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Payment and Shipping Requirements for

Colombia

Cup of Excellence Internet Auction

The 2022 Cup of Excellence Internet Auction is sponsored by The Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc. (ACE)

and ASECC. If assistance is required immediately following the auction please contact

darrin@cupofexcellence.org, david@mcultivo.com, or kathia@cupofexcellence.org

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

Your participation in this auction indicates your review and agreement to the following terms. Should you

purchase any Cup of Excellence coffee at this auction you agree to the terms and conditions of purchase

and shipping included in this agreement. Any buyer of any Cup of Excellence coffee through the auction

or through a secondary channel agrees to the use and restrictions of the Cup of Excellence® mark. Any

misuse of this mark may be cause for legal proceedings. It is the responsibility of the bidder to determine

quality and appropriate value. Bidders should assess the value of each coffee based on quality in the cup

and its appropriateness for their company. Farm information is for educational purposes only but can be

used to help sell the winning coffees.

Coffee Lots

The 22 coffee lots being offered for sale through this internet auction were designated Cup of Excellence

(COE) winners at the 2022 Colombia competition. The designated coffees were blindly cupped through

the following process:

Preselection stage: August 23rd – August 27 with the 10 National Judges, held at Club Campestre de

Ibague, with Paul Songer as the head judge.

National stage: August 29th – Sept 1st with the 10 National Judges Club Campestre de Ibague, with Paul Songer as the head judge.

cupped throughout the month of September 2022 by a panel of COE experienced cuppers

designated by ACE in 12 Global Coffee Centers (GCC) around the world.

No other coffee can be sold using this designation. Online bidding for any Cup of Excellence lots is only

available through this website. Each lot is separate and distinct. The top 2 lots scoring 90+ points have

already been separated into 2 distinct lots labeled A and B. Samples have been made available.

Packing Information

The Colombia Cup of Excellence coffees are vacuum packed in cartons each containing 2 (two) 15kg bags.

Successful bidders will be charged $.20 (twenty cents) per pound mandatory fee for vacuum packing in

addition to the per pound cost of the auction price for each lot. Bidding calculations and vacuum packing

fee are based on actual pounds after milling and packing the coffees. The number of 30 kg boxes as well

as the weight in pounds will be shown. A broken seal on any vacuum package does not automatically

warrant a claim or indicate a quality change.

Financial Responsibility and Group Bidding

The individual bidder placing the highest bid at the close of the auction is responsible for the financial

payment to the exporter of the entire lot. Individual bids once accepted by the auction software, may not

be revoked or withdrawn. The exporter may approve multiple payments and multiple shipping

instructions for a single lot but only if the successful bidder requests the approval and submits all of the

shipping instructions within 7 days of the auction. If the exporter or the country partner denies the

request for any reason the bidder will be held liable for the entire payment regardless of group purchase.

If a lot is split and sent to more than one destination the buyer will be responsible for any additional costs

or fees associated with that export.

In a situation where the farmer is responsible for the payment of the transport, it is expected the winning

bidder will designate a shipping method which will not substantially affect the costs the farmer is charged

within the origin country to deliver the coffee to the shipping facility such as but not limited to: port,

airport, third party designated exporter. The management of the Cup of Excellence program has the right

to seek and provide the winning bidder fair shipping options considered equative for the selling and buying

parties.

The responsibilities of the lead bidder of a buyer group are to review, approve and socialize all terms and

conditions with each member of their buying group. This bidder agreement is only sent to those

registered to bid in the auction, if the members of your buying group are not registered for the auction

the lead bidder is required to share the agreement to get each member’s approval. It is required that the

lead bidder in the auction to collaborate with the exporter facilitating communication and expediting the

payment process if any setbacks are encountered regarding payment or complications in communicating

with other buyers from the group. Should there be any default from the additional group bidders, the lead

bidder must assume financial responsibility for the defaulted coffee if no interested buyers are found

If a lot is split between several buyers and sent to more than one destination, all additional buyers of that

lot will be charged with an extra fee per shipment to cover the additional administrative costs associated

with the export depending on the transport mode:

● FedEx: $50

● Air cargo: $200

● Sea freight: $350

Payment Requirements

Full payment of the lot(s)and the packing fee(s) is required prior to shipment unless other requests are

made in writing and approved in advance. Cash against documents must also be approved in advance of

the auction. Prepayment of the lot is required if moved to another exporter to be shipped. Shipment,

quality and delivery responsibility will revert to the new exporter.

Full payment is due 30 (thirty) days after the close of the auction regardless of ship date or method. A

minimum 2% monthly late may be charged for any lots not paid within 30 days.

