Last Thursday, I arrived in Guatemala City. Anabella and Paula, ADESPA project coordinator and assistant, were kind enough to pick me up at the airport. From Guate (a nickname given to the capital by the locals) on our way to Acatenango, we stopped in Antigua, a colonial town with colorful houses and a vibrant culture. One of the oldest cities in the Americas, Antigua is surrounded by three large volcanoes. A place that must be visited if one is in Guatemala. Here are a few quick shots from my travel in Antigua on the way to the project in Acatenango. There might be a few days delay between happenings and posting due to time and internet constraints, but I will do my best to minimize. – Lisi
Lunch with the Women of Proyecto ADESPA (left to right, me, Paula, Sandra, and Anabella)
Ruins of a church in Antigua hit by the earthquakes of 1773
Lisi arrived in Acatenango, Guatemala last night where she will be working for one month with a coffee community. She will be posting photos and updates here throughout her trip. Casa Brasil is proud to be working on this program established by Coffee Kids and ADESPA. Here is the link to more info about the program
If I told you that I went to New Orleans to sell coffee and ended up on BB King’s tour bus, would you believe me? I wouldn’t either – thus the photo. How did that happen? Well, one answer is that when I was a kid I spent two weeks in Rio de Janeiro where I took an intensive course in Jeitinho Studies. Another answer i…s that BB King is a very kind man who absolutely loves Brazil. The real answer probably lies somewhere therein.
Casa Brasil Coffees are now available in one of the greatest cities in the world – New Orleans. Who Dat Nation, you may now proceed to your nearest Whole Foods for some sweet, smooth and vibrant Brazilian Coffee. Seems like a great fit, doesn’t it?
Visit Luis Adauto, Brazilian Coffee Producer of the Year in 2007, and he may just start digging. Besides being one of the pioneers of Fair-trade coffee in Brazil, Luis Adauto and his family also produce award-winning coffee. He is proud that wherever he digs on his farm, you find life. The worms are in some ways symbolic to him, the visual representation of the complex micro-biotic life in his organic soil, life that he is convinced ultimately leads to the wonderful melon and red fruit flavors found in his coffee. Adauto views himself ultimately not as a coffee producer, but rather as a shepherd of this life; his objective to foster it and it in turn will produce great coffee. Though I have never been, I imagine my trip to Luis Adauto’s farm is not all to different than a visit to Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farms.
We highlight the soil in this blog post, but the diverse flora and fauna found throughout is farm is remarkable. Like many other great artisan coffee farms there is a forest preserve above his property, adding to the diversity and slowly releasing water throughout the year to serve as a natural irrigation system. Perhaps these factors are neither sufficient nor necessary to guarantee high quality, but it seems wherever I find this diversity, I find great coffee.
Casa Brasil Coffee now at Spider House! We are very excited to announce that we are now roasting coffee for Spider House and added a new face to the Casa Brasil Merit-Scholarships. Spider House chose to sponsor Camila Miriam da Silva, pictured below on their organic family coffee farm in Poço Fundo, Brazil.
Camila with her parents Vania and Tiãozinho
If you wanted to check out the great coffees in the blend, they will now be served as rotating single origins. The current drip comes from Sergio Sanglard, a former Cup of Excellence Winner, from Serra do Bone, Matas de Minas.
