Nicaragua’s top microlots advance to Cup of Excellence auction

Twenty-nine coffees from 160 submitted lots moved into the Cup of Excellence Nicaragua auction stage, and the sharpest signal from the results was not just volume but range: the winners were split between washed and natural-and-honey coffees, with Geisha showing up at the top in both process tracks.

Abner Samuel Zavala’s washed Geisha from El Cambalache farm led the washed category at 91.44. The top natural-and-honey coffee was a natural Geisha from Inversiones Valladarez Acevedo S.A. at Los Alpes farm, which scored 92.00. Both coffees came from Dipilto in Nueva Segovia, a familiar name in Nicaragua’s specialty map that keeps proving it can still produce microlots capable of separating themselves at the highest level.

Cup of Excellence has always been more than a trophy list. The Alliance for Coffee Excellence says the winning coffees are the top lots scoring above 87 and that each is cupped at least five times by an international jury before advancing. Coffees scoring 90 and above receive the Presidential Award, a marker that puts the two Geisha lots from Dipilto in especially rare company. The auction model is built to connect farmers directly with specialty buyers, and the organization says most auction proceeds go back to producers.

That direct-link structure matters because it turns the competition into a price-setting moment as much as a quality showcase. Cup of Excellence began in 1999, and over time its country auctions have produced record prices well above US$180 per pound. Nicaragua has already used that platform to lift its profile: Global Coffee Report said the country’s 2024 auction averaged US$12.75 per pound, with the top lot reaching US$47.50, while the 2020 auction set a then-record average of US$12.08 per pound.

The Nicaragua sale is set for June 25, with sample sets offered in 150-gram portions, giving roasters and importers their first close look at the lots before bidding opens. For buyers tracking Central America’s highest-end coffees, the 2026 results point to a country still strongest when careful processing and prized varieties meet the right farms in the right valleys.

The headline numbers, 29 out of 160 and two Geishas over 91 points from Dipilto, are the kind that can turn a national competition into a reference point. The real test now is whether those scores translate into the kind of auction momentum that keeps Nicaragua on the short list when specialty buyers start chasing the next standout lot.