If you are like most coffee drinkers, you probably don’t know the difference between a Caturra bean and a Bourbon…and I don’t mean the Whiskey. There is a lot that goes in to the coffee process, from the actual tending of the coffee plants, to the picking of the cherries, to the washing of the beans, but it all comes down to one thing…the cup.
I’ve seen beans that looked like my cat Pepito got to them, chewed them up, and spit them out, but when cupped, blew my socks off. On the other hand, I’ve seen beans that looked like diamonds, perfectly cut, beautiful form, but when cupped, tasted like dirt and mold. You just can’t tell simply by the appearance. Just like wine, coffee is heavily scrutinized by coffee enthusiasts and hipsters alike, but there is only one award that really matters, that really means anything in the coffee industry, and that’s the CUP OF EXCELLENCE.
Think of the World Cup, Super Bowl, or World Series. These are the most respected competitions resulting in the crowning of a world champion in their respective sport. The Cup of Excellence (COE) is exactly that, but for coffee. The COE is the most prestigious award given to a specialty quality coffee. The level of scrutiny that Cup of Excellence coffees undergo is unmatched anywhere in the coffee industry. All of the Cup of Excellence award winners are cupped at least 5 times (the ‘Top 10’ are cupped again) during the 3-week competition. During this selection process, thousands of cups are evaluated, tasted and scored based on their exemplary characteristics. The prices that these winnings coffees receive at auction, sold to the highest bidder, have broken records and proven that there is a huge demand for these rare farmer identified coffees.
Now that you understand what the World Cup of the coffee industry is, hopefully you can appreciate our EL OCASO coffee a bit more as it was a finalist in the 2010 Cup of Excellence competition. This is a bean that looks beautiful in its form, and tastes just as wonderful.
Now there is only one thing left to do…try a cup!