The Secret Cup is a competition among hash makers that happens at a secret location not open to the general public. The difference and the challenge of this competition is that the competitors are the judges. The top hash makers from each region at a Secret location try their competitor's entries in a blind tasting, and then enter their scores and comments without ever knowing whose hash was whose. The Best Budders, Best Shatters, and Best Water Hash will be recognized, but the top 3 scores overall will advance to the finals in December.

 

After each Secret Cup the 710 community will be invited to a party, awards show, and celebration. Obviously, the party is not a secret as we advertise it to vendors and the community alike. Even though we've designed what we believe to be the fairest and most transparent contest we could, and even though we've chosen to advertise the party, we've decided to stick with the name "Secret Cup."

 

The original idea for the competition came from a group of Extract Artists in San Jose. We decided to have a contest with low entry fees, blind testing, peer judging, and to rank the top 15 entries as opposed to just the winners. The idea was also to keep it an industry only "truly" secret cup, but as soon as we picked a time and place to do it, December 14th 2012 in Denver, we were flooded with interest. It was a contest that gave new hash makers the chance to showcase their talents and compete on a level playing field with those that have more backing.

 

And this year, thanks to the six regional competitions we're putting on, six times as many hash makers will get the chance to experience this competition. At the end of it all each hash maker, whether they place 1st or 30th, will receive extensive test results thanks to Steep Hill Labs, and a chance to see how their work stacks up to others. In so doing we hope to elevate the state of the art across the board, help build community, and raise the profile of new talent. At the end of the year, the winner of the finals will carry "the belt" for a year and have their name engraved on it forever. This is the most coveted prize in competitive hashing.