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El Salvador Trip Report, March 18-26, 2009
From Mark, Conscious Coffees Co-Owner
In 2008 we purchased our first lot of Organic El Salvador coffee from a cooperative who never had a direct buyer prior to us. Six months prior to this, Monika Firl (producer relations, Cooperative Coffees) brought us a green coffee sample from a small producer group she just met while traveling in El Salvador. She mentioned that although it may be a bit challenging to pull off, if we made it work, the producers would get the chance they've been waiting for and we would get our first shot at a direct relationship in country with such prized coffee.
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Ethiopia Trip Report, November 21- December 5, 2008
From Mark, Conscious Coffees Co-Owner
My trip to Ethiopia couldn’t have occurred at a better time. Upon my arrival I learned that the harvest had been delayed by 4 weeks and wasn’t expected to begin for another 2 weeks minimum. Initially, this was upsetting as I expected to observe the harvest and milling in full swing and do a lot of cupping of the new crop varieties. However, within a couple days I came to terms with the situation by realizing the scope of what I was about to experience was far greater than what I initially wanted to experience. For the last 12 years, I spent every season meticulously sampling and securing the year’s selection of coffees we stock from Ethiopia. Each year has had its challenges. Not a year goes by without its share of issues. For the last 6 years, I’ve played an active role in securing these coffees through our direct relationship with Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU), yet still an ongoing occurance of issues accompanied our supply.
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Peru Trip Report, May/June 2008
From Mel, Conscious Coffees Co-Owner
Coffees from Peru have always been some of my favorite. They are deep, and sweet, and their dark chocolate and citrus notes always leave me feeling like I should just run back to the kitchen and brew another French press before I take another breathe. After travelling to meet the people who grow this coffee I have come to understand why this coffee is so magnetic.
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Bolivia Trip Report, May 2006
From Mark, Conscious Coffees Co-Owner
La Paz is an energetic, timeless city with mild contemporary flavor and rich traditional nuances. The daily routines of the traditional folk create a vibrancy layered with bright colors. These folks are accustomed to walking long distances each day in order to make ends meet. The women are dressed in colorful layers and almost always carry, on their backs, a colorful woven blanket, folded up into a sack and loaded with everything from infants to survival gear to goods they will attempt to sell on the streets. In fact, if the woman has an infant, it’s almost guaranteed the young one is snug as a bug in the rug on the back. It seems baby strollers do not exist, and after seeing the way these ladies transport and hang onto the young ones (they make it look super easy and lightweight), it makes sense. And from what it appears, there seems to be more infants and children than adults in this country. These women almost always wear an old-fashion Italian-style top hat that, amazingly, regardless of which way the wind blows, stays perched atop the head.
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