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Are Coffee Competition Beans Always the Best? Questions About International Coffee Cupping Competitions and Scoring

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style). These are the editor's small doubts - if there are any errors, please be sure to tell us, thank you so much. 1. The limitations of the evaluation form. If comparing Costa Rica with Yemen for balance and cleanliness, Costa Rica would definitely score higher. Therefore, this form system cannot accommodate certain unique flavor characteristics...

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Cafe_Style (WeChat official account).

These are some of my humble doubts. If there are any errors, please be sure to let us know. Thank you so much.

1. Limitations of the Scoring Sheet

If Costa Rica and Yemen were evaluated for balance and cleanliness, Costa Rica would definitely receive a higher score. Therefore, this scoring system cannot allow beans with special flavor profiles to stand out in competitions.

2. Inconsistency Among Judges

@ Each judge from different countries has different taste preferences.
@ Some judges give very high scores while others are very strict.
Are the highest and lowest scores removed to take the median? It seems not.
@ How are these judges selected? Are they confirmed half a year in advance, or are they randomly sampled a few days before the competition?

3. Time Differences During Evaluation

During cupping, the same pot of water might be used from the first cup to the last cup, which will definitely cause temperature differences. Each judge might experience palate fatigue from tasting too many coffees. These are top-tier competition beans where small differences matter greatly.

4. Scoring Blind Spots

Processing stations A and B may have been taught by different mentors. Each judge might be their student or may be a judge themselves. If more judges from processing station A are present in the competition, these judges might consistently agree that coffee from processing station A is the best. Of course, this reflects popular preference.

5. The Self-Interest of Coffee Merchants

Many coffee merchants privately cultivate many judges. When they cup coffees they find excellent, they might give them low scores to prevent them from achieving good rankings, and then purchase the coffee beans privately from the estates?

Have you ever wondered why Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda no longer participates in the Cup of Excellence (C.O.E) international coffee cupping competition? Why do some award-winning estates never appear again?

P.S. The above are just my personal humble opinions. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to share them.

A Scientific Perspective on Cupping

From a social science perspective, I also have many confusions about cupping.

First, "2. Inconsistency Among Judges" is a measurement reliability issue in scientific research. High reliability represents high consistency between raters' scores. The higher the consistency, the more reliable the scores. Reliability cannot be calculated by simple addition or averaging. A reliable cupping means that regardless of who or when the testing occurs, the results will be very consistent. Therefore, this problem needs to be addressed through appropriate statistical calculations of cupping reliability.

Second, "3. Time Differences During Evaluation" is an internal validity issue in scientific research. High internal validity means that high scores truly reflect the actual flavor of the coffee. Ideal cupping requires maintaining constant conditions. In psychological research, special attention is paid to control methods, such as providing two cupping sequences: ABCD (tasting from A to D) and DCBA (tasting from D to A). This way, fairness is balanced so no one is at a disadvantage.

Third, the problem of "4. Scoring Blind Spots" can also be addressed through the aforementioned methods.

Coffee cupping may seem very subjective on the surface, but it can also be handled scientifically. If the moderator is interested in this issue, we can discuss it further. I personally engage in social science research and also drink my own roasted coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse varieties of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com