FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The World Bids For The Best Of Guatemalan Coffees:
Sets New Record Price For Cup Of Excellence®

MISSOULA, MT - Demand for top-quality Guatemalan coffees drove this year’s Cup of Excellence® competition to new heights, as the June 12th auction broke the top price ever received for a Cup of Excellence coffee. In addition to smashing the previous record, the Guatemala auction also bested the average price and total auction volume records.

The top scoring coffee from El Injerto l received $80.20, well above the previous record of $49.75 for a Brazilian coffee in 2005. The coffee, of the Pacamara variety, was purchased by Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland, Maruyama Coffee for Mikatajuku Group of Japan, and Sweet Maria's and received an international jury score of 93.68. It was described as very complex with huge body that is well balanced and features clean sweet layers of fruit with a harmonious acidity.

The second and third place coffees were both purchased by Coffee Bean International to be roasted for Target Inc. The second place coffee, La Benedicion, was purchased for $17.05 and the third place coffee, San Guayaba, for $21.05. The latter boasts a sweet fruit aroma with complex acidity, fine creamy body and floral aroma with a long-lasting tart and sweet aftertaste.

“We are extremely excited about the records broken from our previous years in Cup of Excellence,” explained William Hempstead, marketing director for ANACAFE, “because it represents that all participants in the auction acquired premium prices for their quality coffees. In fact, San Guayaba farm is the highest second price received in an auction.” Hempstead also notes the diversity of buyers in the auction, “with very aggressive bids for the 25 winning lots from USA, Japan, the UK, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.”

Arturo Aguirre of the winning farm, El Injerto l, located in the Huehuetenango department, expressed his gratitude for receiving such a high price. “I would like to express my satisfaction for the incredible price. It is a great achievement for me as a producer, for my employees and for Guatemala.”

The excitement for the auction was felt from all farmers. “We are happy that you will be able to taste our coffee,” notes Alifonso Garcia of ACCSO, located in Chiquimula department. “With your purchase you are benefiting small coffee growers of the east region of Guatemala.”

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 final Central American auction will be held July 8, 2008 and will feature winning coffees from Honduras.

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.