DunnBros

Dunn Bros Coffee Announces Grand Prize Winner of its Costa Rica Ultimate Coffee Tour Sweepstakes

Minneapolis, MN (January 15, 2010) - Dunn Bros Coffee publicly announced today the grand prize winner of its national "Cost Rica - Ultimate Coffee Tour Sweepstakes" held last fall. Twin Cities area resident and 20-year Dunn Bros Coffee patron Tanya Bennett was chosen at random from more than 150,000 entries to accompany Dunn Bros Coffee franchisees and staff to visit coffee producing farms and facilities in Costa Rica in January 2010.

This annual "trip to origin" (a term used in the coffee industry to describe going directly to where the coffee is grown) is widely anticipated within the Dunn Bros Coffee system each year. Every year, local shop owners, roasters and corporate staff have the opportunity to make the exciting journey to a country of origin to see for themselves the process of growing, harvesting and processing the coffees they serve every day. These trips are an important part of developing the deep coffee knowledge that is foundational to the Dunn Bros Coffee brand. Tanya and her husband Cory (who will accompany her on the trip) are tremendously excited by the opportunity. "It'll be a wonderful adventure," Bennett said.

Tanya and Cory are regular customers at the Elk River, MN location owned by Mickie and Tim Smith. Tanya won the October sweepstakes simply by using her Dunn Bros Coffee RoastmasterReward Card, which not only gave her reward credit for her bean and beverage purchases, but also automatically entered her into the sweepstakes with every swipe. "Tanya and Cory have been coming into our shop for years. We've really gotten to know them and their kids," Smith said. "She was shocked and excited when I told her she'd won the sweepstakes."

During the five day trip to Costa Rica, the group from Dunn Bros Coffee will be hosted by three different coffee farms, beginning with the Rain Forest Alliance Certified coffee estate, La Hilda and wrapping up with the Rain Forest Alliance cooperative, Coopelibertad. "Creating connections between customers, shop owners and our farming partners is critical for our long term success" said Chris Eilers, Dunn Bros Coffee CEO. "Having passionate coffee consumers, such as sweepstakes winners Tanya and Cory, join us on this trip creates a unique opportunity for our farming partners to connect with the ultimate consumers of their labor. Our hope is that this powerful experience will help to create lasting connections."