Honduras Marks its 20th Cup of Excellence®
Honduras, (June 3,2024) Celebrating the 20th Cup of Excellence competition was a chance to reflect on the amazing strides that Honduras farmers have made in developing their high-quality coffees. Well over 3,000 producers have competed since its inception. 508 lots have won a Cup of Excellence and been sold at the online auction for a value exceeding 7.8 million dollars. The much anticipated online auction for the recent 29 winning lots will be held July 11, 2024.
Several producers have gained international fame after winning. Marysabel Caballero, Oscar Tinoco, Oscar Ramírez, and the current champion Benjamín Paz are held in high esteem among buyers. Some have now passed this legacy on to their children.
In 2017 winning producer Oscar Daniel Ramírez, represented the community of Las Delicias in Danlí, El Paraíso (eastern zone of Honduras). This attracted the attention of the President of the Republic who then brought electricity to the entire community.
“Entire communities are often affected by a resident farmer that wins and in each competition there are discoveries of really great, mostly unknown farmers. Six farmers were rewarded this year that had never entered the competition,” indicated Erwin Mierisch, Executive Director of the Cup of Excellence® program.
Joaquina Montoya Alvarado of Intibucá agrees, “This is for my children and my community, I have worked hard during the past years and winning the 3rd place is an honour and a lesson for my kids that reward is possible if they work hard.”
The Department of Santa Bárbara, with the villages of El Cedral, Las Flores, and El Cielito, has reached first place in 10 of the 20 competitions, attracting global buyers to the region. 2024 is no exception with the entire village of El Cedral coming together in grand celebration of the 22 wins along with first place.
Honduras officials are at the forefront of developing quality technical education. The 1st ‘Women and Youth Leadership Forum’ was held in conjunction with the competition. ‘Renovate Without Stopping Production’, led by Instituto Hondureño del Café which aims to improve ageing farms was instrumental” explained Nestor Meneses IHCAFE’s CoE Coordinator. “This program supports producer’s efforts to maintain quality and consistency in processing. But it is the life stories, the resilience, and the stoicism when farmers face difficulties that always stand out. Several producers have had to overcome huge health or economic challenges, sometimes temporarily leaving the country to support their families,” he continued.
For samples, regional cuppings and auction information log on to www.
About Cup of Excellence and The Alliance For Coffee Excellence
The Cup of Excellence is a 501c3 non- profit organization that owns and manages an annual multi- level competition in coffee producing countries. Since 1999 it has discovered remarkable coffees, unknown micro regions and brought international fame to individual farmers. It has advanced hand-crafted single farm specialty coffees and assured transparency back to the farmers. Its educational programs, focusing on the aspects of top-quality coffees, have been taught world-wide. Over its 25-year history it has held competitions in 16 coffee producing nations.
The Alliance For Coffee Excellence is a non-profit global membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in coffee through the marketplace. With members and supporters from over 50 countries it is unmatched in its efforts to bring roaster access to top quality winning coffees though its auctions and to ensure farmers receive these premiums. Its largest impact has been a unique design that builds a bridge between high quality buyers and high quality
farmers resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for farmers and greater financial success for roasters whose customers demand the best.
