Lavazza's ¡Tierra! Blend, Developed Through the Company's Latin American Sustainability Initiatives - Now Available at Lavazza Cafés

Chicago (July 2007) - Lavazza, the largest Italian coffee company whose authentic, contemporary Italian cafés have earned a loyal following in Chicago, has introduced its ¡Tierra! Blend coffee. ¡Tierra! Blend is a 100% premium Arabica coffee characterized by aromatic and sweet notes and is made by blending the green coffees from Lavazza's sustainable development projects in Honduras, Columbia and Peru. The initiative is unique in that Lavazza isn't just buying sustainable coffee from the communities, but actively invests by building class rooms, infirmaries, setting up micro banks and technology to improve productivity.

¡Tierra! Blend, is priced comparably to Lavazza's other coffees and none of the costs involved in the ¡Tierra! Project have affected the price, because the program is subsidized by Lavazza as a corporate social responsibility initiative. "¡Tierra! Blend is a remarkable coffee," said Joerg Oberschmied, chief operating officer of Premium Espresso, the Lavazza subsidiary which owns and operates the Lavazza cafés in Chicago. "We are confident it will be well received because of its quality and because it is the result of our company's outstanding work in the area of sustainability."

The objective of the ¡Tierra! Project is to enable communities of small-scale coffee producers, who currently live in extremely disadvantaged situations, to improve their living conditions and the quality of their products-while respecting the environment and relying on eco-compatible techniques. The project helps them acquire new tools in order to trade at more favorable conditions and to be more competitive, autonomous and better managers of their production processes.

¡Tierra! Project also touches these communities by helping them, at the local level, to improve their education, health and quality of life. This has been accomplished by building facilities for processing and drying green coffee, and by restructuring and building homes, schools and medical centers.

¡Tierra! Project is the latest in a long line of Lavazza's socially responsible activities
For three generations the Lavazza family has been committed to socially responsible activities. "For the ¡Tierra! Project, Lavazza decided not to work alone, because we feel that true sustainability stems from the cooperation of a number of parties, each with different areas of expertise," said Francesca Lavazza. "Therefore, we decided to find a local partner familiar with the territory and deeply aware of its social, technical and ecological problems. We naturally turned to Volcafé, one of the world's leading coffee exporting groups, with which we already had a solid rapport and trust. We spent many months preparing and analyzing possible interventions."

Participating coffee plantations have achieved sustainability certification
Lavazza has worked alongside the Rainforest Alliance, an international, non-governmental organization actively involved in sustainable development and safeguarding rain forests, to enable the communities taking part in the project to obtain sustainability certification for the coffee they produce. In collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), a coalition of conservation organizations based in Latin America, the Rainforest Alliance has established a comprehensive set of social and environmental standards for coffee farms. The standards aim to reduce deforestation, agrochemical use and drinking water pollution while ensuring that workers have access to healthcare, education and dignified housing. Farms that meet the rigorous standards are awarded the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. All three communities involved have reached this important status.

¡Tierra! Project's outstanding photographic documentation can be viewed online at www.tierra.lavazza.com.
Lavazza recognized the need to document this important project and turned to Steve McCurry, one of the world's leading photographers. Working with three talented young Latin American photographers, McCurry created an excellent collection of photographs based on the principles of cultural sustainability.

Lavazza cafés, which feature exceptional coffee beverages as well as a wide range of delicious, freshly prepared breakfast items, sandwiches, salads and gelato, are located at 27 West Washington, Chicago, IL (312-997-9971), 134 North La Salle, Chicago, IL (312-977-9701) and 111 West Jackson, Chicago, IL (312-447-0000). Hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Washington location); 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (LaSalle location); 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (Jackson location). American Express, Visa, and MasterCard credit cards are accepted. Smoking is not permitted per city ordinance.

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