Project Ceylanka wins at Specialty Coffee Association Awards

Friday, 14 March 2025 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Damn Fine Coffee CEO Yasas Kodituwakku (left) and Project Ceylanka Damn Fine Coffee Founder Ammar Kassim

In a momentous win for South Asian specialty coffee, Mumbai-based Subko Coffee Roasters been honoured with the Best Coffee Design 2025 – Packaging award at the Specialty Coffee Association Awards at World of Coffee Dubai for Project Ceylanka—a collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Damn Fine Coffee Roasters.

This cross-waters partnership between Subko and Damn Fine Coffee isn’t just about stunning design—it’s about bringing Sri Lankan coffee back to the world stage. The coffee that powered Project Ceylanka’s winning entry—a Red Honey Arabica cultivated in Kotmale, Sri Lanka, and produced by Damn Fine Coffee—represents a new era for Sri Lanka’s coffee industry. More than just a cup, it is a statement that South Asia is emerging as a serious force in the global specialty coffee movement.

Before Sri Lanka became synonymous with tea, it was one of the world’s greatest coffee producers. By the 1870s, Ceylon supplied a third of Europe’s coffee, until the devastating Coffee Rust Epidemic of 1869 wiped out its plantations. Now, Damn Fine Coffee is leading the charge to bring back Sri Lankan specialty coffee, working with 300+ smallholder farmers to revive the industry with a new vision—one that is bold, progressive, and world-class.

Damn Fine Coffee CEO Yasas Kodituwakku said: “Sri Lanka is back. And this win is proof that our coffee deserves a seat at the global specialty table. We have spent years building a movement, not just a brand—partnering with farmers, refining our process, and proving that Sri Lankan terroir can produce coffee that stands alongside the best in the world.”

At the heart of this win is a rare, Sachimor varietal, meticulously cultivated at 1,050–1,400 masl in Kotmale, Sri Lanka. This Red Honey Arabica, selected and processed with an obsessive level of detail, underwent a controlled fermentation process to develop its signature notes of raw mango, hazelnut and cloves.

Damn Fine Coffee’s precision in the coffee-producing process was key to ensuring that every nuance of the bean’s flavour profile was expressed in the final cup, showcased by Subko.

This win isn’t just about a single coffee or a single collaboration. It’s about rewriting the story of South Asian specialty coffee. Damn Fine Coffee is leading this charge, ensuring that Sri Lanka isn’t just a footnote in the global coffee conversation—it’s a headline.

“For too long, Sri Lanka’s coffee has been overlooked, its potential unrealised. That changes now,” added Yasas. “This award is just the beginning. We are taking Sri Lanka to the world.”

Damn Fine Coffee congratulates Subko Coffee on this incredible win, which not only recognises world-class coffee packaging design but also elevates the entire South Asian specialty coffee movement. “Project Ceylanka is a collaboration that proves what’s possible when passionate coffee pioneers from across the region come together,” said Yasas. “We are honoured to have partnered with Subko to bring this coffee to life, and this win is a milestone for both our brands and for Sri Lanka’s coffee industry.”

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