Elite Cup
The Elite Cup began as a personal endeavor in 1999, specifically in Brazil. Now, after twenty years of establishment and development, the Elite Cup competition is present in 13 coffee-producing countries, with thousands of farmers participating annually, dreaming of being crowned with the title of "Elite Cup." Since the competition's inception and the official establishment of the Coffee Quality Association in 2002, the primary motivation behind the competition has been to enhance coffee farmers' income and increase transparency.
Contest details:
The competition organizers make it easy for every farmer to participate, as all that is required is:
It is to deliver a sample of the crop at no cost, so that there is no room for manipulation,
Each green coffee sample submitted to the contest is given a number so that no one knows the details of that sample.
During the competition, only third-party auditors are responsible for the credibility.
The first stage:
At this stage, all submitted samples are tested (as a puncture) by a local committee. This committee evaluates the coffee out of 100, and coffees that score 86 or higher move on to the next stage, provided that the total number of coffees in the second stage does not exceed 150.
The second stage:
Until the coffee comes in To participate in this stage, the entire crop must be delivered to the Coffee Quality Association and kept in special warehouses managed by a third-party auditor. New samples are taken from the crop transferred to the warehouses.
All coffees are then evaluated by a local committee again, and coffees scoring 86 or more advance to the third stage, with a maximum of 90 coffees.
Stage 3:
The coffees are again evaluated by the local committee, and coffees scoring 86 or higher advance to the fourth stage, with a maximum of 40 coffees.
Stage Four:
Here comes an international panel of tasting experts to evaluate the remaining 40 samples and select a maximum of 30 coffees that will move on to the next stage.
Stage five:
The coffees are tested again to ensure their quality, and coffees scoring 87 or above are awarded the "Elite Cup" designation and are advanced to the online auction. Details of these coffees are also collected so they can be shared with the auction participants and remain on the Federation's website for reference.
Stage 6:
In the final stage, the ten highest-scoring coffees from the previous stage are evaluated one last time to determine the top ten.
Post-competition:
After the competition concludes, the final stage of processing and sorting of the winning crops is completed. They are then packed into 15-kilogram vacuum-sealed bags, and samples are sent to those wishing to participate in the online auction.