Following a hiatus year, the Ethiopia Cup of Excellence coffee competition resulted in a record-high auction price for any country, with the top lot selling for $445 per pound.
The winning coffee, a natural-process coffee grown by Basha Bekele Botusha in the East Sidama Bensa woreda, was split into two small lots for the auction, with Los Angeles-based roasting company Angelino’s Coffee shelling out $445 per pound for 198 pounds and Taiwan’s Orsir International offering $350.10 per pound for 231 pounds.
The $445 offer was the highest in the 25-year history of the Cup of Excellence program for any country, eclipsing a $400.50 pound bid in 2022 from the previous Ethiopia competition.
The 2024 purchase also continues a remarkable buying streak for Angelino’s Coffee, the high-end roasting company founded by Kirk Bedrossian in 2002. Angelino’s has purchased the top microlot in all eight of the completed Cup of Excellence auctions this year, offering more than $241,000 in the process.
“We’re absolutely ecstatic to break a record with Ethiopia,” Bedrossian said in an announcement shared by Cup of Excellence organizer the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. “This milestone is a celebration of the extraordinary craftsmanship of the farmers and the incredible work of the Cup of Excellence team. To be part of this historic moment is beyond thrilling. We can’t wait to share these exceptional coffees and honor their amazing journey!”
The 2024 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence resulted in an average weighted price of more than $29 per pound for the 29 winning lots.
The Ethiopia auction was preceded by the Thailand Cup of Excellence auction, with Angelino’s also buying half of the top lot — a honey-process coffee from the De Hmong Bio farm — and two Japanese roasting companies buying the other half.
Find complete Cup of Excellence auction results and upcoming auction information here.
[Note: This story has been updated. The original version included a typo saying that Angelino’s Coffee was founded in 2022. The company was founded in 2002.]
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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