Good Food Awards Coffee: Why It Matters to Coffee Lovers

The Good Food Awards are one of the most respected specialty food and drink awards programs in the United States. Now in their 16th year, the awards recognize producers across 18 food and drink categories for two things equally: exceptional flavor and responsible production. In the coffee category, this means blind-tasted cup quality combined with transparent, fair sourcing from farm to roaster.

A Good Food Award win is a peer-judged, blind-tasted validation from the specialty coffee community. For context on what makes specialty-grade coffee different at the sourcing level, see our post on what is specialty coffee.

Good Food Awards Judging Criteria for Coffee

How the Judging Works

Coffee judging uses a two-round process. In the first round, Bay Area coffee evaluators brew and evaluate entries at home alongside a public participation component. This narrows the field to finalists. In the second round, coffee professionals evaluate finalists using the standard cupping protocol: the same method used at professional cuppings and specialty coffee competitions worldwide. All tastings are blind.

The scoring criteria are specific: sweet flavor, clean cup, well-developed body, balanced acidity, and exceptional aromatics. These are the same five criteria that define specialty coffee quality broadly. For more on how these flavor characteristics connect to roast level and origin, see our post on what coffee roast levels do to your cup.

What Responsible Sourcing Means in This Context

The Good Food Awards define responsible sourcing as fairness and transparency from seed to cup. Winning roasters must document where their coffee came from, how the farmers or cooperatives were compensated, and that their sourcing reflects an honest relationship with the supply chain. This criterion is unique to the Good Food Awards among major coffee competitions — the SCA and Cup of Excellence focus exclusively on cup quality.

For most specialty roasters who participate, the sourcing documentation is already part of how they operate. The award validates a combination of practices standard at the best independent roasters in the country. For more on what transparent coffee sourcing looks like from the farm up, see our post on what tree-to-cup expertise actually looks like.

What This Award Means for a Roaster

A Good Food Award win is significant external validation for a small roaster. The blind tasting format means the award reflects the coffee in the cup, not the marketing budget. In recent years, a majority of Good Food Award winners across all categories have been small businesses with under $1 million in annual revenue. The coffee category consistently represents some of the smallest, most focused specialty roasters in the country.

For a consumer, a Good Food Award win on a coffee bag is a reliable signal that the coffee was evaluated blind by professionals and met both a flavor and sourcing standard simultaneously. Browse Blackout Coffee premium roasts for freshly roasted dark and medium roasts sourced and roasted to specialty standards. Stock up with a five-pound bulk bag so you never run low. For a fast bold cup, our instant coffee is always ready. And our coffee pods ship fresh too.

Frequently Asked Questions About Coffee Awards

What are these coffee awards and who runs them?

The Good Food Awards are an annual US specialty food and drink awards program run by the Good Food Foundation, now in their 16th year. The coffee category recognizes US roasters for exceptional cup quality and responsible sourcing simultaneously. Winners are chosen through a two-round blind tasting process using the standard specialty coffee cupping protocol. Typically 13 to 20 coffee roasters win each year from over 1,200 total entries across all 18 categories.

How are coffee award winners chosen?

The judging process uses two rounds. In the first round, Bay Area coffee evaluators brew and evaluate entries at home alongside a public participation component, narrowing the field to finalists. In the second round, coffee professionals evaluate finalists using the standard cupping protocol with blind tasting. Judges score on five criteria: sweetness, cleanliness, body, balanced acidity, and aromatics. All tastings are conducted blind so brand reputation does not influence results.

What does responsible sourcing mean for award-winning coffee?

The Good Food Awards define responsible sourcing as fairness and transparency from seed to cup. Entering roasters must document where their coffee came from, how producers were compensated, and that their sourcing practices reflect a transparent relationship with the supply chain. This is a formal entry requirement, not just a marketing claim. This sourcing criterion is what distinguishes the Good Food Awards from other major coffee competitions like the SCA events and Cup of Excellence, which evaluate cup quality only.

Is a Good Food Award a reliable signal of coffee quality?

Yes. The blind tasting format means winners are evaluated on what is in the cup, not on brand recognition. The coffee scoring criteria (sweetness, cleanliness, body, acidity, aromatics) are the same criteria used to evaluate specialty coffee quality across the industry. Winners must also meet a responsible sourcing standard. A Good Food Award on a coffee bag is a meaningful external validation that the product was taken seriously by coffee professionals and passed a rigorous double standard of flavor and ethics.

Start With Specialty-Grade Quality

Browse Blackout Coffee premium roasts for freshly roasted dark and medium roasts sourced to specialty-grade standards and shipped within 48 hours of the roast date.

Roasted fresh in Florida and shipped within 48 hours. Keep your supply stocked with the Blackout Coffee Club.

Learn more about how Blackout sources and roasts on the About Blackout Coffee page.