Cup of Excellence History
You, the specialty coffee fans, know that this is the most prestigious award given to the best coffees in the world each year. But do you know how the idea was born?
Read our articleDABOV Specialty Coffee ALWAYS TOGETHER WITH Alliance for Coffee Excellece
FOR YEARS WE HAVE OFFERED you CUP OF EXCELLENCE winners AND FOR YEARS YOU have HELPed US TO do so
What is Cup of Excellence?
Cup of Excellence (СОЕ) is the most prestigious specialty coffee competition in the world.
It has over 20 years history and has been organized annually since 2009 in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Burundi, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Thousands of coffees are submited annually for this competition from each country, but only those of the highest quality are selected among the finalists. The goal of the organizer of the competition, Alliance for Coffee Excellence, is to stimulate the green beans producers to grow better quality coffee, for which they will receive a much higher price.
During the two phases of the Cup of Excellence, a local and international jury blindly cups each coffee (without knowing who its farmers are). The following characteristics are evaluated: roast color, aroma, defects, cleanliness, sweetness, acidity, first sip sensation, taste, aftertaste, balance, overall appearance.
Each of the above listed characteristics – aroma, defects, etc., is rated from 0 to 8 with O being considered “unacceptable”, 4 is normal, 6 is good and 8 is really great coffee. Cup of Excellence is mainly interested in coffee with grades between 6 (good) and 8 (excellent).
For its 20+ year history, Cup of Excellence has managed to fundamentally change the specialty coffee industry by constantly encouraging farmers to strive for higher quality and rewarding them by connecting them with buyers who pay not only fair but in many cases and many times exceeding the expectations of the farmers price.
This happens at the traditional online auction, which takes place after each competition.
Why you should taste Cup of Excellence coffees?
Cup of Excellence coffees are grown in a special and ideal climate environment and therefore they distinguish with the lack of defects in the production and their exclusive taste and aroma. These unique characteristics are a result also of the special components in the soil, which is used for growing the specialty coffee.
In addition, whenever you buy coffee from the Cup of Excellence, you know that the farmers who produced it have received not just a fair, but a very high price for their labor. This improves their life standard, allows them to invest more in farm improvements and long-term training for the whole family and other workers.
Jordan Dabov during Cup of Excellence Brazil 2018.
Jordan Dabov and Cup of Excellence
Our coffee hunter Jordan Dabov is part of the international jury of Cup of Excellence since 2013.
The selection of jury members is a rather complex process and requires expert level cupping skills.
Alliance for Coffee Excellence votes a huge vote of confidence in the members of its jury, because it is an organization which appreciates the annual work of farmers.
Being a Cup Of Excellence jury member is a very responsible and difficult task, because jury carelessness can thwart the farmer’s efforts over the years.
Jordan Dabov has participated as a jury member in the Cup Of Excellence competitions in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and four times in Brazil, including in the most significant 20th anniversary edition of the competition in 2019.
DABOV Specialty Coffee and Cup of Excellence’s best coffees
At DABOV Specialty coffee we believe that by offering Cup of Excellence coffees we become an intermediary in a fair trade between the farmer and you, the coffee lover, in which everyone wins.
We choose Cup of Excellence coffees according to different criteria – taste characteristics, farm, cupping score.
We are always aware that the basis is the long-term work of the farmer, who must be rewarded with a high price for the great coffee he has produced. And on the other side is you, our coffee lover, who expects to taste one of the best coffees of the year.
Our mission is to make these coffees as affordable as possible, given that from most countries the transportation costs are higher than that of the coffee itself. However, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence is a transparent structure.
Jordan Dabov during the jubilee edition of the Cup of Excellence in Brazil in 2019 together with two of the COE founders, Susie Spindler and George Howell (left).
Dabov Specialty Coffee and Alliance for Coffee Excellece – a love story that started in 2013
From the moment Jordan Dabov became a jury at the world renowned competition, we zealously followed its development, until the moment we dared to buy our first Cup of Excellence coffee, in 2015, from Costa Rica, Finca Dona Ileana.
And in 2016, we secured the number 1 coffee in Guatemala, Calibus la Sierra, which was the second highest rated coffee in the world for this year!
Many more coffees from different countries then followed.
Check out Cup of Excellence coffees from DABOV Specialty Coffee’s catalog!
To date, we have added 12 Cup of Excellence coffees in our catalog, namely:
2015
Coffee № 32 from СОЕ Costa Rica – Finca Dona Ileana
2016
Coffee №1 from СОЕ Guatemala – Finca Calibus la Sierra
2017
Coffee №7 from СОЕ Brazil – Fazenda Sitio do Bone
Coffee №11 from СОЕ Costa Rica – Finca Dona Ileana
2018
Coffee №1 from СОЕ Brazil – Fazenda Paraiso
The man behind 2018 Brazil’s best specialty coffee
Farmer Ismael José de Andrade is excited that the best coffee he grew last year, Brasil Fazenda Paraiso COE #1 2018, became Brazil’s best specialty coffee for 2018, and could be tasted by Bulgarian specialty coffee aficionados.
read oir article2018
Coffee №6 from СОЕ Nicaragua – Finca La Virgen by Garbiela Hueck
Gabriela Hueck – a caring owner of a successful farm
Gabriela Hueck is the head of the quality control of Finca La Virgen, whose coffee Nicaragua La Virgen COE # 6 2018 won 6th place at the Cup of Excellence Nicaragua this year.
read our article!2019
Coffee №1 from СОЕ Honduras – Finca Santa Lucia – the highest-rated Geisha in Cup of Excellence competitions
The best coffee we have ever offered you
Soon, you will be able to appreciate Honduras Santa Lucia Geisha СОЕ #1 2019 – the highest ranked Geisha in all СОЕ competitions in 2019.
read our article!2019
Coffee №1 from СОЕ Peru – Finca La Lucuma
We bought coffee №1 from COE Peru 2019
At the 2019 Peru Cup of Excellence winners’ online auction on Thursday, we made the highest bid for the coffee which won the competition with a total of 92.28 points.
read our article!2019
Coffee №10 from СОЕ Brazil – Fazenda Aterradinho
We bought a СОЕ Brazil 2019 winner
Last night, we placed the highest bid on the online auction for the Fazenda Aterradinho coffee which garnered 88,61 points from Cup of Excellence Brazil
read our article!2020
Coffee №21 from СОЕ El Salvador – Finca Don Octavio
Coffee №4 from СОЕ Columbia – Finca Buenos Aires
Colombia’s 4th Best Coffee for 2020 Is Already on Sale
We give you Colombia Buenos Aires Geisha COE #4 that scored 88.69 points.
read our article!2021
Coffee №7 from СОЕ El Salvador – Finca Tres Pozos
Coffee №8 from СОЕ Mexico – Finca El Estribo
First-Ever Coffee from COE Mexico Comes to DABOV
DABOV snatched the 8th best coffee from the online auction of the COE Mexico on Thursday.
read our article!How do you, coffee lovers, support farmers?
By purchasing a Cup of Excellence coffee, you can be sure that you help the farmers, their families and their employees. The price of drinking good coffee here and now is the price of their work from morning to night, in harsh conditions and low living standard, very different from ours. Every sip of COE coffee gives a farmer’s child hope that he or she can have a different life.
Cup Of Excellence is a platform that meets producers and coffee lovers, and we only make this meeting possible. Our wish is to be able to help farmers as much as we can and to bring you unique coffees in return.
Follow us in our continuous initiative!