Judging Coffee at the N.C. State Fair

VP Coffee, Inc.’s Business Development Manager – Brent Hall – participated as a judge at the 3^rd annual NC State Fair Coffee Competition on October 12^th. The competition highlights 12 North Carolina Based Roasters who come to brew the best cup of their best roast in hopes of being recognized as NC’s best roaster at the State Fair. The competition brought roasters from all corners of NC:

1. Fryeday Coffee Roasters
2. Villain Coffee Company
3. Joe Van Gogh Coffee
4. Summit Coffee Roasting Co.
5. Aromatic Roasters
6. Alamance Kaffee Werks
7. Sospeso Coffee Roasters
8. Mello Coffee Roasters
9. Pine State Coffee
10. Carrboro Coffee Roasters
11. The Milk Road Roasters
12. Five Star Coffee Roasters

Roasters were scored according to aroma, flavor, balance, sweetness, acidity, body, and aftertaste, with each category having a different weight of score. The roasters with the four highest scores would move on to the semifinal and begin the battle for first. After three rounds of brewing Aromatic Roasters took the competition after three years of entering. Mello Coffee Roasters took second and Carrboro Coffee Roaster took third. Congratulations to the top three winners of this year’s coffee competition and thank you to the exhibitors for coming and showing us your best. As well, a special thanks to Dilworth Coffee for sponsoring the event and making it a success. Next year is just around the corner and we cannot wait to see what amazing North Carolina coffee roasters step up to the plate. After cupping ten coffees in the span of an hour, Hall admits the fair starts to look a little like the photo above.. He tasted coffees from all over the world, including Sumatra, Ethiopia and quite a selection from Central America. Flavor profiles ranged from earthy and smoky to tropical and bright. Participating at events like the N.C. State Fair is one of many ways VP Coffee supports the coffee community, both locally and nationally. We strive to help raise the bar in coffee and provide constructive and technical feedback for roasters and café owners, so they have all the tools needed to succeed in coffee. Whether you are opening a small roaster/retailer shop, or a full restaurant, VP Coffee strives to provide the best customer service and solutions for all of your commercial coffee business needs.