Tasting events for Good Food Award winning blend

Montana Coffee Traders received a Good Food Foundation Award for its Ethiopia Mulish at the 14th annual Good Food Awards Weekend, hosted on April 29 in Portland, Oregon, for selecting and roasting an earthly Ethiopian bean produced by Faysel Abdosh.

In 2014, Faysel established the Mulish Washing Station in the Guji zone of southern Ethiopia to support the coffee farmers in the region. Built to support and ease the transport of ripe coffee beans from the region, the Mulish washing station receives coffee cherries from 880 Guji smallholder farmers.

Dubbed the “Oscars of the food movement” by Newsweek, 200 Good Food Awards judges meticulously evaluated submissions across 18 categories. Montana Coffee Traders’ submission of its Ethiopia Mulish competed in a final round to be selected as the winner in the coffee category.

The judging panel comprises industry leaders, technical experts, grocers, chefs, food writers, and general ‘food movement leaders’ to balance professional and consumer palates. This results in everyday consumers and top chefs, food writers, and experts embracing the awardees' taste profiles.

For a long time, certifications for responsible practices and awards for superior taste have remained distinct—one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates craftsmanship and flavor. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food—the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities—contains all these ingredients.

Montana Coffee Traders sent three employees to the ceremony—Alison Chopp, green coffee buyer; Zach Farnes, roast master; and Katie Carlson, coffee educator; all accepted the award.

“As a business, we continue to deepen our roots in the community and our connection to farmers worldwide,” says Chopp, who sources all the beans across the globe. “We aim to source responsibly and equitably, supporting the livelihoods of farmers in a transparent and sustainable way. It’s an honor to be a part of this work and one of many middlepersons bridging between extraordinary coffee farmers and the one enjoying the brewed cup of black gold.”

“We deliberately submitted our light roast to the competition,” says Farnes, who carefully roasts the beans. “We found the roast profile we wanted to highlight the notes of nectarines, honeysuckle, and brown sugar locked in this exceptional coffee."

Both cupping and tasting were important steps in “locking in” Ethiopian Mulish’s profile. 

Professional cupping follows certain parameters defined by the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) – like distinct tastes and dry aromas, such as florals and milk chocolate –to assess the coffee’s pure intensity and quality. “It’s an intimate process,” says Farnes, which reveals distinct tastes and dry aromas that are found in florals, vegetals, fruits and “toasty” foods.

Unlike cupping, tasting is a post-brew evaluation, so brewing techniques and filters can come into play. 

In mid-April, the crew attended the SCA annual conference, where global coffee connoisseurs met to cup and taste and have open discussions about the sustainable future of coffee supply chains. 

The MCT crew says that in the future, they will continue to collaborate with SCA as global and local coffee communities evolve. 

“The idea is not to be profitable, but to sustain what we need to uphold our vision of intentional, intimate and educational coffee consumption,” says Chopp.

This vision aligns with the Good Food Foundation’s mission. The Foundation exists to celebrate, connect, empower, and leverage the passionate and engaged, yet often overlooked, players in the food system who drive towards tasty, authentic, and responsible food to humanize and reform American food culture.

“These exceptional producers have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to not only creating extraordinary flavors but also to sustainable practices, supporting their communities, and fostering transparency throughout their supply chains. These are true leaders in the good food movement,” said Sarah Weiner, Executive Director of the Good Food Foundation.

Public Tasting Opportunities

On Friday, May 3, starting at 11 a.m., the community is invited to the downtown MCT cafe on Central Avenue to taste Ethiopian Mulish. 

“Coffee is personal, and we love drinking coffee with our customers and our community. It will be a lot of fun to share a taste of this award with everyone," says Carlson, who takes pride in educating customers. 

Other opportunities to sample the Ethiopia Mulish are Friday, May 10, in Kalispell, with coffee cuppings at 10 a.m. and noon (reservations required), and Friday, May 17, in Columbia Falls for a customer appreciation day.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for this award,” says Heather Vrentas, General Manager for Montana Coffee Traders. “Beyond great coffee, our business practices are being recognized because they positively impact the environment and our community.”

Montana Coffee Traders was founded in a small farmhouse in Whitefish in 1981 and now operates from four locations in the Flathead Valley. MCT is a proud supporter of 1% for the planet, committing 1% of annual sales to support global environmental partners. Roast tours and tastings happen every Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the farmhouse location south of downtown Whitefish. Reservations are required by calling 406-862-7628 to reserve a spot. For more information, visit www.coffeetraders.com.

    The MCT team at the Good Food Awards weekend on April 29th in Portland, Oregon (photo provided).
  

    Green coffee buyer Alison Chopp (photo provided).
  

    A Loring roaster at the Whitefish Roastery (photo provided).
  

    Alison Chopp, Zach Farnes and Katie Carlson brew fresh tastings of Ethiopa Mulish at their "coffee lab" at the Whitefish farmhouse location (Kelsey Evans/Pilot).