Global Coffee Awards open applications to celebrate roasting excellence
Specialty coffee roasters of all sizes in the US, Canada, Europe, and coffee-producing countries can now compete in the Global Coffee Awards.
The GCA is a prestigious competition that addresses a gap in the coffee industry, recognising the world’s best roasteries and the producers who grow their coffees. Unlike other coffee championships, the GCA rewards the overall brand rather than an individual roaster, allowing companies to strengthen their brand identity.
Specialty coffee roasters can submit bags of their top coffees across defined categories for blind judging by a panel of experts. Regional winners will then proceed to the global finals, which will be held at Producer & Roaster Forum El Salvador in March 2026, where the world champion will be announced.
Applications are now open. Read on to learn more about the GCA, competitor requirements, and how you can apply to submit your coffees.
Learn more about GCA here.
What are the Global Coffee Awards?
From small independents to regional and national brands, the Global Coffee Awards invites roasters in the US, Canada, Europe, and coffee-producing countries to submit bags of their most exceptional coffees across a range of categories.
“This is a truly global coffee competition,” says Henry Wilson, the founder of GCA. “We’re looking for roasters that take exceptional pride in the quality of their coffee offerings to go head-to-head with the best of the best.”
For the first round, there will be three regional competitions:
- US & Canada: 29 & 30 September 2025 in Houston, Texas, hosted at Copan Trade
- Origin category (any roaster based in a coffee-producing country): 1 October 2025 in Houston, Texas, hosted at Copan Trade
- Europe: 28 & 29 October 2025 in Bordeaux, France, hosted at Belco
A panel of qualified experts will judge all coffees blind. The panel will include coffee professionals with experience in the Cup of Excellence and Best of Panama competitions. The judges will use a scoring system that is objective and transparent, designed to provide actionable feedback for every entrant.
International expert judges will taste the coffees and select winners across each region for every category, awarding Gold, Silver, and Bronze honours.
All Gold regional winners will then advance to compete at the global finals, which will be held at PRF El Salvador in March 2026, where producers who have grown their coffees will join them. The overall champion will be crowned during the GCA awards ceremony on the evening of the first day of PRF El Salvador, earning the title of world’s best roaster. There will also be a VIP dinner on the same evening.
Awarding excellence in specialty coffee
“The Global Coffee Awards is the opportunity to increase demand for high-quality coffee and enhance transparency between roaster and producer, where the end consumer ultimately benefits,” says William Dunaway, a trader at Copan Trade, a green coffee importer in the US and a GCA sponsor.
“What excites me the most is being able to connect with people who go the extra mile to deliver great coffee, a compelling story, and transparency,” he adds.
Through its regional competition format, the GCA is designed to find not only the best roasters in the US & Canada, Europe, and coffee-producing countries, but also to place the winners to compete against each other – culminating in a global champion.
“This unique format levels the competition playing field, especially with the Origin category,” Henry says. “Roasters in producing countries have an opportunity to go head-to-head with their peers in the US, Canada, and Europe, and win the title of world’s best.”
For future editions, the GCA will expand to include GCC countries and other continents, broadening the reach of the competition.
Why take part in the GCA?
By submitting bags of their coffee, roasters will join a global network of innovative, forward-thinking industry peers that are helping elevate quality standards, providing worldwide visibility and recognition for their brand.
The Gold winners are officially recognised as the best in their category and region, and will have the opportunity to compete to be the global champion. This enhances brand credibility and validates roasting skills and expertise.
Gold Category Winners will receive trophies, and all other winners will receive official certificates. All winning roasters will also be included in an internationally distributed digital catalogue, offering global brand exposure.
Every roaster receives judging feedback designed to help improve roast profiles and future GCA submissions. Experienced judges will deliver curated, highly informed feedback that roasters can apply to their business operations, including roast profile development.
Participating roasters will also receive digital and physical Gold, Silver, and Bronze Global Coffee Awards seals. These are distinctive marks of excellence that they can display on their packaging, marketing materials, websites, social media channels, and menus. This adds credibility and visibility, demonstrating to customers and wholesale clients that GCA competitors are leading global brands.
The GCA team will reverse-engineer the winning coffees to establish the producers responsible for growing them. This means that when a roaster submits a bag of coffee, they automatically enter the producer who grew the coffee into the competition.
The team will then send complimentary invitations to the winning producers to attend the global finals and awards ceremony. This recognises producers alongside roasters and creates real opportunities for face-to-face connection and relationship building.
Winning producers will also receive a GCA seal and certificate of excellence, acknowledging their crucial role in the industry.
How will the GCA work?
Roasters can submit bags of their coffee into four main categories and several subcategories:
- Filter (roasted specifically for manual or automated pour over brewing)
- Natural
- Washed
- Honey
- Experimental processing method
- Blend
- Single origin
- Robusta
- Decaf
- Espresso (roasted specifically for espresso to be served without milk)
- Blend
- Single origin
- Decaf
- Flat White – Dairy (roasted specifically for espresso to be served with dairy as a flat white)
- Single origin
- Blend
- Flat White – Alternative (roasted specifically for espresso to be served with a plant milk as a flat white)
- Single origin
- Blend
“All categories and subcategories have been carefully curated in line with feedback from some of the world’s best roasters, reflecting core offerings as well as trending coffees,” Henry says. “We wanted to create a competition that encapsulates all the coffees available on the market, from mainstream to niche, so that all roasters feel represented and can take part.”
