For the very first time there is the equivalent of a Beaujolais nouveau for coffee as Percol Coffee shows the importance of �coffee seasons� and origins to a coffee�s flavour. Percol, the pioneering Fairtrade and organic coffee brand will launch a New Harvest Guatemala ground coffee - a first for the coffee industry which will change the way people think about and taste coffee.

Like wines all coffee flavour differs according to the region and season. The New Harvest Guatemala is taken from the first coffee crop of the year and will go on sale in Britain in July and is made from highest quality arabica beans grown at an altitude of 1500m � 2000m to increase the intensity of flavours. The taste characteristic of the Guatemalan region is slightly lighter and a little more delicate. The first 2007 harvest ending in March is grown high in Huehuetenango in the Guatemalan Highlands, an area renowned for its fine coffee.

Just like with a Beaujolais nouveau Percol has rushed to get the first harvest coffee out on sale as fast as possible to capture the intensity of the fresh flavour. The coffee cherries are picked by hand at the plantation in Coco La Grande, an area where there is no electricity. They are then transported by mule to Barillas, a small village that is the headquarters of the ASOBAGRI Fairtrade co-operative. Once enough coffee cherries are collected they are taken by road to Huehuetenango itself to be milled.

Percol has a unique �best beans � total freshness� approach to roasting and packing and do not use valves on pack. Keeping the coffee in a completely inert atmosphere inside the foil pack ensures that the coffee stays fresh and matures in pack just like a good wine.

Percol Founder Brian Chapman, says; �The New Harvest concept is intended to highlight that coffee is a living product � and is just like wine that has seasons and variations according to its microclimate and country of origin. This is the foundation of Percol�s success as the premier award winning coffee. We are thrilled to be adding another dimension to the coffee industry. Percol Guatemala is our top award winning coffee and although our coffees are at their freshest when reaching the retailers shelves we have made an extra special effort to get the first 2007 Harvest out quickly because it is so good.�

Wine expert Angela Mount said; �Guatemala produces some of the most stylish and flavour concentrated coffees in Central America, and Percol is delighted to announce the launch of the new 2007, single harvest blend. There is a delightful freshness about this newly released coffee � full of smooth, exotic character � breathe in and smell the rich bitter chocolate and ripe orange aromas, touched with a hint of smoke, then let your palate enjoy the lingering flavours of rich dried fruits and dark chocolate, which are balanced with a lovely citrus aftertaste - enjoy the lovely freshness of this coffee, attractive softness, with a velvety, sensuous richness, balanced by a lively tang � relax with this coffee after dinner, or ideal as a post lunch pick me up.�

Angela Mount continues; �This has never been done before. It is a huge development for the way people perceive coffee. The wine industry has played a massive part in increasing people�s experience of taste and really opened up the way for a huge adventure in coffee in the same way as we now look at wine. Coffee is as diverse as wine and there are many similarities between the two. As with wine, the soil and climate produce different styles and flavours and greatly affect taste.�

Percol has won a total of 22 awards for quality and taste, more than any other coffee. In 2006 it won a Gold Great Taste Awards for its Fairtrade Organic Guatemala Ground and Rainforest Organic Mexico Ground, having already won 2 Golds for coffee in 2005. It also won Gold at the Soil Association�s Organic Food Awards in 2002 and 2003 and in 2006 Percol�s Americano ground coffee won Bronze.

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For further press information and photography please contact Mary Jane Greenhalgh or Helen Trevorrow on 020 89608950

Notes to editors At Percol, we have been exploring the world, discovering the best quality coffee beans and the most delicious flavours for twenty years. Percol is run by coffee lover and founder Brian Chapman and supports the Coffee Kids Charity which establishes sustainable projects to improve the lives of those dependent on coffee farming. Projects include education, health-care and developing alternative sources of income. To date Percol has given $400,000 to Coffee Kids. Visit www.percol.co.uk for more details on the Percol range and for further information about Coffee Kids please visit www.coffeekids.org

The Percol range � Percol Fairtrade Organic Ground Coffees come from a variety of single origin sources available in 250g size and retail at �2.49 � Percol also produces non-organic Fairtrade Colombia Ground Coffee in 250g for �2.49 and has a number of other coffees from around the world. Please see www.percol.co.uk The Beaujolais run By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau, made from the new freshly harvested grapes is to be released no earlier than the third Thursday of November. What ensues is the rush to bring grape from vine, through a rapid fermentation to bottle and then global distribution within hours. By train, planes and automobile the newly harvested wine reaches all over the world within hours and days.

The ASOBAGRI cooperative Located in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala, ASOBAGRI was founded in 1989 by 20 k�anjob�al Mayan coffee and cardamom farmers. Despite regional political instability and poverty, ASOBAGRI grew steadily throughout the 1990s.

Angela Mount Angela is known best for her unparalleled tasting skills, her tastebuds insured for �10million and for transforming the fortunes of wine buying on the high street. Angela regularly appears on radio including Radio 4�s The Food Programme, Woman�s Hour, Radio London, and BBC local radio. She hosts many of the celebrity Chef�s shows at the BBC Good Food Show and works alongside the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes and Anthony Worrall - Thompson. Angela has teamed-up with Percol, the pioneering brand of award-winning ethical Fairtrade and organic ground and instant coffee. Her new role will see her pioneer Percol coffee as the new wine to an audience of increasingly sophisticated coffee drinkers.