El Salvador COE #3 2024

El Salvador, 2024 Harvest — Rank 3, 90.09 Points

This lot comes from El Salvador's 2024 Cup of Excellence, where it placed third nationally with a jury score of 90.09. That was a record-setting year for the competition: forty coffees were formally judged across three categories, ten of them cleared the 90-point Presidential Award threshold, and thirty ultimately earned Cup of Excellence status. Results were announced on May 28, 2024, with the online auction that sells the winning lots to roasters worldwide following on July 18 of that year.

The Cup of Excellence scoring process runs in two stages. A national jury of professional cuppers — typically ten to fifteen people trained in the CoE protocol — blind-cups every entrant first, scoring on the standard specialty criteria: aroma, flavor, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, and overall impression. Only the highest-scoring lots move on to an international jury, usually fifteen to twenty buyers, roasters, and Q graders who travel to the country to confirm the scores independently. A combined average of 90 points or higher across both juries is what earns a lot the Presidential Award tier — the recognition this lot carries.

El Salvador's specialty-grade coffee concentrates in a handful of volcanic mountain ranges, Apaneca-Ilamatepec chief among them. This lot is identified the way competition coffee is identified — by its documented record: the score, the rank, and the harvest year, all drawn directly from the competition's own results.

Caramel, Honey, Vanilla

This cup leans sweet and dessert-toned rather than fruit-forward: caramel and vanilla carry most of the profile, with honey adding brightness and rounding out a clean, lingering finish. It's a different register from the jasmine-and-stone-fruit style more commonly associated with East African competition lots — proof that a 90-point cupping score doesn't point to one flavor profile, but to exceptional clarity and balance within whatever profile the coffee naturally has.

That's really what a jury score like 90.09 is measuring: not just pleasant flavor, but consistency and cleanliness across every cupping criterion — aroma, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, and aftertaste all scored individually and added together. A lot has to perform well across all of them, not just one standout note, to clear the Presidential Award threshold.

Sweetness here is pronounced without tipping into heaviness, acidity is gentle rather than sharp, and the finish holds the vanilla and honey notes well past the last sip.

Pour-Over First

A competition-scored lot like this one is worth brewing carefully — pour-over gives you the clean, controlled extraction that shows off the balance a 90-point score is built on.

Pour-Over

Ratio: 1:16 (coffee to water by weight).

Grind: Medium-fine, similar to table salt.

Water temperature: 200°F (93°C).

Time: Aim for roughly 2:45 to 3:00 total, pouring slowly and evenly rather than all at once.

Cupping Bowl (Home Cupping)

If you want to taste this coffee the way the Cup of Excellence juries did, try a simple home cupping: coarsely ground coffee steeped in a bowl for four minutes, the crust broken and skimmed off, then tasted by spoon as it cools. It's a genuinely different way to experience the caramel and vanilla notes, closer to how the lot earned its score in the first place.

Store the bag sealed, whole-bean, and away from light and heat, grinding only what you'll brew each session to keep the sweetness and clarity that scored this lot so well.

Did You Know

• 2024 was a record year for El Salvador's Cup of Excellence. Ten lots scored above 90 points that cycle — more than in any previous edition of the competition — out of forty coffees formally judged.

• Winning lots go through two separate juries before they're scored final. A national jury of trained cuppers scores every entrant first; only the top performers are re-cupped by an international jury of buyers and Q graders, and a combined average of 90+ across both juries earns the Presidential Award.

• Cup of Excellence auction proceeds go straight to the farmer. Unlike most coffee trades, which pass through several intermediaries before a producer sees payment, CoE auction winnings are paid directly to the farm that grew the lot — a structure built specifically to reward quality at its source.

• The gap between judging and auction is deliberate. El Salvador's 2024 results were announced May 28, but the online auction that actually sells the winning lots didn't run until July 18 — weeks that give roasters worldwide time to cup samples and plan their bids.

What is Cup of Excellence coffee?

Cup of Excellence (CoE) is a competition-and-auction system that identifies a country's best coffee lots each harvest through blind cupping by national and international juries, then sells the winning lots at a public online auction. This lot placed third in El Salvador's 2024 competition.

What does a 90+ cupping score mean?

It means a lot averaged 90 points or higher across both the national and international juries' scoring — covering aroma, flavor, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, and overall impression. That threshold earns the Cup of Excellence's Presidential Award, the competition's top recognition tier.

How does the Cup of Excellence auction work?

After both juries finish scoring, the winning lots are listed for a public online auction where roasters worldwide bid directly on specific lots. Proceeds go straight to the farm that grew the coffee rather than through standard trade intermediaries.

What does this coffee taste like?

It cups sweet and dessert-toned: caramel and vanilla dominate, with honey adding brightness and a clean, lingering finish — a different register from the brighter, fruit-forward profile common to many East African competition lots.

Is Cup of Excellence coffee worth the price?

For a coffee drinker who values a documented, jury-verified score and a direct link to a single harvest and country, yes — you're paying for scarcity and verified quality, not just marketing language. Whether it's worth it to you depends on how much you value that provenance over price.

How should I brew a competition-lot coffee?

Pour-over is the most reliable way to show off a lot like this: a 1:16 ratio, medium-fine grind, and water at 200°F (93°C), poured slowly. A home cupping bowl is also worth trying if you want to taste it closer to how the competition juries did.