Cup of Excellence

Cup of Excellence is coffee's most demanding competition: in each participating country, the season's best lots are cupped blind through multiple elimination rounds by national and international juries, and only the top scorers earn the title before being sold at auction. DABOV founder Jordan Dabov has judged Cup of Excellence competitions since 2013 — the only Bulgarian juror in the program — and DABOV buys winning lots at those auctions. That, in one sentence, is the sourcing story behind everything on this page.

What does a Cup of Excellence coffee taste like?

Whatever convinced a jury of professional cuppers to score it above hundreds of rivals — which is the honest appeal: these lots were chosen blind, on the cup alone. The current shelf spans four origins. From Central America come El Salvador COE #3 2024 — also part of our Star Coffees Collection — and COE SALVADOR #4, alongside COE NICARAGUA #2. Ethiopia, coffee's birthplace, is represented twice, with Ethiopia COE #20 2024 and COE ETHIOPIA #3. And BoR RWANDA #16 arrives from Rwanda's own competition program.

Competition coffee is inherently finite: an auction lot is a fixed parcel of green coffee, and once it's roasted and sold, it's gone until next season's jury convenes. If you've been hunting for cup of excellence coffee for sale from a roaster with a seat on the judging bench, this is the shelf to watch — and the reason it changes year to year.