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Contact:
Mike Ferguson |
| For Immediate
Release |
Phone: (562)
624-4100
E-mail: mferguson@scaa.org |
Panama’s Best Coffees Set New Records in
Online Auction
Famed Hacienda la Esmeralda Sells for Over $50
a Pound
LONG BEACH, Calif. U.S.A. (May 30, 2006)---
Panama’s number one coffee, from Hacienda la Esmeralda,
once again set an online coffee auction record when it sold
for over $50 dollars a pound during an online auction on May
30th. Hacienda la Esmeralda placed first in the “Best
of Panama” cupping competition in April with a score of
94.6 out of 100.
The coffee was purchased by Small Axe Coffee Alliance, which
consists of Sweet Maria's Coffee Inc, Stumptown Coffee Roasters,
Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters, Groundwork Coffee Company and
Norwegian coffee roaster, Kaffa.
Competition was active on many of the lots offered during internet
auction, which lasted 10 hours as several bidders were after
the small lot of five 60-kilo bags of Hacienda la Esmeralda,
as well Bambito Estates and Carmen Estates, which placed second
and third in the competition, respectively, and also received
high prices. When the auction closed, Hacienda la Esmeralda
had sold for a stunning price of $50.25 a pound. Commercial-grade
coffee is currently trading in commodity markets for just over
$1 a pound.
Price Peterson of Hacienda la Esmeralda said, “It is
events like this, and the great response of the buyers, that
is like a cheering section for us farmers. It tells us that
someone out there really appreciates the effort we put into
preparing our coffee and, even if the commodity prices do not
reflect it, someone up north cares. Everyone likes to feel that.”
The online auction was hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association
of America (SCAA). Ted Lingle, SCAA’s executive director,
said, “When you consider the average price paid for these
31 lots was $4.75, it is clear that Panama is producing high
quality coffee and has captured the attention of roasters who
are interested in only the best.”
In addition to Hacienda la Esmeralda, thirty additional lots
totaling over 33,000 pounds of high scoring coffee from the
“Best of Panama” were also sold in the online auction,
fetching prices from $1.50 to $14.20 a pound.
To view the results of the auction, visit:
http://auction.stoneworks.com/includes/pa2006/final_results.html
To learn more about Hacienda la Esmeralda visit http://www.haciendaesmeralda.com
To learn more about the Best of Panama visit http://www.panamacoffee.org
To learn more about Sweet Maria’s Coffee Inc. visit http://www.sweetmarias.com
To learn more about Stumptown Coffee Roasters visit http://www.stumptowncoffee.com
To learn more about Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters visit http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com
To learn more about Groundwork Coffee Company visit http://lacoffee.com
To learn more about Kaffa visit http://www.kaffa.no
To learn more about SCAA visit
https://www.scaa.org
