Brasil Elias Morais Goncalves Força 1st place - freshly roasted coffee, min. 50g

In 2014, export company NKG Stocker and the coffee nonprofit HRNS do Brasil began considering how they might together assist Brazil's smallholder producers in improving not only their agronomy practices and cup quality but also their profitability. The result was the Forca Café Championship - a contest to celebrate the best coffees from smallholder producers in Matas de Minas, Circuito das Aguas and Campo das Vertentes, Brazil, paired with an online auction through which buyers could compete for the top lots.

This year's 10th Annual Brazil Força Café Championship delivered outstanding coffees yet again. As in the past, this was a multi-layer group project. Regional submissions were collected and cupped by the team at Stockler. Next, those selections were evaluated by an international panel of judges - primarily exporters and roasters who came together for an intensive calibration and cupping - to rank the finalists. The final lots made it to auction. Every dollar spent during the auction, above the initial purchase price, goes directly back to the producers.