· Origin
How a coffee auction works (without the sales pitch)
Samples, scores, bids, and a hammer. Most café bags never went through one.
Specialty auctions — Cup of Excellence and private farm auctions among them — put named lots in front of buyers who have cupped samples. A score sheet and a story travel with the lot. The hammer price is what competing buyers were willing to pay that day, not a retail shelf price.
Winning an auction does not mean the coffee will taste the same after shipping, resting, and roasting. It means the green lot cleared a public competition among buyers. When a café mentions an auction lot, ask for the year, the farm, and whether the bag is that lot or a neighbour.
Most everyday filter and espresso on a menu is contracted outside the auction room. Auctions matter for visibility and for a thin top slice of lots.
One note a day. Origin notes are about the farms and lots in this guide, using the cupping scores already listed. Competition notes repeat published 2025 results and link the source.