Aserrí Coffee Most Expensive in the World
Next time you order a cup of coffee and feel that it has gotten expensive, it may be that it was brewed with coffee beans from Aserrí, which placed first at the international Taza de Excelencia 2007 (Excellence Cup) auction with a price of us$21.35 a pound, making it the most expensive coffee.

The coffee is grown by brothers Ronald and Luis Manuel Monge Valverde of Cedral, Aserrí, forming part of the Asociación de Productores de Acosta y Aserrí, an association that unites small coffee farmers of the region.

The brothers work the farm that produced the expensive coffee, growing a variety of "Catuai rojo" beans at an altitude of 1.700 metres over sea level.

"From today on we will be working with more affection to be able to continue to participate in the competition and stay in first place", said Ronald.

The Cup of Excellence program is owned by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc., (ACE) the US based non-profit organization.

The Cup of Excellence is a strict competition that selects the very best coffee produced in that country for that particular year. These winning coffees are chosen by a select group of national and international cuppers and are cupped at least five different times during the competition process. The final winners are awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence® and sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction.

There were twenty-five (25) coffees auctioned during the 2007 Cup of Excellence® Costa Rica program. Mercanta The Coffee Hunters and Fortnum and Mason London bid $21.35 per pound to secure lot #1, paying a total of us$38.972.88 for the 12 sacs in the lot.

Aserrí is located south of San José.