Shipping Requirements

Shipping instructions are to be sent to ASECC within 7 (seven) days of the close of the auction by the

successful bidder or the bidder’s designated importer. Bidders can nominate any importer. A COE

cooperating importer is recommended. These can be found on the ACE website at

www.allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org

All Lots must be shipped within 45 days of the auction. No claim may be made to the exporter, farmer,

Alliance for Coffee Excellence, or ASECC on any COE lot shipped after 45 days. COE lots for Colombia are

shipped, EX Works1 for Sea shipping and FCA2 or Air shipping (recommended), net weight and applicable

fees- airfreight is available at an extra cost and can be coordinated by the exporter. Lots will be shipped

as per the instructions and at the cost of the successful bidder. Any changes that result in extra fees will

be paid by the buyer.

If a buyer wishes to combine other Colombia lots with COE lots, the buyer must designate a different

exporter and ASECC will sell the lot Ex-Works at the Vertical Coffee Mill warehouse in Armenia to the

other exporter. The buyer's chosen exporter must pay ASECC before the lot is released and will receive a

$.20 (twenty cents) per pound discount from the final auction winning bid price. Vacuum fee will still be

charged as normal at $.20 (twenty cents) per pound.

ASECC does not make consolidations with other exporters due to Colombian consolidation regulations at

shipping ports requiring coordination with other exporters, port authorities, anti narcotics police and

government agencies. This process requires procedures outside of ASECC’s control causes difficulties, and

delays and can have high transport costs, which ultimately impact the financial reward to the farmer. To

ship COE lots and other Colombian lots with a different exporter in Colombia, the option is for the buyer's

chosen exporter to purchase the lot Ex-Works Vertical Coffee Mill Armenia, where a $.20 (twenty cents)

per pound discount will be generously applied.

THE NOMINATED EXPORTER

Exporter Name: Asociación Colombiana para la Excelencia del Café - ASECC

Exporter Address: Calle 60 A #3d-32 Primer Piso Puerta Negra. 110231 Bogotá, Colombia

COE Coffee Warehouse Address: Kilómetro 2 vía al Aeropuerto Costado derecho Bodegas 2 y 3 Armenia,

Quindío.

Exporter Contact Name: Cesar Diaz

Exporter Phone numbers: +573113395562

Exporter Email Address: gerencia@verticalcoffeeco.com

Copy to: emilio.bonnet@asecc.co, darrin@cupofexcellence.org, gary@cupofexcellence.org,

kathia@cupofexcellence.org, and gabriela@cupofexcellence.org

Box Dimensions: 55cm*45cm*20cm

1 *EXW:the seller has fulfilled its obligation when the goods are made available to the buyer, usually at the seller's location. The seller should package the goods appropriately or as specified in the agreement between both parties.

2 FCA: export cleared goods are delivered by the seller to the carrier at the named and defined location mentioned in the

contract.

All buyers must contact the exporter, coordinators and ACE within 7 days of the close of the auction. Any

additional costs and/or special requests will be charged to buyers. The buyer is responsible for always

keeping the ACE team looped in all communications related to COE with the exporter.

Modification of this Agreement

The Management of the Cup of Excellence program has the right to modify this Agreement and any

policies affecting the website. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting to the website or

distribution via electronic mail. Your continued use of the auction or website following the notice of any

modification shall be deemed your acceptance of the modification(s).

Indemnification, Claims and Disclaimer

Use of this internet auction and ACE website is at the bidder’s own risk. Bidders agree not to hold the

Alliance for Coffee Excellence, the provider of software, internet services or telecommunications

companies for any consequential, incidental and/or liquidated damages if any that may result from or is

claimed to result from, the bidder’s participation in the auction.

The winning coffees have been selected and scored in blind cuppings. The winning farm and the specific

coffee lot information is submitted by each farmer and is not known to the public until the winning coffees

have been disclosed following the international stage cuppings held by the chosen panel. ACE assumes

the farm information is correct and up to date but is not responsible should some information change

before or after the auction. Bidders should assess the value of each coffee based on quality in the cup

and its appropriateness for their company. Farm information is for educational purposes only but can be

used to help sell the winning coffees. All quality claims must be made within 15 days of delivery as per the

Green Coffee Association of NYC ruling but no claim can be made on any coffees shipped more than 45

days after the close of the auction. Should a claim arise, a neutral arbitration panel will be assembled to

assess the claim. Bidding at this auction represents a contract to purchase the coffee. Should a buyer

default on payment legal remedies will be undertaken.

For any quality claims ACE must be contacted directly before any public statements/ posts/ social media

articles or any related matters are published to a general audience. A resolution will be amicably sought

after between ACE, in-country partner, buyer and exporter. Any public statements/ posts/ social media

articles or any other general audience published before contacting ACE will result in a void quality claim

process. ACE reserves the right to have the final resolution in any quality claim.