COE

COE is a competition model for specialty coffee, standing for Cup of Excellence. It is a specialty coffee competition system jointly used by ten major coffee-producing countries around the world. The judging panel is composed of international cuppers, and coffee farmers must participate in at least five cupping rounds during the three-week competition period. The top ten winning coffees will then go through an additional final round. For coffee farmers whose coffees are selected as COE winners, apart from gaining widespread recognition for the exceptional quality of their coffee, the greatest benefit is the substantial auction proceeds they receive. These strong auction returns provide coffee farmers with greater opportunities to improve quality and offer consumers more chances to enjoy high-quality coffee, creating a virtuous cycle.

COE Scoring Categories

Aroma – This is the first evaluation item at the beginning of cupping, with a total of three aroma assessment stages. The first stage is the dry aroma, which is the smell of the dry grounds when the cup is first picked up. The second is the wet aroma, which is the smell of the surface after water is poured in. The third aroma is the break aroma, which is sniffed while breaking the crust. Aroma is an appealing element of coffee, and coffee aromas are diverse, including floral, berry, caramel, nutty, chocolate, spicy, and more.

The aroma section on the COE cupping form is for reference only and does not count toward the total score, but aroma is included in the scoring under the Flavor category.

Clean Cup

Cleanliness is a very important and essential criterion for specialty coffee. What is meant by clean is the complete absence of defective or tainted flavors (complete freedom from taints or faults). Coffee with unpleasant tastes and tactile sensations such as spoilage, earthiness, medicinal or iodine-like notes, fermenty acidity, rubberiness, oniony flavors, or astringency all indicate a lack of cleanliness.

Sweetness

Sweetness not only indicates that the coffee cherries were harvested at their optimal ripeness, without any unripe beans mixed in, but also reflects the excellence of the coffee's quality. Only by processing freshly ripe coffee cherries into green beans can better sweetness be achieved. There are many types of sweetness, such as sugarcane sweetness, caramel sweetness, etc., which can be noted during evaluation. If the sweetness is accompanied by astringency or dissipates quickly in the mouth, the sweetness score will not exceed 6 points.

Acidity

Good acidity should not taste like vinegar. Even if it is bright and vibrant, it can still exhibit a variety of acids such as citrus, berries, or sweet lemon. There are also desirable acids like the melon-like sweetness of cantaloupe or the crisp acidity of just-ripe apples. All of these are considered high-quality acids. Undesirable acids are like those from unripe fruit or acetic acid. Some poor acids resemble overripe fruit or spoilage, where fermenty or rotten fruit acids can be detected.

Mouthfeel

The mouthfeel category does not evaluate taste; it refers to the physical sensations and textures perceived in the mouth, such as oiliness, viscosity, and body. For example, milk has a much higher tactile sensation than water, and thick soup has far greater consistency and mouthfeel compared to clear soup.

Flavor

The slurped flavor includes various tastes and aromas, even the scents perceived in the nasal cavity and the mouthfeel. During COE cuppings, because eight samples are often evaluated at once, the Aroma category cannot be assessed in real time. Therefore, the initial aroma is simply marked as pleasant or unpleasant. But when it comes to the slurped flavor, cuppers can include the perceived aromas in their evaluation, covering all the tastes tasted or smelled. It can be said that slurped flavor is an extremely important evaluation category and serves as a key basis for describing the characteristics of the cupped coffee sample.

Aftertaste

The various tastes, aromas, or tactile sensations that linger in the mouth after slurping. Good flavors linger longer—for example, if the sweetness remains clearly in the mouth or even spreads after the coffee is spat out, the score will be higher. Conversely, if there is no aftertaste or it is short-lived, the score will be lower.

Balance

This refers to whether the various evaluation categories of the coffee are balanced. For example, is the acidity bright but still transitions into sweetness? Is the mouthfeel viscous but not astringent? Are the various flavors of the coffee harmonious?

Overall

Is the coffee overall excellent and appealing to you? Or is it average, or do you simply not like it? This category is the cupper’s overall assessment and can also reflect their personal preferences.

The meaning of the total score and individual scores after cupping, as well as the standards represented by each category score:

1) The COE score sheet has eight evaluation categories, each with a maximum score of 8 and a minimum of 0. With a weighted total of 36 points, the overall score is out of 100.

2) A score of 6 represents meeting the COE competition-level standard, indicating good quality (fine). If completely unacceptable, 0 is given (unacceptable). If the quality is ordinary, 4 is given (poor). If it is very excellent or even perfect, 8 is given (great).

What are the COE standards?

A total score of 69 or below is classified as subpar commercial beans or industrial-use beans.

A total score between 70 and 74 is considered average commercial beans.

A total score between 75 and 79 is considered higher-grade commercial beans, generally referred to as premium commercial beans.

A total score between 80 and 84 is classified as specialty coffee.

A total score of 85 or above is considered COE competition-level, also known as the winning coffee of the Cup of Excellence, currently recognized as the highest level in the international coffee industry.

In COE scoring, dry and wet aromas are no longer included in the total score, and the scoring for cleanliness is stricter. Storage-related aged bean flavors can affect the cleanliness score. Sweetness also creates a greater difference in scores, as COE believes that high sweetness indicates excellent altitude, cultivation, harvesting, and processing. High sweetness should be rewarded. Mouthfeel replaces body, and in addition to evaluating body, it also assesses smoothness and astringency. Flavor evaluation can refer to the new flavor wheel for more accurate assessment.