Known as the "Man with the Golden Tongue", Willy Pettersson is one of the world's leading coffee experts. As the exclusive Master Taster for Gevalia Kaffe, he spends his days fine-tuning the blends until the coffee's taste meets the high quality standards of Gevalia. Because roasting the coffee beans is such a precise science, Mr. Pettersson sometimes taste up to 300 cups of coffee a day in order to produce a final product with consistent excellence. As a great sommelier might test the uniform taste and body of a fine wine, Mr. Pettersson did the same for Gevalia coffees, weighing aroma, flavor, body, and texture until the perfect balance was achieved.Mr. Pettersson was born in Stockholm, Sweden and raised in the small village of Vendelso. Though he trained as an opera singer and was offered a job as a tenor with the Swedish Royal Opera Choir, Mr. Pettersson's passion for coffee prevailed and he accepted a job as a coffee taster. Eventually, he came to taste for Gevalia, where he worked for more than 30 years to masterfully maintain the high standards of excellence that make Gevalia Kaffe. We would like to thank Gevalia and Willy for their years of dedication to Kona

John King has been in the coffee business for well over twenty years.
Based in Redwood City, California, his family owns and operates Harold L. King & Co. which was founded by John’s father in 1958. Harold L. King & Co. is one of the oldest, largest and most respected coffee importing companies in the nation. As an importer of green specialty coffees from around the world, John has acquired a unique breadth of knowledge in all facets of the coffee trade. As a third generation coffee importer, John grew up around the business and coffee has become a natural part of his daily environment. Over the years, John has cupped thousands of samples of coffees from all around the world and has developed an extensive and practical knowledge of the science.

Mr. Takemoto, a Department Manager at the UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. of Japan is also the principal cupper of the UCC Group of Companies and has the longest experience as a cupper in international cupping competitions among the UCC cuppers. He joined UCC Japan in 1980. He assumed the General Manager position of UCC to Brazil in 1990. He was a Judge of the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition from 1996 to 1998. He became a member of the Technical Standard Committee of the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) in 2003. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) certified him as a "Cupping Judge" in 2004 and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) licensed him as a "Q Grader" in 2007. We would like to thank Mr. Takemoto and UCC Uishima Co. Ltd.of Japan for their support of the 2008 Kona Cupping Competition and for their many years of dedication to Kona.

Sherri Johns, has 30 years in the specialty coffee industry and began her career as a barista in San Francisco in 1976. She was recognized as Champion Barista in SF 1982, 1983 and 1985. Sherri is an astute coffee cupper as noted by her placement as Head Judge for the esteemed Cup of Excellence program. As assistant to George Howell in Brazil 2003, then Head Judge for 2005 - 2006 Cup of Excellence programs in Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador. Sherri has lead cupping sessions for Specialty Coffee Association of America, Specialty Coffee Association of India, Brazil Specialty Coffee Association participated as a cupper at Sintercafe in Costa Rica and lead numerous private cupping sessions. We welcome back Sherri to the 2008 Kona Cupping Panel of Judges.

David Holfve
Gevalia Kaffe Guest Judge

David is currently Quality Manager for the plant in Sweden who produces the Gevalia brand. The last three years he has worked as Willy Petterssons apprentice and took over his role as Mastertaster for Gevalia in May this year. He started his Career at Gevalia in 1997 as a project engineer but quickly showed interest for the world of coffee and moved into quality in 1998 where he showed great cupping skills. In 2004 he moved to Paris, France, for an assignment in procurement. By 2005 he was back in Gävle as "head cupper" for the Nordic Coffee business.He participated at his first Kona Cupping Competition last year as a Guest Judge and we are honored to have him return this year for the 2008 Kona Classic and Crown Cupping Competitions.

Copyright 2000-2008 Gevalia Kaffe. File photos property of their respective companies. Images provided by Food Network and Touchdown Productions from the 2001 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. All rights reserved.