El Salvador Cup of Excellence Coffee

Our El Salvador Cup of Excellence Coffee is roasted and down in the cafe for sale by the bag!

This coffee was produced on two beautiful farms owned by Juan Carlos Gregg Meza and located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range of El Salvador. It won a prize at the 2009 El Salvador Cup of Excellence.

Juan Carlos is a fo urth generation coffee producer and the San Jose Farm runs in his family. Its 3.5 Ha is cultivated with passion and for the most part with the heirloom Bourbon variety to which the distinct characteristics in the cup are attributed.

Both farms are small in size but great in ecological value. The Shangrila Farm is 100% cultivated with the Bourbon variety use makes use of minimal agrochemicals. This farm also serves as a natural shelter for native fauna such as armadillos, deer, raccoons, and other small mammals.

The name of this farm is also significant as “Shangri-La” refers to a mystical valley in Jimmy Hilton’s book “Lost Horizon”, and has become synonymous with paradise- an apt description for this farm!

What is the Cup of Excellence award?

Comparable to the Double Gold Veritas Award of wine, the Cup of Excellence (CoE) is the most sought-after award in the global coffee community. Ten years ago the first ground-breaking jury of 14 international cuppers started Cup of Excellence in Brazil. CoE is now held in nine countries across the globe – Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala – and for the first time in Africa in 2008- Rwanda. Specially selected national and international jurors engage in an intensive process to rank the best of that year’s coffees. Only a few exceptional lots from a country receive the prestigious Cup of Excellence award. These coffees are auctioned live online to the highest bidders from around the world.

Why Is This Coffee So Special?

Coffees of this quality are very rare, and they are exceptionally hard to produce and to find. The trees and soil are nourished, every cherry is perfectly ripe when it is picked, and the processing is meticulous. The lots submitted for judging are the ultimate expression of terroir and of the growers putting their hearts into showing off the best that they can cultivate. These coffees are unique and drinking them is a privilege that will be enjoyed by few people.

COE doesn’t only recognize the excellence of the coffee – it also honours the smallholder farmers that grew it. Farmers of winning coffees receive their awards in a national ceremony. They can expect increased opportunities from roasters looking for quality coffee the majority of the profits made from the auction of the coffee goes straight to the farmers themselves. Compensating the farmer well, often means changing the lives of the their entire family and the rural communities where they live. The goal of the entire Cup of Excellence program is to provide incentives for the growers by creating market demand and premium prices for great coffee.

Origin’s Commitment To Coffee Excellence

Origin is the only roaster in South Africa to roast CoE coffees. We have roasted CoE coffees from Bolivia, Guatemala, Rwanda and now from El Salvador. Origin Coffee Roasting reaffirms its commitment to the growers, to African excellence, and to serving the world’s best coffee in Cape Town.