Category Archives: Rain Forest Alliance

In February of 2012 we were first introduced with Mauricio Salaverria of Divisadero Café Farms when touring El Salvador.  We were impressed with what we saw at his farms Finca VilllaGalicia and Finca Himalaya, both in the Concepcion de Ataco which is in the Ahuachapán region in Western El Salvador.  What impressed us the mostMore

Easily one of the top coffees we’ve ever had the opportunity to taste has been our new Guatemalan Don Gustavo Geisha, a stunning cup, bright citrus and tropical fruit notes with an incredibly smooth body and a candy like finish. It is grown at 1600 Meters above sea level alongside Bourbons and Caturra coffee plantsMore

…….After cupping these coffees, I was blown away at the cupping profile.  Flavors of Juicy Fruit candy, creamy strawberry, tangerine acidity, intensely sweet and a balanced lingering acidity.  I brewed a Chemex of this in Calgary and found myself gulping it back like I was in a beer drinking competition back in College.  I quicklyMore

We have successfully completed another buying trip in Nicaragua and this year we have done something a little different. We are still working with Erwin Miersch and his family who have farms in both Jinotega and Matagalpa, but for the first time we aren’t focusing on just a single lot of coffee. Instead we wanted to taste coffees and approach this up coming year with a variety of Estates, processes and varietals. This is going to be a fun & exciting year filled with selection.

Over the last 4 years the number of independent quality driven cafes has grown from less than a handful to over 20 to choose from, with multiple locations opening for some companies. We have seen a greater dedication to sourcing exceptional coffee, hiring and retaining baristas that are passionate about coffee and educating the public.More

Here is a new video we just shot while touring our Direct Trade Partners in Guatemala Guatemala Montecristo Estate – Micro Lot from Russ Prefontaine on Vimeo.