Another key activity under the Chiang Mai project to raise coffee production to high value is the assessment and selection of quality coffee from farmers and businesses in the province, to find coffees with potential and help them develop towards the international speciality market.
This round, 109 samples were submitted from many districts of Chiang Mai. Hillkoff Co., Ltd. assessed them against the criteria and standards of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), covering both Green Coffee Defect Grading — inspecting the green beans and sorting out defects — and a cupping evaluation of flavour quality, in order to select coffees of good quality with the potential to be developed commercially.
The committee meeting that considered the coffees in the project was chaired by Mr Songkran Moonvijit, Chiang Mai Provincial Industry Officer, with committee members and experts who reviewed the results thoroughly, transparently and in line with the set criteria.
The activity reflects an ongoing commitment to developing and upgrading Chiang Mai's coffee value chain: from production upstream, through quality control and improvement, to adding value and widening market opportunities downstream.
The collaboration is one more important mechanism for helping Chiang Mai's coffee farmers and businesses build their capabilities, compete more strongly and bring their products in line with international standards, strengthening the province's coffee industry and its sustainable growth over the long term.
