How to Enter Canadian Coffee of the Year
Everything Canadian specialty coffee roasters need to know before entering. Free to enter, three categories, eleven awards, over 200 consumer judges.
What's in it for You
- Free entry — no fees to participate
- Coordinated press coverage and marketing visibility
- Real consumer feedback from over 200 specialty coffee enthusiasts across Canada
- Top coffees featured in an upcoming Stillwater Coffee Club edition
- A physical trophy and digital badge for marketing use
Can You Enter?
Coffee requirements
Origin & transparency: must be specialty grade. You must be able to provide origin (country and region), producer or processing station, and processing method. Direct trade relationships strongly encouraged.
Roasting: Canadian roasters only. Coffee must be roasted within 2 weeks of your shipping date.
Packaging: coffee must be regularly retailed in bags no greater than 500g. Submissions don't need to be in retail packaging, but must display a visible "roasted on" date.
Pricing: coffee must retail for less than $100/kg (e.g. $25 for a 250g bag, $30 for a 300g bag).
Quantity: 1kg per entry (enough for ~25 judges at 40g each).
Submission limit: one coffee per category, maximum 3 total entries per roaster.
Pick Where You Fit
Coffees are judged within three categories. Roasters select the best fit for each entry.
Berries · Sparkling Wine · Grapefruit
Apple · Honey · Milk Chocolate · Apricot
Dark Chocolate · Roasted Almonds · Molasses
11 Awards, One Great Country
Winners are crowned across category, roaster, and region.
What You'll Provide
Coffee details (per entry)
- Coffee or blend name
- Origin (country and region)
- Producer or processing station name
- Processing method (washed, natural, honey, etc.)
- Varietal(s)
- Harvest year
- Current retail price per kg
- Regular retail packaging size
- Category selection
Brew guides (per entry)
Recommended parameters for pour-over (ratio, grind, temp, time), espresso (dose, yield, time, temp), and AeroPress (ratio, grind, temp, time, method).
Note: judges receive generic brew parameters only — origin, varietal, and processing details are not shared during tasting to preserve the fully blind format.
Roastery information
- Roastery name, address, city, province
- Website and Instagram handle
- Contact email and phone
- Brief roastery description (50 words max — used in winner announcements)
What You Get Back
All participants
Aggregate consumer feedback including rating scores across all five evaluation criteria, judge tasting notes, brewing methods used, spending/preference insights, and regional distribution of judges.
Winners
- Physical trophy mailed to your roastery
- Digital badge for online and marketing use
- Featured placement in the Stillwater Coffee Club edition following the competition
- Press release and coordinated media coverage (national and regional)
- Use of the "Canadian Coffee of the Year Winner" marketing credential
- Winner's spotlight on the Canadian Coffee of the Year website and social channels
2026 Timeline
Four Steps, One Deadline
- Complete the online submission form by August 15, 2026.
- Provide all required coffee details and brew guides for each entry.
- Ship 1kg per entry to arrive by August 28, 2026.
- Coffee must be roasted within 2 weeks of your shipping date.
Shipping address
Stillwater Coffee Club
16 White Oak Blvd
Etobicoke, ON M8X 1H9
The Methodology
- Over 200 consumer judges across Canada — specialty coffee enthusiasts who brew regularly at home
- Judges are matched to a category based on their preferred flavour profile
- Each entry is evaluated by approximately 15 judges
- Fully blind tasting: judges see only a numbered label and generic brew parameters. Roaster, origin, varietal, and processing details are not shared during tasting
- Coffees are evaluated on Aroma, Flavor, Acidity, Balance, and Aftertaste (1–5 scale)
- Judges submit their Top 3 coffees — this ranking determines winners
- Weighted scoring: 5 points for 1st, 3 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd, 0 for unranked
- Highest average score determines the winner in each category
- Roaster of the Year: highest average across 2+ submissions (one-entry roasters are ineligible for this award)
Best for Filter / Best for Espresso
Judges report the brew method they used. Best for Filter goes to the coffee with the highest average rating from filter-method judges (pour-over, AeroPress, Hario Switch, Clever Dripper, immersion). Best for Espresso goes to the coffee with the highest average rating from espresso judges.
Eligibility: minimum 10 tastings from judges using that brew method. If no coffee meets the threshold, the award isn't given that year.