The International Jury arrives at the new IHCAFE (Instituto Hondureno del Cafe) building for a day of calibration. What does that mean? The jury consists of 20 cuppers from around the world who, somehow, need to agree on which coffees of the finalists are the best.

Put yourself into a room with 20 friends and then try to decide which restaurant you all should go to. Got that image in your mind? Good, because that's easy compared to getting 20 people from different cultures, whom, for the most part, have never met and share only English (as a second, third, or fourth language) as a means to communicate. What we all share is a love for coffee, coffee discovery, and a sincere belief that hard work well done by a coffee grower should be rewarded with a premium price.

Defying all odds, the juries somehow come together over the course of the week. Today is the first part of that process to align our tasting and scoring.

-Jeff Chean