And the winner is…coffee!
There are Academy Awards and Golden Globes for movies and television shows and Grammy awards for music – why aren’t there awards for great coffee?
In fact, there are coffee awards and quite a few actually.
From innovative equipment that enhances the taste of coffee, to great tasting, roasted coffee beans, there are awards given out every year to products that change the game in the coffee industry.
Read on to learn more about what coffee awards are out there.
By Andrew.
Note: As always, things may change from year-to-year, so check out the official websites for the most up-to-date info.
Specialty Coffee Association (SCA): The Standard in the Coffee Industry
The Specialty Coffee Association, or SCA, is probably the best know coffee organization in the world.
Baristas and coffee producers alike drive the agenda of the SCA.
They support a global coffee community dedicated to making specialty coffee a flourishing industry.
SCA Awards Program Categories
The Specialty Coffee Expo Awards Program gives out awards annually to specialty coffee innovators in several categories:
- Coffee accessories
- Commercial coffee preparation and serving
- Consumer coffee preparation and serving (electrical equipment)
- Consumer coffee preparation and serving (non-electrical equipment)
- Open class (equipment that doesn’t fit in the other categories)
- Roasting equipment and tools
- Specialty coffee beverage additive
- Specialty non-coffee beverage standalone
World Coffee Events (WCE): World Championships
WCE is an organization that specializes in giving out awards in the specialty coffee industry.
They are registered in Dublin, Ireland.
They were founded in 2011 by the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe and the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
WCE has 7 world coffee championships:
- The world barista championship
- The world cup tasters championship
- The world latte art championship
- The world coffee in good spirits championship
- The world brewers cup
- World coffee roasters championship
- Cezve/Ibrik championship
Roaster of the Year Award by Roast Magazine: Fierce Competition Among the Best Roasters
Every year, Roast Magazine gives out an award for their pick of Roaster of the Year.
Three finalists are chosen from two categories.
The Micro category recognizes roasters that roast less than 100,000 pounds of coffee beans every year.
The Macro category recognizes roasters that roast more than 100,000 pounds of coffee beans every year.
Applicants need to send in three pounds of their roasted coffee.
There is fierce competition, with contestants from all over the world.
The Roaster of the Year award package includes:
- A full-length feature story in the November-December 2022 Issue of Roast Magazine.
- A cash prize
- A webpage on the Roast Magazine website for an entire year
- Coffees are judged on their aroma, color, imperfections, bean size, and a clean cup. They will be judged blindly by a professional coffee cupper.
The Sprudgie Awards: So Many Categories
Sprudge is an online publication, globally renowned for its original content about coffee culture.
By the way, the awards are called Sprudgies.
They publish interviews with restaurant owners and baristas, to name a couple conducted by an international team.
Sprudge gives out coffee awards called the Sprudgie Awards annually in the following categories:
- Notable roaster
- Best new café
- Best new product
- Best coffee film
- Best coffee writing
- Notable coffee producer
- Best coffee magazine/book
- Best design packaging
- Best coffee podcast
- Best social media
- Notable event
- Outstanding achievement
The Barcelona Coffee Awards: A Huge Event
The Barcelona Coffee Awards is an event that is a very special one for coffee shops, baristas, café owners, and roasters.
They can enter the contest and receive recognition for their greatness in the coffee industry.
The event is also great for all coffee lovers who want to taste different coffees.
It brings together 3000 people for 3 days of talks, coffee shows, latte art championships, and a wide-selection of cuisine and café quality coffee.
Awards are given out for each of the following categories
- Best brunch
- Best restaurant
- Best coffee shop
- Best non-coffee product
- Best cocktail bar
- Best bakery
- Best vegan
- Creative revelation/innovation
- Best coffee education
- Best barista
- Best social media
- Best roaster
- Best design/packing
- Top of mind
- Best service
- Zero waste latte art throwdown
Cup of Excellence: A Lifechanging Experience
The Cup of Excellence is a program that is educational and life-changing for coffee farmers.
It promotes competition among coffee farmers and has created advances in the coffee industry.
The best farmers around the globe are recognized with premiums they can then use to build relationships with buyers that enjoy their coffee.
The way the competition works is that coffee produced by coffee farmers go through blind cupping evaluations. These evaluations take place over a three-week period by top coffee industry experts.
Thousands of coffees enter the competition every year.
