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In El Salvador, Today's Cup of Excellence Coffee Internet Auction Sets Record High Price of $14 pound

In El Salvador, Today's Cup of Excellence Coffee Internet Auction Sets Record High Price of $14 pound

Published 07-02-03

Submitted by TechnoServe, Inc.

NORWALK, CT - Today, father-and-daughter coffee growers Mauricio Batlle Mena and Aida Batlle of El Salvador broke international records during the country's first ever Cup of Excellence® Internet auction. The pair received $14.06/pound -- for a total of $37,962 for 2,700 pounds -- from bidders Solberg & Hansen for the arabica coffee grown on their Kilimanjaro farm. It is the highest price ever paid for coffee sold via the Internet. Despite the ongoing global coffee crisis, Mauricio and Aida are paying their coffee pickers a wage 50% higher than the legal rate.

In addition to price, El Salvador set other Cup® records as well, for having the greatest number of winning coffees in a first-time Cup of Excellence® competition (31) and for having the first female coffee grower (Aida Batlle) to win first place in any Cup® event.

Today's auction prices ranged from $2.05/pound up to the high of $14.06/pound. The average price paid was $3.62/pound -- or six times more than the current New York market price of around $.60/pound for arabica coffee. All 31 lots of coffee offered were sold to specialty roasters and international buyers who paid a total of $364,749 for 105,750 pounds of the best beans in El Salvador. Today's international buyers included Arab Coffee Co.; Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms; Bewleys; Caravan Coffee; Coffee Lab International; The Coffee Tree Roasters; Diedrich Coffee; Estate Coffee; Horiguchi Coffee; Intelligentsia; Katocoffee; Maruyama Coffee; Mercanta; Nippon Coffee Trading Co.; The Rosterie; S. Ishimitsu & Co.; Schlueter & Maack; Solberg & Hansen; Timothy's World Coffee; TOA Coffee; Unicafe; Volcafe; Wataru & Co.; and World Coffee Co.

On May 9, during the country's first Cup of Excellence® competition, Mauricio Batlle Mena's and Aida Batlle's coffee was declared the "best of the best" by an international jury of coffee experts, who chose a total of 31 winning coffees from an original 336 submissions based on qualities such as aroma, flavor, balance and absence of defects. Each of the winning coffees received a point value exceeding 80.6 points; the top three surpassed 90.3. Coffee samples are from the regions of Santa Ana (16), Ahuachapán (5), Sonsonate (4), La Libertad (4), Usulután (1) and Chalatenango (1). The majority of producers (24) grew the Bourbon variety, while the remainder grew Pacamara (5) and Bourbon/Pacas (2) coffee. Nine of the winning coffees were grown by cooperatives while 22 were produced by individuals or companies.

The Cup of Excellence® is a nationwide tasting event created by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) to identify, promote and earn better prices for quality coffee. The 2003 El Salvador Cup® was organized by TechnoServe, Consejo Salvadoreño del Café and the Cooperative League of the United States (CLUSA). Sponsors include: TechnoServe; Banco Hipotecario; Beneficio Las Tres Puertas; Grant Thornton Castellanos Campos & Cia; Cooperativa los Ausoles; La Majada; Cofinanzas Selection; Sociedad Cooperativa de Cafetaleros de Cuidad Barrios de R. L.; The Coffee Cup; Café Itzalco; El Borbollon; UCRAPROBEX; Ing. José Antonio Salvaverría y Co.; Pro Café; Cristal; Larin y Hijos y Cia.; Café d' Montana; Plantosa; Quórum S.A. de C.V.; Comercial Exportadora (COEX); and Muyshondt Avila S.A. de C.V. TechnoServe's involvement in El Salvador's 2003 Cup of Excellence® is made possible by funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and Procter & Gamble.

For more information about the 2003 El Salvador Cup of Excellence®, visit:
http://www.salvadorancoffees.com OR http://www.cupofexcellence.org.

For more information about the 2003 Cup of Excellence® in El Salvador,
please contact:
· Roberto Vega Lara, TechnoServe/El Salvador, tne.es@telesal.net, (011) 503-240-0151.
· Patricia Valiente, Consejo Salvadoreño del Café, pvaliente@consejocafe.org.sv, (011) 503-267-6642.
· Susie Spindler, ACE, susie@montana.com, 406-542-3509.
· Mara Neville, TechnoServe/U.S., mneville@tns.org, 203-899-3154.

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TechnoServe, Inc.

TechnoServe, Inc.

TechnoServe is leading a movement that empowers people in the developing world to build businesses that break the cycle of poverty. Growing enterprises generate jobs and other income opportunities for poor people, enabling them to improve their lives and secure a better future for their families. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand thousands of businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. The Financial Times has rated TechnoServe one of the top five NGOs for corporate partnerships. Charity Navigator has also awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.

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