This year, we decided to embark on a unique mission within the Puerto Rican Coffee Industry. The objective of this mission, which we have called Cuela Coffee Journeys, is to reach the most unique coffees that a Puerto Rican coffee farmer can offer us. On this very purposeful project, we are working with coffee farmers who have collaborated with Cuela since the beginning and with other coffee farmers who have not yet joined Cuela.
In addition to presenting a unique and special product, at Cuela Coffee Journeys, we seek to give voice to these coffee farmers who are working and experimenting to add value to their coffee. You may be wondering, how do you add value to a coffee? This can be something as simple as harvesting the coffee cherry at is optimal ripeness, agroforestry practices, working with good coffee varieties, to something more complex, such as experimenting with controlled fermentations to enhance flavors.
Puerto Rico offers very good coffee quality, but it's no secret that as a producing country, we face a significant shortage, among countless other challenges. We can turn challenges into opportunities; as the saying goes, the obstacle is the way. Now, more than ever, the quality of a coffee is even more valuable, and our commitment is to find those coffees and share those hidden stories that need to be known in order to provide valuable information to our community.
Cuela Coffee Journeys began with a visit to Hacienda Anita in search of the exotic H1 Central American Coffee from young coffee grower Remy Rodriguez Chardón. Here, we review the experimental plot of just 400 trees, along with the great benefits of his agroforestry planting practices. Remy told us that on the farm, he's not trying to reinvent the wheel, but rather to cultivate the coffee plantation as our ancestors Jíbaros did, playing in favor of nature.
The next journey takes us to the Gripiñas neighborhood of Jayuya with coffee grower Luis Valldejuly Sastre. A coffee grower who produces an extraordinary coffee that hasn't been harvested for three years. The main and sole reason is the meticulous selection of the beans, which dates to the early 20th century when Café Gripiñas won first place at the prestigious Louisiana Grand Prix fair in 1904. Interestingly, the coffee's label is inspired by that award. A few decades ago, Valldejuly's uncle, Mr. Jaime Oliver, gave him a jute sack with the Gripiñas logo to continue the family legacy with only one condition: Never compromise the quality of the Gripiñas beans, and this has been the case to this day.
After Gripiñas, for the remainder of the year, we will continue to Maricao, Yauco, Utuado, and the Baraka Roastery in order to continue highlighting unique coffees, which we will be reviewing and showcasing through our social media channels so that you and our entire coffee community can share the quality and stories of Puerto Rico's most outstanding coffee growers and roasters.
Stay tuned!
