COMPETITION · COE · 1999–PRESENT
Cup of Excellence: The Farm-Side Competition That Pays Producers a Premium
The only major competition where the prize goes to the farmer, not the barista — and the auction prices can be transformative for a small producer.
Cup of Excellence (COE) was launched in Brazil in 1999 as a pilot project of the International Coffee Organization, aimed at rewarding individual farmers for outstanding lots. It is now run by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and considered the most prestigious origin-level competition in the coffee world.[1]
How it works
- Producers in a participating country submit single-farm lots.
- A national jury cups every entry blind, multiple rounds.
- Lots scoring 86+ advance to an international jury week, with at least five separate cupping rounds per coffee.
- The top 30 lots that score 87+ are named Cup of Excellence winners and packaged into 30 kg boxes (two 15 kg vacuum-packed bags).
- National Winner lots scoring 85+ that didn't quite reach the COE threshold are sold separately.
- All winning lots are sold via a single global online auction, with proceeds going substantially to the producer.
The 2025 country auctions
Each producing country runs its own annual competition; in 2025 ACE published results for, among others:
- Brazil 2025 — top 30 lots above 87 points cupped by an international jury.[2]
- Honduras 2025 — International Jury Week 19–23 May 2025, auction 3 July 2025.[3]
- Nicaragua 2025 — International Jury Week 5–9 May 2025, auction 19 June 2025.[4]
Cup of Excellence auctions routinely sell record-setting lots (recent winners have crossed $500/lb green), and a portion of every sale flows back to the farmer — usually 80–85% of the auction price, depending on the country.[1]
Why it matters
Unlike the barista-side competitions, COE measures the raw material itself. It has effectively created the modern single-farm market for specialty: when a roaster's bag says "Honduras, COE #4, 2025", that is a verifiable claim with five blind cuppings behind it. The programme is a major reason why "where exactly was this coffee grown" is now a question your local café can usually answer.
References
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, "Cup of Excellence — Auction Results & Programme Overview."
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, "Brazil 2025."
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, "Honduras 2025."
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence, "Nicaragua 2025."