Cup of Excellence History in Bolivia

Bolivia Cup of Excellence

The ground-breaking, first Cup of Excellence competition in Bolivia was held in 2004 with another following in 2005. Both were very small competitions in terms of participation.

The competition here was cancelled in 2006 for political reasons.

A successful comeback in 2007 led to a record number of farmer entries in 2008 – nearly 300 samples were entered (any farmer, large or small, free to enter one sample of coffee per farm).

The samples entered must be associated with a “lot” of coffee – usually between 15 to 50 bags of 60kg. These will ultimately be sold on an internet auction should the coffee win a Cup of Excellence award, with proceeds from the sale going back to the farmer.

There were 26 winning farmers in 2007, with most lots selling for over $5/lb of coffee (as a guide, Fairtrade price is $1.35/lb including social premium). The majority were small-holder farmers who are members of cooperatives in their local area.

The Cup of Excellence helps not only to raise the overall quality of Bolivian coffee but also raise the profile of Bolivian coffee in the marketplace. The proven knock-on effects of raising profile and increasing quality are higher prices for farmers who focus on producing a better product. Award winning farmers often find long term relationships with roasters as a result.