The winning coffees are sold at auction, with the majority of proceeds going to the coffee farmers.
The National Coffee Association (NCA): Awards to Individuals
The National Coffee Association is another member driven organization dedicated to the advancement of the coffee industry.
Their website offers many resources for coffee lovers, including member alerts, industry resources, and publications.
Unlike other coffee organizations, the NCA gives out awards to individuals who are pioneers in the coffee industry.
The following are the awards given out every year:
- • The National Coffee Association Luminary Award
• The National Coffee Association Distinguished Leadership Award
• The National Coffee Association Volunteer of the Year Award
Good Housekeeping: Best Coffee Awards
Good Housekeeping is a magazine that publishes articles all about how to maintain a happy and healthy house, including the topics of food and beauty.
In line with the food niche, Good Housekeeping’s Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovations Lab has launched an awards program for best coffee.
This awards program recognizes excellence in the following categories:
- Best coffee makers
- Best coffee grinders
- Best coffee accessories
- Best coffee drinkware
- Best Coffee
Good Housekeeping partners with industry experts to test and taste all submissions.
Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award: A Pioneer in the Coffee Industry Gives Out Award to Best Espresso Coffees
Ernesto Illy is a pioneer in the coffee industry. He expressed to coffee farmers in Brazil that there was a market out there that had the desire to obtain a higher quality product, and that would pay more for it.
This motivation spurred coffee farmers to obtain new equipment to produce such a product.
In 1991, Ernesto Illy wanted to recognize great coffee farmers.
This recognition evolved into an award program called the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, which was first given out in 2008.
This award celebrates the efforts of the company founder to work together with coffee farmers to produce a sustainable product.
Annually, an international jury of coffee experts from Illy picks out the nine best coffees from the most sustainable coffee farms.
These nine coffees are then made available in Illy stores for customers to taste.
The European Coffee Symposium Coffee Awards: 13 Years Running
The European Coffee Symposium is a well-known coffee event in Europe.
It has been happening every year for the past thirteen years.
The symposium offers speakers from experts in the coffee industry and opportunities for coffee company executives to make new contacts to enhance their product.
Yes, the symposium also has an awards program.
Every year the following awards are given out to the best contestants:
- Best coffee chain in Western Continental Europe
- Best coffee chain in the Nordic region
- Best coffee chain in Southern Europe
- Best coffee chain in the UK and IE
- Best coffee chain in Central/Eastern Europe
- Best coffee roaster in Europe
- Best specialty coffee roaster in Europe
- Best coffee equipment supplier in Europe
- Best independent coffee shop in Europe
- Best food supplier in Europe
- Best non-coffee supplier in Europe
- Most ethical brand in Europe
The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship: A Unique Competition That Mixes Coffee and Alcohol
Mixing coffee and alcohol can be a great combination.
The World of Coffee in Good Spirits Championship celebrates this combination with a competition among the best mixologists in the world.
From Irish coffee (which is whiskey and coffee mixed together) to other unique cocktail combinations, several different types of cocktails are made by the contestants in this competition.
There is first a preliminary round.
In this round, contestants make four drinks.
First, they must make two of the same hot coffee and alcohol-based drinks.
Six contestants are chosen from the preliminary round to advance to the final round.
For the final round, contestants must make two Irish coffees and two other coffee and alcohol-based drinks.
The contestant with the highest score in the final round is crowned the World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion.
I personally love mixing coffee and alcohol, so knowing about this competition is quite fun and interesting.
The Golden Bean: The World’s Biggest Coffee Roasting Contest
Yet another unique coffee competition is the Golden Bean.
This competition celebrates the best roasted coffee that is out there.
Contestants are required to submit a coffee in three categories: espresso, milk-based, and filter.
Entering the contest costs $150 per coffee entry.
After your entry has been received, Golden bean will send entry instructions, information about the conference, and directions on how to send in your coffee sample.
You can also attend the event as a non-competitor.
It costs $550 for the full event or $200 per day.
You will be fully entertained by meeting some of the most famous names in the coffee industry including the biggest coffee suppliers.
The winner of the event receives a Golden Bean trophy.
Conclusion
Great tasting coffee roasted and brewed in different ways and with different equipment from a to z deserves an award.
So do leaders in the coffee industry.
These award ceremonies promote fierce competition among contestants to progress the specialty coffee industry into something we can all enjoy.
