A Java-variety coffee grown in the Los Santos region claimed the top spot among washed coffees in Costa Rica’s Taza de la Excelencia (Cup of Excellence) 2026, our country’s most prestigious specialty-coffee competition, as an international jury revealed this year’s standout lots at an awards ceremony.
The winning washed coffee scored 91.36 points. It was produced by Alejandra Cordero Solano at Finca Río Blanco in the Los Santos region and processed at the Café Solís & Cordero mill, according to the Asociación de Cafés Finos de Costa Rica.
The Los Santos region, a high-altitude growing area south of the Central Valley long regarded as one of our country’s premier coffee zones, also produced the winners in the other two categories. In the Honey and Natural division, a Geisha-variety coffee from Finca Las Nubes, produced by Alex Ureña Marín and processed at the Roger Ureña Hidalgo mill, took first place with 91.06 points. In the Experimental Fermentations category, producer Emmanuel Solís Porras won with a Geisha coffee that also scored 91.06.
The competition divided this year’s field into three categories — Washed, Honey and Natural, and Experimental Fermentations — reflecting the different processing methods producers use to shape a coffee’s flavor. Of the 30 lots entered, 10 scored above 90 points, earning the distinction known as the Premios Presidenciales, or Presidential Awards.
This year’s jury brought together judges from seven countries: the United States, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China, Estonia and the United Kingdom. The panel evaluated coffees from the 2025–2026 harvest through multiple rounds of blind tasting, the rigorous scoring process that defines the Cup of Excellence worldwide.
In Costa Rica, the competition is organized by the Asociación de Cafés Finos de Costa Rica, the local representative of the U.S.-based nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, which runs the Cup of Excellence program across coffee-producing nations. The program is designed to identify exceptional lots and connect the producers behind them with high-value buyers in Asia, Europe and North America.
The winning coffees now head to an international online auction scheduled for July 9, where roasters and buyers around the world bid on the lots. Auction prices for Cup of Excellence winners have repeatedly set records, channeling premium returns directly to the farming families who produced them.
For those who live for great cup of coffee, the results are a fresh reminder of why Costa Rican coffee carries the reputation it does — and a useful map of where to look for it. The Los Santos region, which swept all three categories this year, sits within easy reach of San José and remains one of the most rewarding destinations in the country for coffee tourism and farm visits.
