Bay area roaster makes stock bid on Diedrich

Coffee Pacifica wants a 66 percent stake of the Irvine-based roasting company.
By Nancy Luna
The Orange County Register

A Berkeley-based coffee bean wholesaler made a bid Monday to buy a controlling stake of Irvine-based Diedrich Coffee.

A Diedrich spokeswoman said the 3 million stock purchase bid by Coffee Pacifica took Diedrich officials by surprise Monday. Beyond that, Diedrich officials declined to comment on the offer, which would give Coffee Pacifica a 66 percent stake in Diedrich.

Diedrich board Chairman Paul Heeschen is currently the largest shareholder. Heeschen could not be reached for comment Monday.

The stock purchase calls for Coffee Pacifica to pay four shares of its common stock for each share owned by Diedrich shareholders, according to a regulatory filing released Monday. Diedrich Coffee shares closed Monday at $4.93, up 31 cents from Friday. Coffee Pacifica shares, which are primarily owned by coffee farmers, closed at $1.72.

Coffee Pacifica officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

"By acquiring stock of Diedrich, (Coffee Pacifica) hopes to guarantee a long-term purchaser of its green-bean coffee," according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Coffee Pacifica markets and distributes premium green bean coffee grown in Papua New Guinea. Diedrich Coffee, which recently sold most of its local retail cafes to Starbucks, has been one of Coffee Pacifica's regular customers.

Coffee Pacifica posted annual revenue of $2.6 million in 2006, up from $749,660 in 2005. The company recently added Jamaican and Ethiopian coffees to its line of products.

Coffee Pacifica Closes $2.25 Million Funding

Las Vegas, Nevada

Coffee Pacifica, Inc. (OTCBB: CFPC) announced today that effective March 19, 2007, it received gross proceeds of $2,250,000 by issuance of $2,678,571 of convertible notes to five accredited investors. The convertible notes due March 18, 2009 may be converted, at the option of the Note-holders, into shares of common stock of Coffee Pacifica, Inc. JPC Capital Partmers, Inc., an Atlanta based NASD firm, acted as exclusive placement agent for this tranaction. Please visit www.jpccapital.com for more information.

Terry Klassen, CEO of Coffee Pacifica, stated "Funding provides us with necessary working capital to maximize shareholder value by increasing revenue, cash flow, and earnings of Coffee Pacifica."

"This funding will fuel our revenue growth. Increased working capital will enable us to aggressively increase the shipment volume of our co-operative coffees" said Jon Yogiyo, Vice Chairman of Coffee Pacifica and Chairman of PNG Coffee Growers Federation Ltd.

Coffee Pacifica, Inc. is a distributor and a marketer in the United Dtates and Europe of the green bean coffee grown in Papua New Guinea and "Penlyne Castle" brand "Jamaican Blue Mountain" coffee grown by Blue Mountain Coffee Co-Operative Society LTD ("BMCC") of Jamaica. Green bean coffee in in Papua New Guinea is grown by Coffee Pacifica's shareholder-farmers int he Highland region's rich volcanic soils between altitudes of 4,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level. Papua New Guinea exports approximately 2% of the annual world green bean production. Papua New Guinea coffee is well regarded by consumers for its uniqueness, consistency and special flavor characteristics. For more information about our coffee products, visit our website at www.coffeepacifica.com. Coffee Pacifica's wholly owned subsidiary, Uncommon Grounds Inc., established in 1984, is a coffee roasting and wholesale company based in Berkeley, California. Visit their website at www.uncommongrounds.net to purchase our PNG roasted coffee beans.

PNG Coffee Growers Federation LTD. ("PNGCGF") is our strategic partner and a major shareholder. PNGCGF's shareholders are 179 individual independent coffee grower co-operatives in 11 of the 13 growing provinces in Papua New Guinea. This represents approximatley 120,000 plus individual coffee farmers involved in producing co-operative coffee. The high quality premium-grade coffee produced by the co-operatives are pooled and marketed by Coffee Pacifica. In PNG approximately 86% of the exported coffee is annually produced by the small independent coffee growers.

"Penlyne Castle" brand "Jamaican Blue Mountain" coffee is grown by Blue Mountain Coffee Co-Operative Society Ltd ("BMCC") of Jamaica. BMCC is a Jamaican incorporated society that has been actively involved in the production and exportation of the Jamaican coffee since 1949. BMCC represents approximately 3,000 coffee farmers within the Blue Mountain coffee region of Jamaica. BMCC was established to enhance and improve the economic benefits of its members.

Except for the historical matters contained herein, statements in this press release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may affect the Company's current and future business and prospects. Actual results could differ materially, as a result of various risk factors including but not limited to such as: (1) competition in the markets for the Company's coffee; (2) the ability of the Company to execute it plans; and (3) other factors detailed in the Company's public filings with the SEC. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company can give no assuarances that transactions described in this press release will be successfully completed, and undertakes no oligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this press release. This release should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which identifies important factors that could affect the forward-looking statemnents in this release. In addition, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statemnents include, without limitation, overall economic conditions, and other risks associated generally with the green bean coffee business. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Coffee Pacifica Inc, Corporate Relations, Lionele Gosselin, Tel:877 318 9343, enquiries@coffeepacifica.com
Investor Relations, david L Kugelman, Tel:866 692-6847, dk@atlcp.com