What is Cup of Excellence?

As I learn more about the specialty coffee world, one of the phrases which comes up over and over is Cup of Excellence. I remember first seeing this when I would venture into the local Intelligentsia, when I lived in Chicago. It seemed impressive, but I wasn't sure what it was. Now I read a great deal about it. Some of you know what it is, but for the rest of us, here is a primer.

The Cup of Excellence program is run by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence(ACE), a U.S. based non-profit organization. In conjunction with other coffee organizations around the world, ACE has developed cupping competitions and auctions of specialty coffee. Cup of Excellence competitions are held through out Africa, Central and South America. This program does two things for the coffee world: increases the amount of money coffee farmers get and encourages the development of better coffee for the consumer.

This idea makes sense. As we know coffee farmers are not paid well for the cultivation and development of coffee. ACE offers an opportunity through Cup of Excellence, for farmers to earn more money. The cupping competitions and auctions showcase the coffees produced. The better the coffee, the better the price for the coffee. In theory This program is rewarding farmers to develop better coffees, and this rewarding them for those efforts. For the consumer this means they will get better quality coffee. 

Specialty roasters use Cup of Excellence as a marketing tool to bring in consumers who want superior coffee. Cup of Excellence winning coffees are sold at a premium. If you purchase a bag of coffee at a roaster for $17-$19 a bag, you can expect to pay close to $30 a bag for some Cup of Excellence coffees? Is it worth it? To the a coffee drinker like you or I, we might not know the difference between the $17 a bag coffee and a $30 a bag coffee. To the more refined coffee folks - most definitely. 

With Cup of Excellence selling for such high prices to the consumer, are the farmers really getting better deals and as a result consistently producing better coffee? From everything I have been able to learn so far, those farmers who win the competitions(and they are fierce) do very well. The profile of their coffees is raised, and roasters and companies from all over the world vie to purchase some of their coffees. 

In time I will do more in-depth to look at how Cup of Excellence really translates at the farmer level. One thing is for sure, the coffee consumer benefits greatly from this program, with better coffee in their cup.

Charlie