The Good Food Foundation has announced the 2026 Good Food Awards finalists, including 25 coffees from 20 U.S. roasters in the coffee category. The coffee finalists are part of a broader group of 234 finalists across 18 food and drink categories.
The 20 finalist roasters represent 12 states, led by California (four), followed by Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Oregon and Texas (two each), plus one each from Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington. Three roasting companies presented multiple finalist coffees this year, including Crimson Coffee with three, and Magnolia Coffee and Mikava with two each.
Among all categories, coffee remains a distinct fit for the awards program in that roasted coffee is built from a single primary agricultural ingredient produced outside the U.S., putting extra emphasis on origin transparency, sourcing practices and how roasting choices translate to the cup.
The Good Food Foundation approaches coffee judging through two rounds: a first round that includes at-home brewing by Bay Area coffee evaluators and a public component, followed by a second round led by coffee professionals using cupping and evaluation protocols.
The foundation also updated coffee criteria entering the 2026 cycle, including a new delineation between seasonal and year-round offerings designed to encourage “market-ready” entries.
Winners across categories are slated to be announced June 28-30, 2026, in New York City during the Good Food Mercantile, which coincides with the Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show.
Based on the finalist list, this year’s coffee field leans heavily toward coffees originating from Ethiopia and Colombia, with other single-origin entries hailing from Costa Rica, Panama, Rwanda and El Salvador.
All but five of the 25 finalists are presented as single-origin offerings, with the others being blends or other branded products. Among the coffee varieties identified, Gesha was most prominent, while other entries included “Pink Bourbon,” Pacamara and SL-28. Several entries emphasized post-harvest processing methods, including phrases like thermal shock, carbonic maceration and anaerobic honey.
2026 Good Food Awards Coffee Finalists
Here are all the 2026 coffee finalists as published by the Good Food Foundation:
Beanstock Coffee Roasters, Massachusetts
Colombia Natural Pink Bourbon Lisandro Cardenas
Crimson Coffee, Ohio
Ethiopia Reshad Ababulgu White Honey
Loud Mouth Blend
Wayfarer Blend
Equator Coffees, California
Colombia Las Flores Thermal Shock Pink Bourbon
Linea Caffe, California
Organic Ethiopia Gotiti Yirgacheffe Reserve
Mikava, Oregon
Gesha Espresso Blend
Gesha Marsella
Peerless Coffee, California
ROC Colombia
Tern Coffee, Maine
Familia Diaz Honey Pacamara – El Salvador
Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Colorado
Ethiopia Chelbesa Danche Yellow Honey
Driftaway Coffee, New York
Ethiopia Layo Teraga
Evermore Coffee, New Jersey
Rwanda Butare Bagaragaza Deo
Little Waves Coffee Roasters, North Carolina
Rio Dulce Gesha, Cafe 1959, Colombia
Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, Texas
Ethiopia Guji Kayon Mountain Natural Process Organic
Steady State Roasting, California
Campo Hermosa Pink Bourbon Watermelon (Colombia)
Treeline Coffee Roasters, Montana
Tropical Sunset: Thermal Shock, Finca Las Flores (Colombia)
Corvus Coffee Roasters, Colorado
Finca Deborah Nirvana Gesha (Panama)
Drink Coffee Do Stuff, Nevada
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Chelchele Super Natural
Keia & Martyn’s Coffee, Oregon
Ethiopia Guji Shakiso Gigesa Natural
Magnolia Coffee, North Carolina
Ethiopia Gera Estate Anaerobic Natural
Las Lajas Double Diamond Anaerobic Natural
Las Lajas SL 28 Black Diamond
Partners Coffee, New York
Suke Quto (Guji, Ethiopia)
Talavera Coffee, Texas
Amor Eterno Blend
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