FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MISSOULA, MT (June 15, 2007) - The 2007 Guatemalan Cup of Excellence® Auction brought 19 highly rated coffees to the worldwide stage, giving the farmers another opportunity to showcase the results of their hard work. Nineteen coffees from varying regions around the country were auctioned off to bidders from around the world on June 14, 2007. Each garnered prices well over expectations, thereby providing farmers with further incentive to continue their efforts towards producing quality coffee.

The 2007 competition and auction is the second for Guatemala after a three-year hiatus from the COE program. Following on the heels of last year's successful auction, this year's event provided farmers with greater assurance that the program is helping them attain their goal of creating long-term relationships with buyers through higher quality coffee.

"When we participate in the auction, it stimulates us because we can see that all our effort for producing better quality is obtaining good results," says Erick de la Roca, of El Platanar. "Personally, participating in last year's auction, we opened a new market in Japan so this is a marketing tool that is very useful." "We are very happy with the results because they surpassed the prices we received last year," explains Emilio Ical Lem, president of Sac Ixim, the community that produced the 4th place coffee in the competition, and received a $12.10 price at auction. "We will invest this money in improving the wet mill so we can continue producing better quality coffees in years to come." The COE has been instrumental in building relationships between farmers and buyers, as was seen by this year's event. Further, the overall quality of coffees presented for auction brought veteran, as well as new, buyers to the auction. In the US the award winning coffees went to a wide range of roasters, large and small, many of which participated in the auction for the first time.

Ritual Coffee Roasters bought the #3 lot San José El Yalú, a farm originally founded by the Sisters of Charity. Importer Royal Coffee New York Inc. also bid on behalf of several new roaster buyers which included Nantucket Island Coffee Roasters, David's Beans/Rojo's Roastery, Jojo's Coffee and Tea, Shenandoah Joe, Coffee Labs, Phoenix Coffee, Coffee Depot and Portland Brew Roasting Co. The $7.10 bid netted them the El Porvenir coffee which had been noted by the International jury for its creamy body, with sweet caramel taste; sweet, round acidity and sugar cane notes. Similarly, the Minnesota based Café Imports bid on behalf of 49th Parallel, Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Caffe Pronto, Coffee Klatch Roasting, Coffee Tree Roasters, Green Coffee Cooperative, Java Blend, Montana Coffee Traders, Paradise Roasters and PT's Coffee. They purchased the San Jose Ocaña coffee, a 40-bag lot of coffee. The coffee, which receiving a score of 91.50 in the competition boasted a very clean, elegant and complex flavor profile highlighted with an intense fruit acidity complemented by chocolate and fragrant notes. Additionally, two roasters from Guatemala, Café Leon and El Cafetalito, successfully bid for COE coffees, keeping the Idola and San Sebastian coffees in the country providing visitors and locals with the opportunity to experience the quality that has made Guatemala a household name in specialty coffee.

The top coffee, El Socorro Y Annexos, received an auction price of $19.50 from Solberg & Hansen of Norway with all coffees receiving $5.47 and above.

The record breaking average prices at this auction, as well as those received at the Nicaragua COE auction, held June 6, 2007, bodes well for the Costa Rice COE auction, the first for the country, which is scheduled for June 21, 2007.

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.