FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London Coffee Importer Is UK’s First Major Supporter of Cup of Excellence®

Missoula Mt. (January 16, 2008) Mercanta the Coffee Hunters an innovative cutting edge London based coffee importer has become the first company in 2008 to become a Lifetime member of the Cup of Excellence program. It is also the first company in the United Kingdom to hold this highest membership level. The Cup of Excellence is a competition program that selects world’s finest coffees. “ When I first read about The Cup of Excellence programme in 1999 it seemed to be the ideal platform for the discovery and greater recognition of the very best coffee beans,” indicated Mercanta owner Stephen Hurst. “ We purchased one of the Cup of Excellence award winners in the very first auction for Brazil in 1999 and have purchased coffees ever since- some of them first place winners at record prices.”

Founded in 1996 Mercanta was established with the vision to supply a wide variety of high quality coffee to the developing specialty coffee trade and at the same time develop close relationships with the farmers growing these coffees. This Lifetime membership payment provides Mercanta with access to all of world’s winning Cup of Excellence coffees for years to come.

“Mercanta’s support for Cup of Excellence has been a crucial factor in its success in Europe, expressed Susie Spindler, Executive Director of The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) the non-profit organization that owns and manages the program. “Not only has Stephen Hurst personally donated a tremendous amount of time serving on the ACE Board of Directors but also four of Mercanta’s staff have participated as part of the prestigious international judging panel that selects the final winners of the world’s top quality coffee award. Because the entire company works very hard to ensure that top quality coffees are always available, Mercanta enjoys a loyal clientele of specialty roasters around the globe.”

Flori Marin, Mercanta co-owner feels that the lifetime membership is an extremely worthwhile investment. “ There is simply no other programme that compares in it’s professionalism and adherence to strict quality standards and at the same time provides a financial reward to hard working coffee farmers,” commented Ms. Marin.

Since it’s inception in 1999, the Cup of Excellence® program has been hosted in Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Colombia. The Cup of Excellence program is owned by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc. For more information about the Cup of Excellence program, log on to www.cupofexcellence.org. For detailed information about Mercanta the Coffee Hunters log on to www.coffeehunter.com.