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Press Releases
Millstone Coffee Launches New Signature Collection
Focused on High Quality Coffee and Improving Grower Quality of Life Millstone
Mountain Moonlight Fair Trade™ Certified, Millstone Rainforest Alliance
Certified®, Millstone Cup of Excellence® Roasts
(CINCINNATI, Ohio), Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Millstone Coffee is launching
a new line of Signature coffees offering products of exceptional quality
that also support grower quality of life. These new products meet the
Millstone consumers' desires for excellent taste while providing a fair
price to coffee growing communities. The current coffee market forces
coffee growing families to sell coffee at prices that are not high enough
to meet their most basic needs, such as food, education, and healthcare.
The three new products in the Millstone Signature Collection include:
Millstone Mountain Moonlight Fair Trade Certified -- An exceptional coffee
grown by democratically organized farmers in the mountains of southern
Mexico. The Fair Trade price is guaranteed by an
internationally respected certification model that ensures family farmers
receive a fair price -- significantly higher than average -- for their
excellent coffee. This well-balanced roast has a smooth body and a bright
-- but not aggressive -- acidity. It has a deep satisfying coffee taste
and, at the same time, a subtle jasmine aroma.
Millstone Cup of Excellence Signature Roast -- A winner of the prestigious
Cup of Excellence award recognizing the "best of the best" coffees grown
in Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Very few coffees ever
receive this honor and Millstone is the first major roaster to purchase
and sell this extraordinary coffee nationwide. This medium-dark roast,
from Jinotega and Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, is full-bodied and rich with
a complex, sweet flavor highlighted by a bright and pleasant acidity.
Millstone Rainforest Alliance Certified Signature Roast -- A medium-dark
roast from the slopes near Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The Rainforest Alliance
certification project is a leading certifier of
sustainable coffee and evaluator of farms according to its rigorous environmental
and social standards. Every bag of Rainforest Alliance Certified Roast
comes from farms that are vital refuges for wildlife and peaceful places
to work. The flavor has a ripe fruity overtone, with a hint of green apple,
and clean, natural notes.
"We're proud to be partnering with leading organizations like TransFair
USA, Rainforest Alliance, and Association of Coffee Excellence, who set
the standards for sustainability -- economic, social, and environmental,"
said Mike Griffith, president, Global Beverages, Millstone Coffee. "Millstone's
Signature Collection offers Millstone's sophisticated consumers a way
to enjoy exceptional coffee while supporting conservation and the many
families who grow coffee."
The Signature Collection, like all Millstone Coffees, is selected only from
the top 15 percent of premium Arabica beans. These roasts will be offered only
through online and phone order sales.
Our partners include:
Fair Trade Certified
TransFair USA is the only
independent organization certifying Fair Trade products in the United States.
Fair Trade assures quality from crop to cup with strict criteria for social and
environmental standards backed by an internationally recognized monitoring
system. The Fair Trade Certified price ensures that family farmers receive a
fair price -- significantly higher than average -- for their exceptional
coffees, enabling millions of farming families worldwide to stay on their land,
protect their communities, and keep children in school.
"Fair Trade Certified coffees are a guarantee of quality -- a great cup of
coffee for consumers, a better life for farmers and the opportunity for
businesses with a vision to make a difference," said Paul Rice, president and
CEO of TransFair USA. "Thousands of farming families worldwide will benefit from
Millstone's decision to offer Fair Trade Certified coffee."
Cup
of Excellence
The Cup of Excellence award recognizes the
pinnacle of flavor and quality in specialty coffees grown in Brazil, El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua and provides enormous economic benefits to
participating coffee regions. To participate, coffee growers submit samples to a
national, then international, invitation-only jury that evaluates every detail
from aroma, flavor, and acidity, to body and balance. The winning coffees are
sold at auction to the highest bidder at very high prices, which reward these
quality farmers for their hard work and dedication. Very few coffees ever
receive the "best of the best" Cup of Excellence honor.
The Cup of Excellence provides enormous economic benefits to participating
coffee regions. Taking this commitment one step further in Jinotega, Nicaragua,
Millstone and TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization, have pledged to help build
a school and equip students with textbooks and other supplies. In addition to
education, Millstone has partnered with Project HOPE to help build and sustain
health clinics in Jinotega.
"The Cup of Excellence program is the
critical bridge between a coffee farmer who produces great coffee and the buyer
looking to find that rare and exclusive coffee for his customers," said Susie
Spindler, co-creator and executive director, Alliance for Coffee Excellence
Inc., the nonprofit organization which owns the Cup of Excellence program. "The
international demand for these exemplary coffees by those who truly appreciate
quality creates a new vision of economic sustainability for coffee farmers
everywhere."
Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance is an
organization dedicated to helping farmers produce high quality beans in harmony
with wildlife, promoting healthy ecosystems, protecting forests and rivers, and
ensuring soil and water quality. In addition to visiting coffee farms annually
to inspect environmental guidelines, the Rainforest Alliance also requires the
following for all workers: fair wage or above, adequate housing, and access to
education, medical care, public transportation, and recreational facilities.
"We are thrilled that Millstone, a household name, is offering a coffee
product that is 100 percent Rainforest Alliance-certified," said Tensie Whelan,
executive director, Rainforest Alliance. "Thanks to Millstone, now more than
ever, consumers across the United States will be able to enjoy a great cup of
coffee that helps protect people, wildlife, and community."
About Millstone
Millstone Coffee is a gourmet coffee
brand sold in grocery stores throughout the country. Millstone Coffee provides a
wide variety of gourmet blends, roasts, and flavors and is available in ground
and whole bean. In addition, Millstone Coffee values socially responsible coffee
growers and is committed to supporting coffee sustainability practices.
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Web sites: www.millstone.com / www.pg.com
CONTACT: Kelly O'Malley, 1-314-982-8635, or
Tonia Hyatt, 1-513-983-0479, for P&G
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