Cup of Excellence raises $40 million at Brazil Late Harvest auction

The Cup of Excellence attracted over US$40 million in its 90th auction, Brazil Late Harvest 2014, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE)announced on 31 March. The Cup of Excellence program began in 1999, and is aimed at rewarding farmers for exemplary quality coffees. ACE said that the impact of Cup of Excellence is multiple times larger than the actual auction proceeds once the increased premiums for additional coffees from the winning farms, micro regions and increased overall quality is factored in.  Approximately 83 per cent of total auction proceeds go directly to farmers and 17 per cent go to country organisers to offset the cost of the competition. “The impact from the Cup of Excellence program has been huge,” explained Susie Spindler, Executive Director of ACE and Co-Founder of Cup of Excellence, in a statement. “Not only does the program raise the level of quality and information available to the roasters from individual farms, but it has created a structure of transparency that was unknown in the industry prior to the auctions.”  Cup of Excellence will hold 10 more competitions in 10 countries throughout 2014, ending the year with its 100th competition in Brazil, coincidently home of the first Cup of Excellence competition. Remaining Cup of Excellence programs for 2014 will be held in:
• Nicaragua
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Costa Rica
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• Rwanda
• Burundi
• Colombia
• Brazil (Early Harvest)