At Green Mountain Coffee, Inc., CAFE Means More Than Coffee; CAFE Program Supports Work in Hurricane-Stricken Honduras.

WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1999--

When folks at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) talk about CAFE programs they could be talking about coffee - but most likely they are talking about one of this growing Company's corporate social responsibility programs. CAFE, at Green Mountain, stands for Community Action For Employees. Green Mountain's CAFE program encourages employees to give back to the community by allowing employees to take paid time off from work to lend a hand wherever the employee sees a need. Under the program, the Company pays employees for the equivalent of up to six days a year of community service.

At Green Mountain Coffee Roasters giving back to the community is woven into the fabric of corporate life. Social responsibility, one of the company's four focus areas, is taken very seriously by management and employees alike - and it involves much, much more than giving corporate dollars to non-profit organizations.

"No company has unlimited resources but when you combine money with people's time, skills and energy your efforts in the community have a far greater impact," states president and CEO Bob Stiller. "Supporting communities, whether that's coffee growing communities, customers' communities or communities where employees live, is the most important work we can do. Doing good IS the way to do business," Stiller continued.

Recently, Rick Peyser, a Green Mountain employee, used the CAFE program to travel to hurricane-stricken Honduras as part of a three-person Partners of the Americas Farmer-to-Farmer Program team coordinated by the University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies. Peyser said "The Company's CAFE program provided an opportunity for me to meet with groups of Honduran farmers. In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, the country, already the second poorest in the Western hemisphere, is in desperate need of resources to help rebuild its infrastructure. Along with the other members of the team, I hope to help lay the groundwork for follow-up coffee project work in Honduras. I am committed to helping facilitate the expertise and support needed to put Honduras back on the specialty coffee map, where it belongs."

Peyser, Director of Public Relations, has extensive industry experience working with the Organic Coffee Association, Coffee Kids, and the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Environment Committee. As a representative of Green Mountain Coffee, Peyser was particularly interested in this mission to Honduras because it was an opportunity to share, directly with coffee producers, the Company's growing commitment to coffee produced in a sustainable manner. (For more on Peyser's trip visit http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/scripts/social.asp)

Not all CAFE program participants at Green Mountain travel the world to make a difference, however. Employee community involvement runs the gamut from local blood drives and food shelters to children's literacy and health programs. In one recent month a crew of employees from Green Mountain put the roof on a Habitat for Humanity in Waterbury, VT, while another employee worked at the local senior center and still another employee donated time and skills to the local ambulance corp.

"As we grow, as individuals and as an organization, we are able to give back even more to the communities and the people where we are doing business - in Vermont, elsewhere in the nation, and around the world," said Agnes Cook, VP Human Resources. Cook continued, "Our goal is to be a model for other companies as we expand our leadership position in the area of corporate social responsibility. The CAFE program is one way Green Mountain demonstrates its commitment to communities and the environment."

Green Mountain Coffee, Inc. is a leader in the specialty coffee industry. The Company roasts high-quality arabica coffees and offers over 60 varieties including single-origin, estate, certified organic, proprietary blends, and flavored coffees that it sells under the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters(R) brand. The majority of Green Mountain Coffee's revenue is derived from its wholesale operation which services restaurant, supermarket, specialty food store, convenience store, food service, in-room hotel hospitality, university, airline, train, and office coffee service customers. Green Mountain Coffee also operates a direct mail operation and e-commerce website (http://www.GreenMountainCoffee.com) with secure on-line ordering for customers from its Waterbury, Vermont headquarters.