International Taste Institute Recognizes Superior Coffees

A panel of over 250 chefs and sommeliers assessed a variety of coffees from around the world during the International Taste Institute’s Superior Taste Awards. These awards are highly regarded in the food and beverage industry as the foremost taste certification globally, according to the ITI.

This year, diverse coffee products, including whole-bean, ground, instant, capsules/pods, and decaf coffees, were honored with Superior Taste Awards. The blind tasting process requires jury members to evaluate in silence without prior knowledge beyond the product category.

The selection process involves judging based on five key criteria: first impression, vision, olfaction, taste, and either texture for food or final sensation for drinks.

Coffees achieving an overall score above 70% receive the Superior Taste Award, described by the ITI as a mark of indisputable quality and prestige. Products are further classified with one, two, or three stars based on their evaluation.

Nineteen coffees earned three-star ratings, some of which are accessible in the U.S. through specialized coffee retailers and online importers, with a few being broadly distributed.

Two coffees from the Lavazza brand, available in America, received three-star distinctions: La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia and Tales of Italy Canal Grande. La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Colombia is praised as a balanced blend with aromatic notes of tropical fruits, lime zest, and jasmine. Described as a full-bodied 100% Arabica blend, it’s ideal for making espresso, sourced from Colombia.

Tales of Italy Canal Grande features a mix of Arabica and Robusta beans, with chocolate notes and an intensity score of 8 out of 10, as per Walmart.com, which imports the coffee from Great Britain.

Overall, five whole-bean coffees from Italy achieved three-star status alongside three from Spain. Additional three-star coffees hailed from South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Japan, and Taiwan.

Café San Alberto’s Café San Alberto from Colombia was the sole ground coffee to receive a three-star Superior Taste Award. The judging panel evaluates based on criteria such as first impression, vision, olfaction, taste, and either texture or final sensation, according to experts.

Costa Coffee Professional from the United Kingdom garnered three three-star awards in the coffee pod/capsule category for Signature Medium Decaf, Podio Capsule, Signature Medium Roast, Podio Capsule, and Colombian Character Roast, Podio Capsule.

Oriental Kopi Classic White Coffee by Oriental Coffee International of Malaysia stood out as the only instant coffee to achieve a three-star award.

Products rated with one star, scoring between 70% and 80%, are acknowledged for their good taste quality within their category. Two-star items score between 80% and 90% and are distinguished within their category, whereas three-star products, scoring above 90%, are deemed exceptional and of top quality by the judges.

Teresa Mull contributes as a freelance writer to the Lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.