TechnoServe/U.S. -- Twenty-nine Nicaraguan coffees -- 22 of them produced by small-scale farmers -- were selected as winners of Nicaragua's prestigious Cup of Excellence® competition on May 21 and will be offered for sale during the country's third annual Cup of Excellence® Internet auction, to be held July 1.

A total of 497 coffee samples were entered in the 2004 Cup of Excellence® competition in Nicaragua. National and international coffee experts evaluated the coffees based on such qualifications as the absence of defects, sweetness, acidity, flavor and balance. The first place winner, Daniel Canales, is a smallholder farmer affiliated with the PRODECOOP cooperative. The coffee from his Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli farm, and that of seven of his fellow winners, is certified organic. Daniel's, however, was grown at an unusually high altitude for Nicaraguan coffees (1,350 meters) and received the highest point-value score of 91.40 out of 100.

Nicaragua's 2004 Cup of Excellence®-winning coffees are from the departments of Nueva Segovia (8), Jinotega (6), Matagalpa (6), Madriz (5) and Esteli (4). The winners represent large, medium and small farmers. Like Daniel Canales, most of the winning smallholders -- 20 out of 22 winners -- are affiliated with cooperatives, which continues to affirm the work done in Nicaragua to improve the quality of coffee by cooperatives.

"The Cup of Excellence® in Nicaragua has distinguished itself from the competition in other countries by the overwhelming success of cooperatives of smallholder farmers," said Ernest van Panhuys, Country Director for TechnoServe/Nicaragua. "This is a tribute to the efforts that these coops have made over the past 10 years to improve the quality of their coffees and select the very best for the Cup of Excellence®."

In addition, Erwin Mierisch, Coordinator of the Cup of Excellence® in Nicaragua, added, "The Cup® has highlighted the quality of coffees from the departments of Nueva Segovia, Madriz and Esteli. Together, these three departments account for 15% of Nicaragua's coffee production and yet account for nearly 60% of the Cup of Excellence® winners."

During Nicaragua's first Cup of Excellence® and Internet auction in 2002, 23 winning lots were purchased by international buyers. The coffee grown in Jinotega by smallholder competition winners fetched the highest price at an unprecedented $11.75/pound -- or 22 times the then-current price of coffee on the New York market -- and set a record for coffee sold via the Internet. In 2003, the quality of the Cup of Excellence® coffee samples was so high that judges increased the point bar twice to narrow down the number of finalists from 384 samples submitted. Demand for high-quality coffee was evident when international bidders purchased all 37 winning coffees and spent a total of $320,000 throughout a 5-hour Internet auction.

The Cup of Excellence® is a nationwide tasting event designed to identify, promote and earn better prices for quality coffee. The 2004 Nicaragua Cup® organizers include: TechnoServe; Asociación de Cafes Especiales de Nicaragua (ACEN); Asociación de Exportadoras de Café de Nicaragua (EXCAN); Bolsa Agropecuaria (BAGSA); Catadores de Nicaragua; COOPENORTE (association of coffee-processing mills); FondeAgro; Ministry of Agriculture; Proyecto Nacional de Competitividad (ProCompe); TWIN; and Unión de Cooperativas de Pequeños Productores de Nicaragua (CafeNica).

The Cup of Excellence® is owned and managed by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc. (ACE), and was created by the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association of America under the International Coffee Organization's Gourmet Project conducted in 1999. Sponsors of Nicaragua's 2004 Cup of Excellence® include the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the Swedish Government, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). TechnoServe's involvement is made possible with funding from USAID and The Procter & Gamble Company.

TechnoServe is also helping to organize the second annual Cup of Excellence® competition and Internet auction in El Salvador. El Salvador's 2004 Internet auction will take place on June 22 at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). For more information, please visit www.salvadorancoffees.com or www.cupofexcellence.org.

For more information about the 2004 Cup of Excellence® in Nicaragua, please
visit:
http://www.nicaraguancoffees.com OR http://www.cupofexcellence.org.

For more information, please contact: (and see below)

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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