Daily Coffee News Staff | December 31, 2025
The nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) released a preliminary schedule for its flagship Cup of Excellence (CoE) green coffee competition and auction program, featuring 11 coffee-producing countries in 2026.
Now in its third decade, the CoE program is designed to create market connections between coffee producers and buyers through a multi-round competition process culminating in online auctions of t…
Daily Coffee News Staff | December 31, 2025
The nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) released a preliminary schedule for its flagship Cup of Excellence (CoE) green coffee competition and auction program, featuring 11 coffee-producing countries in 2026.
Now in its third decade, the CoE program is designed to create market connections between coffee producers and buyers through a multi-round competition process culminating in online auctions of top-ranked microlots.
According to the newly posted calendar, the 2026 auction slate is heavily concentrated in late June and July, beginning with Nicaragua (June 25), followed by El Salvador (July 2), Costa Rica (July 9), Honduras (July 16), Guatemala (July 23), Mexico (July 28) and Thailand (July 30). Auction dates for the Taiwan, Peru and Brazil CoE are listed as “TBD” while the Indonesia auction is set for Nov. 26.
As was the case in 2025, the 2026 schedule does not include Colombia, Ethiopia or Ecuador, all of which have been notable recent or historical participants in CoE. Colombia participated from 2005 to 2023, Ethiopia ran between 2020 and 2024 and Ecuador’s last CoE appearance was 2023.
ACE has opened 2026 auction and sample registration through its online store, where pricing varies by competition type. For example, CoE sample set packages are listed at $395 for ACE members and $850 for non-members, while “auction only” registration is listed at $25 for members and $250 for non-members.
The new schedule follows multiple operational changes for ACE and CoE. In March 2025, the organizations announced a partnership with V-Auction, part of the Vollers Group, as their official auction platform. In June 2024, ACE announced a formal partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association to adopt the group’s Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) protocols.
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Tags: Alliance for Coffee Excellence, auctions, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cup of Excellence, El Salvador, green coffee, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, microlots, Nicaragua, Peru, Thailand, V-Auction, Vollers Group