I was drinking a “Cup of Excellence” today and started to think….”What the hell does a cup of excellence actually mean?” Sure I have heard it mentioned before, but never really took the time to think what it was all about.
Apparently the “Cup of Excellence” is a trademark owned by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence Inc. (ACE), a US-based non-profit organization, that strives to enhance the understanding and appreciation of exemplary coffee. This annual 3 week competition evaluates thousands of coffees, and then once the winners are chosen, auction them off via the Internet. Essentially it is the Oscars of the coffee world. Coffees from all over the world are able to apply for free to be judged by their peers in an attempt to gain a higher than usual price for their coffee.
During the competition the judging panels use specific qualities of roast colour, aroma, defects, amongst other key features. Having done a cupping a while back, you really should be in awe of the palate of the judging panel, as tasting this much coffee, in this short a period, and being able to distinguish it clearly is remarkable.
So in general, if something is stated to be a cup of excellence, it should indeed be “excellent”, however at the end of the day, it still all comes down to the roasters, the cafe you use and the person who makes your coffee. While making great coffee can be a challenge at te best of times, at least starting with the absolute best coffee available has to make the process at least a little bit easier.
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