FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Missoula, MT. (December 1, 2005) - Expressing sincere appreciation to the roasters who bid an average of $4.67lb today for their winning coffee, Bolivian farmers were thrilled with the outcome from their second Cup of Excellence auction. “I want to thank all the buyers for their support. I am going to improve the quality of life for my family, I will improve my coffee fields so that they can produce better coffee,” indicated Mario Mamani after his coffee was sold for $7.25lb-more income than he ever expected from coffee.

Top price for the winning farmer was $12.55lb. - higher than the #1 last year. Juan de Dios Blanco nervously watched the live auction in Caranavi with other winning farmers and spoke about his experience, “After returning from the competition in Santa Cruz I could not believe the results. Now I very convinced of having won and I am extremely happy together with my family. This experience with out doubt will change the quality of life for my whole family and for all of the growers in my area. This is what Cup of Excellence is doing for us!”

For years Bolivian coffee has been sold at a paltry price to the rest of the marketplace due to inconsistent quality, but through very successful targeted agronomic assistance funded by the U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) both dramatic quality improvements and the Cup of Excellence program have been made available. “Thanks to the support of USAID in promoting us growers involved in the coffee business, the Bolivian coffee is now known worldwide. Five years ago nothing was known about Bolivian coffee but now thanks to this support we have gained prestige in the marketplace. This is very important for all of us coffee growers.” Blanco continued.

The coffees auctioned today were winners of the Cup of Excellence competition held in mid-October in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The coffees had scored very high in all of the rigorous, required cuppings during the competition process. These coffees represented the best coffees of this year’s harvest.

Forty-one companies from Norway, Japan, Germany, Finland, USA, Canada, and the UK bought the winning coffees and will now introduce their clientele to the winning Bolivian coffee resulting in improved image and sales for the farmers of Bolivia in the future. The #1winning coffee lot was sold to a group of roasters scattered from Japan to Canada.

The Cup of Excellence program is owned by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc and is dedicated to exemplary coffee and the farmers that produce them. Bolivia is one of six countries that host the prestigious Cup of Excellence program. For more information about the Bolivian winning farms, coffee descriptions, auction results and the buyers log on to www.cupofexcellence.org.