Managua, Nicaragua - Interest was high, the bidding was lively and when it was all over, international importers and specialty coffee roasters spent a total of $345,000 yesterday to purchase some of Nicaragua's finest coffee beans. The highest price paid during the 4-hour-long Cup of Excellence® Internet auction was $12.50/pound, a new record price for Nicaraguan coffees. The current commodity market price for arabica beans is about 75 cents/pound.

The winning lot was bought by Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland, Oregon and Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters and Tea Blenders of Chicago, Illinois, who paid a total of $37,500 for the lot. The batch of 20 bags (about 1.5 tons) was produced by grower Daniel Canales, a smallholder producer from Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli.

Daniel Canales was overjoyed with the results. "I never imagined that someone would offer me this price for my coffee," he explained. "It makes me extremely proud to have come this far."

A total of 29 coffee growers -- 22 of them smallholders -- participated in this third annual Cup of Excellence® Internet auction of Nicaraguan coffees. Other bidders, including Maruyama Coffee, Equal Exchange Coffee, Bontain Coffee Company, Ltd., and Wataru & Company, Ltd., bought all 29 lots on offer. Prices per pound ranged from $2.05 up to the high of $12.50. The average price paid was $3.55/pound, or more than four times the market price for arabica beans.

Coffee producers and the Cup®'s organizers followed the auction today at a live screening at the InterContinental Hotel in Managua. Vice President of Nicaragua Jose Rizo attended the event and praised the producers for their hard work.

A total of 497 coffee samples were entered in Nicaragua's 2004 Cup of Excellence® competition. National and international coffee experts evaluated the coffees based on such qualifications as the absence of defects, sweetness, acidity, flavor and balance. Coffees are scored based on a point value system; each of the 29 Nicaraguan coffees offered for sale today exceeded 80 points and four of the coffees exceeded 90 points.

"Today's auction results confirm that Nicaragua continues to produce some of the best coffee in the world," said Ernest van Panhuys, Country Director of TechnoServe/ Nicaragua, an organizer of the 2004 Cup of Excellence® competition and Internet auction. "These results are extremely encouraging for Nicaragua's producers, who continue to take strides to improve the quality of their coffee."

The Cup of Excellence® is an internationally recognized program that focuses on the appreciation of exemplary coffee. Its main goal is to support long-term premiums to exemplary coffee farmers by building the bridge to the roaster and to the consumer. The program is owned and managed by The Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc. a U.S. based non-profit organization.

The 2004 Nicaragua Cup® organizers include: TechnoServe; Asociación de Cafes Especiales de Nicaragua (ACEN); Asociación de Exportadores 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).

Sponsors for 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.

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 about TechnoServe, please visit:
http://www.technoserve.org

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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