El Salvador Auction To Be Held June 29th

MISSOULA, MT (June 21, 2005) –Coffee farmers in El Salvador are anxiously awaiting June 29th when bidders from around the globe will compete for ownership of their prize winning Cup of Excellence® coffee. The 17 winning coffees were selected out of approximate 300 entries to the competition and were awarded after being cupped at least five times in three different judging phases. An international jury spent a week in San Salvador cupping the final award phase during May 16th-20th

Roasters have been signing up for samples for months and are now cupping the winners in order to choose favorites, develop buying partners and plan bidding strategy. “ We are pleased with the interest in the samples, “ indicated Francesca Falconi, The El Salvador Cup of Excellence coordinator, “ The level of support for El Salvador’s higher quality coffee is gaining momentum, but there is still time for a roaster to cup these great coffees and maybe even place the high bid on a chosen winner. Many of the winning farmers will be gathered together watching with anticipation as each bid changes.”

The auction, which opens at 9AM Eastern Standard Time on the www.cupofexcellence.org site is expected to garner heavy interest, as many of last year’s buyers were very pleased with the winning coffee they bought. “I bought about half of the winning lot from the Santa Julia farm. This coffee just got better and better with time, I now have many customers asking for it by name”, explained Glenn Junkert owner of Hunter Bay, a small specialty roaster.

This is El Salvador’s 3rd competition and auction and the 19th for the Cup of Excellence program since 1999 when it began. The Cup of Excellence, owned by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence is the most stringent competition process in the industry and is managed in partnership for 2005 with 6 coffee producing countries- Brazil, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia and Colombia. The competition is also supported by trade memberships and sponsorships. The program enjoys a base of international cuppers and a team of head judges that include Silvio Leite-Brazil, Paul Songer-USA, Sherri Johns-USA and Jon Willessen-Norway.

For more information about the El Salvador winning farms, to register for samples, the auction and membership log on to www.cupofexcellence.org.