Auction 2008

Esmeralda Special Auction

Date: Thursday, May 22^nd,2008

What is a Batch of coffee?

On any given date during our coffee harvest, the coffee cherries are picked and transported to the processing plant or beneficio in a group (together). This coffee is then processed together (depulped) and dried together. We call this group of coffee a Batch. Each Batch is stored separately and kept in jute bags in our warehouse until it’s time to hull (remove the parchment), sort and ship.

For example, Batch #5 was harvested on January 9 and 10 and consists of approximately 1,800 pounds of coffee that was harvested, processed, dried and stored together.

What is an Auction Lot?

The coffee within each Batch is divided into 300 pound Auction Lots, so, using batch #5 as an example, there are 6 individual Auction Lots of Batch # 5 (1,800 pounds/300 pounds per auction lot = 6 Auction Lots).

The following is an example of how Batch #5 would look on the auction page.

Lot #	Bid	Bags (50lbs)	High Bid	Est. Price of This Item	Description
ES5-01	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-01
ES5-02	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-02
ES5-03	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-03
ES5-04	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-04
ES5-05	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-05
ES5-06	◄	6	$5.00	$1,500	Batch 5-06

The Lot Number has an ES for Esmeralda Special, followed by the Batch number (5), and the Auction Lot number (01-06).

There will be a total of 10 different Batches in the auction, 4 Reserve Batches and 6 Premium Batches.

Reserve Batches

Batch #1: North of Creek harvested February 15 (approximately 2 Auction Lots, 600 pounds)
Batch #2: North of Creek harvested March 4-5 (approx. 3 Auction Lots, 900 pounds)
Batch #3: Peaberries (1 lot, 300 pounds), harvest dates not applicable
Batch #4: Repassé (1 lot, 300 pounds), harvest dates not applicable

Bidding on Reserve Batches will start at $15.

Premium Batches:

Batch #5: harvested Jan-Feb, Hoguera and Frente Poldo (approximately 8 Auction Lots)
Batch #6: harvested January 9 and 10, North and South of the Creek (approximately 6 Auction Lots)
Batch #7: harvested January 29^th-31^{st ,}North and South of the Creek (approximately 13 Auction Lots)
Batch #8: harvested from February 15^th - 20^th, South of the Creek (approximately 25 Auction Lots)
Batch #9: harvested March 5^th -12^th , South of the creek (approximately 22 Auction Lots)
Batch #10: harvested March 24^th and 25^th, North and South of the Creek (approximately 5 Auction Lots)

Bidding on Premium Batches will start at $5.

Samples

The total number of Auction Lots (including all Premium and Reserve Batches) will be around 90. Please remember that we will not know the total number of lots until we hull and sort the coffee, right before the auction, the numbers used are estimates. Since all of the coffee in a Batch is harvested, processed, dried and stored together, all of the coffee within that batch is homogenous. Interested bidders will receive one sample of each Batch, not a sample of each Auction Lot. The samples will be identified with the Batch Number. A set of 10 samples will be sent for a cost of $225, which will be rebated against the actual purchase. Samples can be ordered during the registration process.

Altitude

Altitude on our farms varies from 1450 meters to 1650 meters. Except in the case of the North of the Creek Lots, coffee is harvested from different altitudes in one picking. North of the Creek lots are between 1550 and 1650 meters.

Packaging

Packed in 50 pound vacuum pack bags in order to maintain the high standard of quality.

Inscription for the auction will be at http://coffee.stoneworks.com starting now.

We plan on keeping the number of bidders small, so please register as soon as possible if you’re interested. In addition to last year’s buyers, a small number of other coffee buyers will also be invited to participate in the auction.

Coffee will be shipped to the US through an importer company to keep freight costs low, unless otherwise specified. Trabocca in Netherlands is available for those who wish to import to Europe.

Please feel free to contact me by phone in the US (787)-469-6636, in Panama (507)-720-3202 or email (rachel@haciendaesmeralda.com) if you have ANY questions about the auction.

Rachel Peterson/Hacienda La Esmeralda