Mexico’s 2026 Cup of Excellence named three category winners at its July 28 auction, all Geisha lots scoring above 90 points and earning the competition’s Presidential Award. Huehuetepan led the Washed category at 91.22 points, El Izote topped Honey at 91.03, and Finca Santa Cruz took the Experimental category at 91.33, the highest score of the three. None of the three lots has a publicly confirmed buyer as of this writing.
Huehuetepan — Washed
Huehuetepan’s winning lot is a Washed Geisha, grown by producer María del Rosario Iraís Valdivia Ortiz. Washed processing removes the fruit from the bean before drying, producing the clean, bright cup the method is known for. Geisha is a variety originally from Ethiopia, prized in specialty coffee for its floral, jasmine like aroma and delicate body.
El Izote — Honey
El Izote’s entry is a Honey Geisha, grown by producer Katia de Jesus Loeza Merino. Honey processing leaves some of the fruit’s sugars, the mucilage, on the parchment during drying, splitting the difference between a washed coffee’s clarity and a natural’s fruit forward sweetness.
Finca Santa Cruz — Natural Experimental
Finca Santa Cruz’s lot is a Natural Experimental Geisha, grown by producer Cruz José Argüello Enriquez. The whole cherry dries on the bean under closely controlled fermentation conditions before milling, intensifying the fruit forward character a standard natural produces. The farm has its own history in the competition, having won Mexico’s 2019 Cup of Excellence outright with a natural Geisha that set a scoring record at the time.
None of the three lots has a confirmed buyer yet. This post will be updated with purchase links once the winning roasters list the coffee for sale.
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The Win
The Cup of Excellence began in 1999 and has been run by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence since 2002. It’s the specialty coffee world’s oldest farm lot competition: entries are blind cupped by a national jury and then an international panel before winning lots go to auction.
For more on the Cup of Excellence and past winners, visit our Cup of Excellence page.