Excellence

A Map of Excellence: The Best Coffee Shops Across Latin America

A Map of Excellence: The Best Coffee Shops Across Latin America

There’s something brewing in Latin America that goes beyond the beans—these cafes are where culture, craftsmanship, and community collide. After four months wandering through the region, I scoured local recommendations to uncover hidden gems where specialty coffee thrives. From the smoky hills of Guatemala to the sun-drenched streets of Brazil, these spots offer more than a cup—they deliver an experience. Mexico’s capital is a coffee lover’s paradise, with cafes like Cafe Memorias de un Barista in Mexico City blending traditional roasts with modern pour-over techniques. In Oaxaca, Cafe El Volador stands out for its minimalist approach and emphasis on single-origin…
Read More
A Home Roaster’s New Tool for Precision and Control

A Home Roaster’s New Tool for Precision and Control

Here’s what you need to know: Home roasters are getting a digital upgrade. A new app is bridging the gap between analog craftsmanship and tech-driven precision, offering a way to log roasting data without sacrificing the tactile joy of the process. The app turns pen-and-paper notes into a dynamic, customizable dashboard where every temperature, adjustment, and observation is captured in real time. At its core, the app lets users tailor their interface—switching on/off buttons for temperature, roast time, or custom metrics. Each logged temp auto-graphs as a separate line, giving roasters a visual pulse of their roast’s evolution. Once the…
Read More
IWCA and Cup of Excellence Team Up to Elevate Women in Coffee

IWCA and Cup of Excellence Team Up to Elevate Women in Coffee

Coffee lovers, wine enthusiasts, tea devotees—here’s a move set to redefine the industry. The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) has struck new partnerships with Cup of Excellence (CoE) and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), aiming to amplify women’s roles in coffee’s most prestigious platforms. These memoranda of understanding (MOUs) are more than paperwork—they’re a blueprint for equity, designed to open doors for women producers, jurors, and buyers in a male-dominated field. CoE’s green coffee competitions and auctions have long been a gold standard, lifting microlots to record prices and global acclaim. Yet women remain underrepresented in these high-stakes arenas.…
Read More