The coffees will be sent to carefully selected specialty green importer partners in the respective regions, including Copan Trade for the US, Canada, and producing countries, and Belco for Europe.
The GCA’s judging system was created in partnership with certified Q graders and CoE cuppers. Before the main evaluation, all entries undergo a cupping round, which follows the SCA 100-point protocol. The top 20% of coffees, or up to 100 per subcategory, will advance to the final judging stage.
For the Filter and Espresso categories, this includes scores between 5.00 and 10.00 for nine criteria:
- Aroma
- Flavour
- Aftertaste
- Acidity
- Body
- Balance
- Defects
- Sweetness
- Overall
For both Flat White categories, this includes scores between 5.00 and 10.00 for five criteria:
- Sweetness
- Balance
- Coffee presence
- Mouthfeel
- Overall
Judging at the GCA
The panel includes several judges with distinct responsibilities:
- One lead judge: Oversees calibration, ensures all judges follow protocols and standards, and leads the evaluation process
- Four certified Q-grader sensory judges: Responsible for scoring and sensory evaluation
- Eight shadow judges: Responsible for preparing the samples according to formal recipes and protocols, and supporting decision-making in tie-breaking situations
The final number of judges per competition will depend on the number of submissions, and it will be disclosed closer to the event date.
“My decision to support and take part in the GCA is based on the passion I have for coffee evaluation, especially roasted coffee,” says Jayson Galvis, a former Coffee Quality Institute instructor and COE judge, as well as the Lead Judge for the Origin and US & Canada competitions at the GCA. “My first experience, both personal and professional, was focused on assessing roasted coffee as a finished product.
“I also deeply value the purpose of this event, which seeks to recognise coffee brands and producers who are gaining relevance in the market, both in how they sell coffee and elevate quality standards.”
All judges begin with a mandatory calibration session and continue calibrating throughout the competition to maintain consistency and accuracy.
Participating in shadow judging at the GCA offers coffee professionals the opportunity to learn firsthand about cupping and coffee tasting protocols and engage with some of the most experienced cuppers in the industry. To be considered for this judging position, fill out this form.
The Global Finals
All regional Gold winners will advance to the global finals, which will be held at PRF El Salvador in March 2026, where they will compete for international recognition.
“I have a deep connection with this kind of initiative, one that seeks to highlight and give relevance to the craft of roasting and the commercial efforts of many companies focused on high-quality coffee and niche markets,” Jayson says. “Many of these roasteries are located in small neighbourhoods, in modest urban areas, or even in rural regions of producing countries, where coffee shops sit right next to the farms.
“The chance to evaluate these types of coffees is a big challenge, but the goal is clear: to support the community, especially roasters and producers who focus on high-quality coffee.”
Once winning coffees are confirmed, the GCA team will send a personalised invitation to the producers, cooperatives, or associations that grew them to attend the awards ceremony. This allows winning producers to visit farms, meet roasters and green coffee buyers, and learn from like-minded farmers.
Who can apply?
All GCA participants must be commercially registered roasters and legally registered companies.
The competition will celebrate roasters of all sizes, from small-batch micro roasters to expanding independent, regional, and national brands:
- Micro roasters – Smaller roasters, often with a single location, that focus on high-quality lots and direct trade relationships with producers
- Independents – Established roasters with multiple locations and an expanding presence in cafés and wholesale markets
- Regional – Larger specialty coffee roasters with broad distribution across multiple channels, including cafés, wholesale, and retail
- National & international – Large-scale coffee companies with vertically integrated models and expansive customer base across national and international markets
Participation enables roasters of any size to connect and affiliate themselves with prominent, influential international brands. This opens up opportunities to build networks, expand into new markets, and leverage the expertise of well-established companies.
The GCA team will also host the What are the Global Coffee Awards? Everything You Need to Know webinar on 30 July at 8:00 AM PST/11:00 AM EST/4:00 PM GMT to explain more about how the competition works and how roasters can apply. There will also be a Spanish webinar.
How can I apply?
To compete in the GCA, roasters must first choose their entry package. Applicants must select the categories and subcategories in which they wish to compete, as well as the number of coffees they want to submit. Roasters must submit at least one bag of coffee.
To be eligible for the title of overall regional champion, a roastery must compete in at least three different categories within their respective region. Roasters can compete in all categories and subcategories, and can submit up to five bags of coffee per subcategory.
As points for regional winners are allocated based on the number of category points awarded, the more categories you participate in, the higher your chances of winning.
All coffees submitted for the Global Coffee Awards must be received by:
- US & Canada and Origin categories: 26 September 2025
- Europe: 26 October 2025
To reserve their spot in the competition, roasters must pay entry fees in advance. There will be a standard entry fee per company submission, but discounts will be available for early-bird registration.
Once payment is confirmed, roasters can fill out their entry forms and submit their coffees. It is recommended that roasters complete their entry forms and ship samples well in advance of the submission deadline to ensure prompt arrival.
Entry kits
Entry kits for the respective regional competitions are below:
Before beginning your submission, it is recommended to download your respective entry kit to learn more about the categories, judging process, and shipping deadlines.
To reserve your spot, visit the GCA website.
The Global Coffee Awards will recognise the world’s most exceptional specialty coffee roasters and the producers behind them.
The competition will push the boundaries of excellence and prestige in the coffee industry, giving roasters a valuable opportunity to elevate their branding and achieve international recognition.
Contact info@globalcoffeeawards.com and the GCA project manager, Emi Rueda, via WhatsApp here for more information.
Apply to compete in the GCA here.
Perfect Daily Grind
Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!
