This first time we purchased coffee from Yamid and his family, we thought his name was “Jamid” because it was spelled incorrectly on the first set of samples we received. Years later, when we finally visited, he laughed at the thought of a bag of his coffee with his name misspelled on it. Nestled in the mountains of San Agustin, Huila, the Familia Quinayas works together to produce stellar coffee year after year. Three generations of the Quinayas family live and work together there in the hills. Yamid oversees the operation and sometimes his coffee is kept separate and sold...
We met Luis Valdez Jr. (aka Wicho) for the first time in January, 2017 — on his farm, Finca Santa Isabel, located in Guatemala's Cobán region. From the beginning, we appreciated his laid back, straightforward personality. Some producers try hard to sell you on the quality of their operation; Wicho exuded confidence in the self-evident quality of his product, so it didn't fee like he was trying to convince us of anything. His confidence is backed up by real-world quality: his coffee (our Guatemala Santa Isabel) impressed us from the beginning with its balance and sweetness, and continues to be...
We have bought coffee from Fernando Alfaro since beginning of our company, and in January, 2017 we finally were able to travel to El Salvador and meet him. We spent a few nights in the home Fernando grew up, and toured his farm and wet mill... and high ropes course. His home is located just outside of a small called Ataco, which illicited an endless steam of "punny" comments from our owner Evan about all the things one can do inside of a taco ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. We learned very quickly what a cornerstone to this community Fernando is, and how much the people in the...