Deep in the mountains of Puerto Rico, between the three highest peaks of our island—Cerro Punta, Cerro Puntita, and Cerro Maravilla—one of Borikén's most historic coffees is produced. Reaching this coffee bean requires an adventurous spirit, as you'll have to overcome the dizziness from riding around curves for more than two hours. The home of this bean, which rests in Puerto Rico's most fertile soils, is called Barrio Gripiñas and is located about 3,000 feet above sea level.
The Gripiñas neighborhood of Jayuya resembles a fairy tale and counts with a self-sustaining ecosystem for all those who are devoted to work the land. This is the case of Don Tito Carrero, a well known Jíbaro who has lived in Gripiñas his entire life. He tells us that his food cost is 0.39 cents each time he has to buy salt, since his land has everything he needs to feed himself, including a variety of tubers, vegetables, chickens, and pigs. One might think it's an austere life, but think about it—he probably lives better than we do. It's a life rich in well-being, connected to nature and all it offers. Don Tito is a self taught agriculture that has been living all his life surrounded by nature and coffee. We had a very empowering chat with him and during the conversation we ask him, "Whats the most satisfying feeling of working the land?, Tito respond, "That people can enjoy what I'm producing a harvesting with all my love"
As we continue our Cuela Coffee Journey in searching Café Gripiñas a coffee whose history and quality speak for himself. Its production began with Don Jaime Oliver at the end of the 19th century, and in 1904 it was awarded best coffee at the prestigious Grand Prix fair in Louisiana. The Coffee Industry was so booming at that time that Don Jaime Oliver not only owned farms in Gripiñas, but also purchased land in Haiti to produce coffee. Valldejuly tells us that he did this with the intention of, as the saying goes, "not putting all your eggs in one basket" and mitigating risks from hurricane threats.
In the 20th century, Luis Valldejuly Sastre entered to continue the legacy of Don Jaime Oliver. Something he promised himself from the beginning was that he would never compromise on quality, and that has been the case to this day. For this reason, three years ago, Café Gripiñas was exported to Hamburg, Berlin, New York, France and Harrods Coffee in London. The special quality of this coffee lies in the microclimates in which it is produced, the water from Puerto Rico's highest spring used to wash the coffee, and the selection of the beans. This meticulous hand-selection by Valldejuly ensures that his coffee is roasted uniformly to highlight the most representative flavors of Puerto Rican Coffee, such as caramel, chocolate, plum and dried fruits. In the case of Café Gripiñas, it has a soft citric acidity reminiscent of pink grapefruit.
Valldejuly told us the importance of the transparency between the merchants during shipping process of the coffee bean. Before sending the big shipment they request a sample to try the coffee. This sample has to comply with all the attributes that the coffee has that are, sweetness, acidity, body and aftertaste. When this is done they make the big purchase and when it gets to the destination the coffee goes to the same testing that the samples. After all these compliance process its done they make the payment. Valldejuly told us that in the 10 years of his business relationship with European buyers he never had a recall with Café Gripiñas.
The success of Gripiñas as an exported coffee in 21st Century in Europe was remarkable for over 10 years. This precious bean was so valued in Europe that the sale price of a pound was over $120.
Café Gripiñas is undoubtedly the most historic Puerto Rican Coffee still on the market, and we are pleased to announce that after three years, once again we have one of the most beloved coffees from Puerto Rico. Café Gripiñas honors Puerto Rican coffee growing and is definitely the father of our Specialty Coffee Industry.
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