Welcome to EIICA 2021

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ERNESTO ILLY
INTERNATIONAL COFFEE AWARD 2021

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award is a recognition that illycaffè provides to the best Arabica coffees which are grown in the regions that form illy’s unique blend.

After 30 years working side-by-side with Brazilian farmers and in view of the excellent results that have been achieved with the Premio Ernesto Illy de qualidade sustentavel do cafè para espresso since 1991, the company decided in 2016 to extend the award to all the growers with whom it works all over the world.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award will recognize top quality growers who sustainably produce the best beans in the coffee paradises across the world. Over the past 12 months, the illy quality Lab in Trieste, has identified 3 different coffee lots representing the best coffees from the 2020-2021 crop from 9 distinct and important coffee producing Countries – Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India and Nicaragua. An external Jury comprised of coffee experts, international chefs, and coffee lovers will choose the best coffee lot among the 9 finalists of the total 27. During this year’s Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award the winner of the “Best of the Best” as well as the winner of the “Coffee Lovers’ Choice” will be awarded.

The award is also a tribute to Ernesto Illy, illycaffè’s late, visionary leader, who deeply believed in scientific research as an unimpeachable source of truth, making possible advances in human development and promoting adherence to the highest ethical standards.  For the industry he so loved, science gave Dr. Illy the power to sustain and grow coffee culture in every positive aspect.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Lily Cole

Fashion model, actress and social entrepreneur

Lily Cole is a fashion model, actress and social entrepreneur. An advocate for socio-political and environmental issues, she has employed technology, writing, filmmaking and public speaking as means to build awareness and encourage dialogue.

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THE JURY

The excellence of coffee can be rewarded only thanks to an independent multidisciplinary Jury. Meet the Experts!

Josè Carlos Capel

Food critic and journalist

Spain

Kyle Connaughton

3 stars Michelin Chef

USA

Birhanu Gebis Wuli

Coffee expert

Ethiopia

Viki Geunes

3 stars Michelin Chef

Belgium

Sunalini Menon

Coffee expert

India

Clark Parkin

Food expert and journalist

Germany

Michela Proietti

Journalist

Italy

Niko Romito

3 stars Michelin Chef

Italy

Henry Alirio Martínez Salinas

Coffee expert

Colombia

THE NOMINEES

Coffee is a gift of nature, identifying the best in the world is the art of illycaffè. Discover the Nominees!

THE ILLUSTRATORS

9 International Illustrators to portray the 9 finalists’ countries competing for the 6th Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award

On the 6th Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, illycaffè is renewing its special digital project that showcases creativity to depict coffee culture in a brand-new way, with 9 international artists entrusting them with the task of giving a visual identity to the nine finalists’ countries. Through this initiative, illycaffè aims to use beauty and art to highlight a fundamental, major aspect of the company’s culture and ethics, the core values underpinning the world of coffee farming and coffee producing countries.

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and El Salvador are the nine finalist countries for the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, that serve as nine stops along an artistic journey. Each with their own style, the nine artists will each create an artwork that symbolizes the colourscape of their assigned country and recalls the flavour profile of their coffee.

Depicting Brazil is Medeline Kate Martinez, an illustrator and graphic designer with a strong passion for photography; the penmanship and style of Sebastian Curi, an Argentinean illustrator and animator based in Los Angeles will portray the colours of Colombia. Costa Rica is depicted by the Irish artist and illustrator Mark Conlan; while the riotous colours of Ethiopia are assigned to Yukai Du, a Chinese illustrator and animator. A visual tale of Guatemala will be told by the surrealist graphic designer Marcos Guinoza. Honduras and its coffee, with its chocolate and caramel notes, will be drawn by the colorful and bold pen of Maggie Stephenson, a Polish artist and illustrator. The Canadian illustrator and artist Myriam Van Neste, who is also a former sculptor, is tasked with bringing India’s charm and mystery to life, while Nicaragua has been entrusted to the British illustrator and artist Kit Agar, with her trademark geometric style. Finally, Charly Clements, a British designer and illustrator, will help us discover El Salvador.