The Revolver World Coffee Co-operative has won Great Taste Awards for the fourth year running.
The awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, are an acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink – and have been described as the Oscars of the food world. Winners are presented with a star rating for the taste and quality of their products.
Although many coffees are entered into the awards, there are comparatively few winners and only a small percentage are Fairtrade coffees. West Midlands-based Revolver scooped awards for two products: both its Specialty Sumatra and World Fairtrade Rwanda Munganero single estate achieved a 2-star rating, which is awarded for outstanding taste to less than 15% of entries.
Judges praised the Specialty Sumatra as: “A fine example of a big roast – has some balance and some good savoury notes. Good fruity acidity to balance the darker flavours.”
And they said of the Revolver World Fairtrade Rwanda Munganero: “It mellows into a very pleasing caramel creaminess. The long finish is very well balanced and reveals good depth – hints of buttery biscuit. For a single origin, this took us on an interesting journey.”
Revolver’s chair, John Boyle, said of the co-op’s achievement: “It’s the people behind the scenes who make the magic happen. The credit goes to the farmers and their co-operatives who care deeply about the products – and to our co-operative colleagues in stores, who make everything simple for shoppers.”
Chief executive Paul Birch said: “This is the fourth year running we have won Great Taste Awards. These award-winning products will be available very soon. It’s great to work with expert buyers and roasters who are able to get the best out of the product.”
Revolver was awarded the Fair Tax mark earlier this year and is the 20th firm in Britain to receive the award. It also ranks second for ethics as judged by Ethical Consumer magazine. The business is organised as a multi-stakeholder co-operative and members include producers in the developing world.
