FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Missoula, MT (July 11, 2007) - The Honduras Cup of Excellence® program was the fifth and final for Central American farmers and brought the 24 winning coffees an average price of $5.22 per pound. The competition, which had been held at the Zamorano International School for Agriculture the week of May 28 – June 1, 2007, culminated with a successful auction July 10th.

The number of new bidders and the success of the auction is representative of the expanding interest in distinctive high quality Honduran coffees which have been mostly unavailable in the past. Within 10 minutes, all of the coffee lots had bids, and the bidding continued at a brisk pace until it closed four hours later.

Luis Enrique Vega, a small farmer from El Buen Pastor in Siguatepeque, was thrilled as to the outcome of the competition and auction. His first place coffee, was purchased by Solberg & Hansen AS from Norway, for a price of $18.70lb.

To compete in the Cup of Excellence program, Enrique Vega made a significant investment in improving his farm this year and was thrilled to be awarded the top prize. The entire family is working together to ensure that the farm maintains its quality over the long term. “It is hard work to continue to maintain the farm and produce high quality coffee, but it will definitely be worth it,” explains Enrique Vega. “In addition to using some of the money from the auction for continual improvement on the farm, I will invest some of the funds into my ministry. I want to help others by showing them that if they set a goal and work hard, quality pays off in the end.”

Honduras continues to build its presence in the specialty coffee world. Participation in the Cup of Excellence program has been an instrumental force in enabling the country’s farmers to build and expand their presence in the international coffee marketplace. Through the successful COE auction, the diverse flavors and complex fruitiness that result from the many microclimates found among the country’s mountains and valleys can finally be showcased to many unknown buyers.

From Korea the importer, GBT bought Honduras coffee as their first Cup of Excellence coffee to be introduced to a growing specialty market.

The auctioned coffees are destined to reach various other types of customers as well. Dublin, Ireland based Bewleys Ltd. will utilize the Mira Valle coffee to add to its Cup of Excellence line up for 5 Star restaurants. In addition to Ireland, buyers from Taiwan, Japan, U.S., Norway, the UK, Honduras and Russia purchased the 24 lots of coffee.

Some of the U.S. buyers, including Jeff Babcock from Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company in Seattle, Joel Pollack from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, and Peggy Thompson-Hudon from Hood River Coffee Company in Oregon, participated on the International Jury, and so had the opportunity to personally meet with the award-winning farmers. Getting to know the farmers always garners a greater understanding of the coffees and provides each with unforgettable experiences that can be shared in marketing the coffees. Atlas Importers of Seattle will coordinate shipping for all of the US destined coffees as well as have coffees available for other roasters to purchase upon arrival.

Since it’s beginnings in 1999, the Cup of Excellence® program has hosted programs in Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Colombia. The Cup of Excellence program is managed by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc, The state of the art Cup of Excellence auction has been managed in partnership with CommoditiesOne, a leading software development firm since 2002. For more information about the Cup of Excellence program, to become a member log on to www.cupofexcellence.org.