The Cup of Excellence is managed by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence Inc. (ACE) which is a non-profit making organisation. Stephen Hurst serves on the board of Cup of Excellence.
Cup of Excellence ®
The Cup of Excellence is a strict competition that selects the very best coffee produced in one of a number of participating countries from the new crop. These winning coffees are chosen by a select group of national and international cuppers and are cupped at least five times during the competition process. Only coffees that receive a score of 80 or above from a maximum of 100 are allowed to move forward in the competition. Those with a score of 84+ go forward to an Internet auction which attracts many of the world’s leading Specialty Coffee roasters. The goals of the Cup of Excellence Programme are to:
- Create a bridge between the high quality roaster and the high quality farmer Reward quality coffee farmers with the premiums generated through worldwide internet based coffee auctions of winning coffee lots
- Discover exemplary coffee from previously unknown farmers and regions
- Entice consumers to purchase great coffee and become discerning in their choice Cup of Excellence programmes are now run in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua with new countries set to join the programme in the coming months.
Visit www.cupofexcellence.org for further details on this exemplary quality discovery programme and for information on membership