 2024 – Brazil wins the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, the award, named in memory of the founder of illycaffè, which celebrates the company's daily work of over 30 years alongside producers, to offer the best coffee to the world.  Matheus Lopes Sanglard's Fazenda Serra do Boné won the coveted Best of the Best award, with a coffee produced with the so-called despulpado technique, which maximizes the amount of sugars and aromas.

This year’s top accolade, the "Best of the Best" award, was awarded to Fazenda Serra do Boné, owned by Matheus Lopes Sanglard, with a coffee produced with the so-called despolpado technique that maximizes the amount of sugars and aromas. 

The prize was awarded by an independent international jury of 9 experts who chose the best among the winners of the 9 single-origins that make up the recipe of the unique illy blend: Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and Rwanda.

The SMS Cluster ECOM of Nicaragua, on the other hand, won the Coffee Lovers' Choice award, voted for by consumers who in the weeks leading up to the event blindly tasted the same samples in illy coffees around the world.

“For the second year in a row, a Brazilian company that adopts regenerative practices has given us the best coffee in the world. In the Fazenda Serra do Bonè, the health of the soil, biodiversity, and water sources are preserved thanks to the use of organic fertilizers, biological control and the reuse of processing by-products - says Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè - We are once again noticing important signs that confirm how regenerative agriculture is the right path towards a more resilient production capable of guaranteeing productivity and superior quality, of which coffee is the forerunner with the highest growth rates".

The distinguished panel of judges who selected the Best of the Best included Massimo Bottura, Chef Patron of Osteria Francescana and founder of Food for Soul; Viki Geunes, chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Zilte in Antwerp; Felipe Rodriguez, Head Chef at São Paulo’s Rosewood Complex; Vanúsia Nogueira, Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization; Q Grader professional tasters Felipe Isaza and Dessalegn Oljirra Gemeda; journalists Vanessa Zocchetti (Madame Figaro), Sebastian Späth (Falstaff), and Josh Condon (Robb Report).

The jury described Fazenda Serra do Boné’s award-winning coffee as creamy, sweet, and full-bodied, with an elegant balance of fresh fruit aromas, caramel undertones, subtle hints of brown sugar, and a persistent chocolate finish with floral notes of jasmine - a beautifully complex coffee that perfectly embodies its Brazilian origin.

This year’s event attracted a diverse group of public figures, including Francis Ford Coppola, Marina Abramovic, Pat Cleveland, Alex Riviere, Chiara Maci, Candela Pelizza, Tamu McPherson, Sveva Alviti, Christoph Leitner, Simon and Marina Ksandr, Nick Lowry, Maddy Devita, Justine Martilotti and Brittany Leigh Ball. The celebration of coffee excellence took place at a gala dinner at Peak in Hudson Yards, hosted by Spanish TV journalist Olivia Frejus Lloyd.

Beyond awards, the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award fosters global discussions on coffee sustainability. Earlier today at the United Nations headquarters in New York, representatives from across the coffee supply chain gathered for a roundtable titled “Global Coffee Alliance: Mobilizing a Public-Private Fund to Fight Climate Change.” The event featured President Andrea Illy, Italian Ambassador to the UN Maurizio Massari, Vanúsia Nogueira, Chef and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Massimo Bottura, UNIDO Project Manager Andrea De Marco, Raina Lang (Director of Sustainable Coffee at Conservation International), and Jamil Ahmad (UNEP Director for the New York Office), who explored initiatives to advance sustainable coffee production in the face of climate challenges.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award continues to be a beacon of excellence in sustainable coffee, celebrating the talent, dedication, and artistry that shape each cup of illy coffee.

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illycaffè

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933 which has always set itself the mission of offering the best coffee to the world. It produces a unique 100% Arabica blend composed of 9 different ingredients. The company selects only 1% of the best Arabica beans. Every day more than 10 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home and in the office, in which the company is present through subsidiaries and distributors. Since its foundation, illycaffè has oriented its strategies towards a sustainable business model, commitment that it strengthened in 2019 by adopting the status of Benefit Company and in 2021 becoming the first Italian coffee company to obtain the international B Corp certification. Everything that is “made in illy” is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 130 international artists, or coffee machines designed by internationally renowned designers. With the aim of spreading the culture of quality to growers, baristas and coffee lovers, the company has developed its Università del Caffè which today holds courses in 23 countries around the world. In 2023, the company had a turnover of €595,1 million. The illy single-brand network has 159 points of sale in 30 countries.