12 NORTH CAROLINA COFFEE ROASTERS COMPETE FOR BEST

COFFEE IN FIRST-EVER STATEWIDE COFFEE COMPETITION ON EAST COAST

Stockton Graham & Co. sponsors competition at NC State Fair on Oct. 14

RALEIGH, NC – Stockton Graham & Co., a nationally recognized coffee roaster located in Raleigh NC, is the exclusive sponsor of the first-ever statewide coffee competition in North Carolina. The competition will be held at the NC State Fair on Oct. 14, 2016. This is the first statewide coffee competition on the East Coast and the second-ever statewide coffee competition in the United States.

“This really is groundbreaking because no one else in the country is noticing the caliber of specialty coffee that is available in North Carolina,” said Sarah Ray, Director of Public Affairs at the NC State Fair. “We recognize the hard work these artisans put into their roasting and developed the competition with that in mind. The State Fair competition staff approached Stockton Graham & Co. because of their 21-year history of roasting specialty coffee in North Carolina and their position as an industry leader in coffee.”

Twelve coffee roasters from North Carolina will compete for three titles and $225 in prize money:

Anchor Coffee Company, North Wilkesboro, NC

Aromatic Roasters, Pittsborro, NC

Back Alley Coffee Roasters, Wake Forest, NC

Bethesda Roasting Company, Durham, NC

Café De Los Muertos, Raleigh, NC

Camp Coffee Roasters, Blowing Rock, NC

Carborro Coffee Roasters, Carrboro, NC

Larry’s Coffee, Raleigh, NC

Magic Beans, LLC, Pfafftown, NC

Mountain Air Roasting Incorporated, Asheville, NC

Pushwater Coffee, Charlotte, NC

Summit Coffee Company, Davidson, NC

“We are excited to do this and bring the coffee community together,” said Jeff Vojta, co-founder and CEO of Stockton Graham & Co. “Coffee has always been a collaborative industry, and this introduces a whole new group of consumers to appreciate great specialty coffee and promote North Carolina industry and jobs. It is

a way for us to help showcase specialty coffee and the wide knowledge of coffee in our state.”

Several of the nation’s largest coffee roasters are headquartered in North Carolina, including S&D Coffee & Tea in Concord, Counter Culture Coffee in Durham and Stockton Graham & Co. in Raleigh. The coffee industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina and beyond.

The idea for a coffee competition began when Sarah Ray of the NC State Fair was drinking a cup of coffee with a colleague. “I knew we had so many craft beer and wine competitions and I knew there were so many local roasters in this area and it just kind of grew legs from there,” Sarah Ray said. “‘Grown, raised, caught, made’ is the theme and it seemed to fall right in line with our marketing campaign to showcase coffee.”

The competition will take place from 3:00pm to 5:00pm on Friday, October 14th in the Special Cooking Contest area in the Education Building of the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

The twelve competitors will be judged on aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance and overall quality. In addition to ribbons, prizes will be awarded to the overall winners. The grand champion will be awarded $100, the reserve champion $75 and the honorable mention will receive $50.

The judges will be coffee industry professionals from top-tier roasters, equipment manufacturers and coffee shops across North Carolina.

The emcee for the event is Lauren Olson, who is the customer success manager at Stockton Graham & Co. Previously, Olson managed the coffee bar at Café Helios, a popular eatery in downtown Raleigh, and she has extensive experience as an emcee for local events.

For information about the contest, rules and entry requirements, visit http://www.ncstatefair.org/2016/Competitions/Entering/CoffeeCompetition.html