1. The Competition

O Coffee Market Awards is a championship judged by a jury and the public that highlights the skills and knowledge of speciality coffee roasters.

In 2026, the competition will focus on “real world” coffee offerings: affordable speciality coffees, roasted with excellence, transparent in cost and designed to connect both professionals in the sector and the Portuguese public. The winner will be the roaster who manages to transform green coffee into a cup that stands out for its quality, balance and affordability.

2. What we're looking for

Coffee Market roasters face a double challenge:

1. Honouring specialty coffee standards while navigating a culture of strong, traditional coffee habits;
2. Delivering quality in the cup without losing sight of accessibility and sustainability.

The 2026 winners will be the roasters who select a coffee that meets speciality standards, respects accessibility rules (green price and PVP) and demonstrates roasting mastery.

3. Competition format

The competition consists of submitting a single coffee, judged on two fronts:

• Cupping Round (Coffee Market Best Coffee Roaster): Judged by 3 Mystery Judges (Q Graders or equivalent) + all competing roasters (1 representative per roaster).
• Ronda do Público (Public Favourite Coffee Roaster): During the Coffee Market at Lisbon Coffee Week, visitors will be able to taste filter coffees. Voting will be done digitally via the ticketica app (1 vote per ticket).

4. Coffee Submission Guidelines

Each roaster must submit a coffee that fulfils the following requirements:

• Quality: Speciality degree (minimum 80 SCA points).
• Retail Price (PVP): The coffee must be sold in the standard 250g format with a maximum RRP of 20,00€. Smaller formats are allowed as long as the price is proportionate.
  • Proportional Calculus: RRP = (selling weight in grams ÷ 250) × €20
  • Examples: 200g up to €16.00 | 150g up to €12.00 | 100g up to €8.00.
• Green Coffee Price: The cost of green coffee cannot exceed 22€/kg (CIF value/landed cost at the roastery).
• Required quantities: Each roaster must provide a total of 1.2kg of coffee, divided into packets of 100g (provided by the organisation).

5. Transparency and Reporting

Each roaster must fill in a confidential transparency form by the day 27th March.

• Data included: Details of the farm, origin, process, SCA score, green price and PVP.
• Confidentiality: Individual reports will never be shared. The data will be aggregated to calculate educational averages to be presented at the awards ceremony.

6. Evaluation and tie-breakers

• Panel: 1 representative from each toaster + 3 Mystery Judges.
• Method: Double blind cupping, coded samples, 3 categories with scores 1-10.
• Tie-breaker:
  • 1. highest score in the cupping round.
  • 2. If the tie persists, the combined score of the Mystery Judges decides.
  • 3. If it still persists, the title will be shared.

7. Awards and Recognition

Two main titles will be awarded:

1. Coffee Market Best Coffee Roaster 2026 - Jury Prize.
2. Public Favourite Coffee Roaster 2026 - Audience Choice.

Benefits: Official certificates, visibility on the Tasteology and Lisbon Coffee Week channels, press release and official stickers to apply to sales packaging.

8. Registration and Fees

• Exclusivity: For Lisbon Coffee Week 2026 exhibitors only.
• Registration fee:
  • General Exhibitors: 100€ + VAT
  • Alpro Roaster Alley displays: OFFER (Registration included in the stand price)
• Vacancies: Minimum of 10 and maximum of 16 toasters (in order of registration).

9. Coffee Market Box

All participants agree to supply the 100g units for the creation of the “Coffee Market Box”. This will be a limited edition box, curated by Tasteology, containing all the coffees from the competition for sale during and after the event.

10. Organisation

The Coffee Market Awards 2026 are organised by Tasteology as an integral part of Lisbon Coffee Week.