Winning Colombian Coffee Auctioned for Record Price

MISSOULA, Mont., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Colombian coffee farmers watched prices for their recent Cup of Excellence® winners go sky-high as global coffee companies battled for the right to own one of the 22 high scoring coffees.  The online coffee auction reflects the nature of global bidding with some lots hotly contested by individual companies and others won by a group of companies bidding together. The first-place coffee topped the Colombian auction record of 2010 with a final bid price of $45.10lb for unroasted coffee. Add shipping from Colombia, special packaging and roasting and this coffee could more than double its auction price for coffee connoisseurs.  Cafe Imports of Minneapolis, George Howell Coffee Company of Boston, Mecca Espresso of Sydney and Robert Kao and Co. of Taiwan joined together to buy Arnulfo Leguizamo's winning 2,300-pound lot for over one hundred thousand dollars.

Described by the international jury as having a jasmine floral aroma, lingering creamy aftertaste, a flavor reminiscent of vibrant cherries and an effervescence supported by huge sweetness, this carefully selected coffee from the Primavera farm received an extraordinary 94.05 points. Very little coffee is good enough even for a Cup of Excellence award, and far fewer are ever awarded a 90-plus presidential score.  

The second and third place coffees also topped the Cup of Excellence record for coffees of their rank. Eladio Ossa's 2nd place coffee lot of over 2,700 pounds- also scoring well over 92 points and good enough to have been a first place winner in most other competitions- sold for $38.80lb. It too sold for over one hundred thousand dollars and was split between companies in Norway, the USA, Japan, Colombia and Taiwan. Third place Nectlay Castro Velasco's 2,600 pound lot sold for $20.10lb.

The Cup of Excellence is an award for the top coffees of each harvest. Competitions are open to all farmers equally.  Managed by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc., which enjoys membership support from global coffee companies and sponsorships from several companies including Pacific Bag and Probat, the Cup of Excellence has discovered thousands of unknown exemplary coffee farmers and ensured that they were rewarded for their hard work. For more information about the Cup of Excellence program or to become a buyer of these fine coffees log on to www.cupofexcellence.org.

Contact:
Susie Spindler
Executive Director
Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 406-542-3509

SOURCE Alliance for Coffee Excellence