Cup Of Excellence Pours Quality Coffee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susie Spindler, Executive Director
Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc.
susies@cupofexcellence.org
Ph. (406) 542-3509

Suzanne Brown
Brown Marketing Communication LLC
brownsuz@bellsouth.net
Ph. (404) 252-7399




CUP OF EXCELLENCEb POURS QUALITY INTO FINE DINING

MISSOULA, Mt. (December 8, 2003)  Carlos Sergio Sangland, a coffee producer from Brazil, is counting the days until December 9, 2003. Thats the day his winning coffee will be auctioned off on the Internet. Along with Sangland, there will be 42 additional coffee lots, all award-winners during Brazils fifth Cup of Excellence competition, which will be sold to the highest bidder.

The Cup of Excellenceb , which is similar to wines Grand Cru designation, offers chefs an opportunity to differentiate their restaurants and menu offerings. Commenting on the need for restaurant differentiation, Nancy Kruse, Menu Trends columnist for Nations Restaurant News, said;  With so many talented chefs and fine restaurants vying for the consumer, its tough to stand out from the competition. Cup of Excellence is a great way to differentiate an operation and to demonstrate a commitment to quality.
Distinctive quality and certification to support it further define a chef or restaurants reputation for providing the best in a product category. Ophelia Santos, owner of Ali-Oli restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, and former owner of Vino restaurant and El Centro wine and coffee bar, views the Cup of Excellence as a badge that distinguishes the merely good coffees from the truly great ones. Santos, who has just completed her own credentials in wine tasting and teaching through the New York International Wine Center, said; A coffee that has received the Cup of Excellence award can be likened to a wine being recognized as a Wine Spectator Selection. Like wines, she continued, these coffees have undergone a very stringent and disciplined evaluation process before being given the top marks in their class. As a restaurant or bar operator, serving coffee that has earned the Cup of Excellence is to serve a coffee that is the best of the best, she stated.
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With increasing competition to find new ways of attracting customers, the Cup of Excellence designation on the menu is a marketing tool that represents quality.
Cup of Excellence enhances brand image. Susie Spindler, executive director of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc., which owns the Cup of Excellence program explained; These coffees represent the cream of the crop, the very best that Brazil has to offer. They were selected from over 974 samples submitted, then narrowed down to 175 by a national jury in Brazil, then cupped and judged by an international jury of 25 coffee experts, she said.  With most coffee prices hovering around record breaking lows, the Cup of Excellence program continues to prove that an award winning coffee of exemplary quality can command a very high price, said Spindler.
With a limited amount of top quality coffee certified by the Cup of Excellence, competition among bidders is steep, and there is growing international demand. Last year, the top Brazil coffee received a record $12.85 per pound during the auction.

The Cup of Excellence auction, which will be held on December 9, 2003, will offer the 43 winning farms to the highest bidder. Restaurants and culinarians interested in these coffees may purchase through registered vendors listed on the Cup of Excellence site
at www.cupofexcellence.org, or contact Susie Spindler at susies@cupofexcellence.org;
or (406) 542-3509. The Cup of Excellence competition is held in other countries as well.

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