I’ve always been a fan of “underdog” stories. You know, the stories where there’s no chance of someone succeeding and yet, despite all odds, they do. That is the story of Finca Los Planes and several other farms in the small region of Chaletenango, El Salvador.

The Chaletenango region of El Salvador is a very small producer in the world of coffee. As a matter of fact, this region is a very small producer of coffee in El Salvador. For years the entire coffee harvest in this tiny region, located near the Honduras border, was simply sold as commodity coffee.  No one even tasted the coffee they produced.

All that changed in 2006 when Finca Los Planes, owned by Sergio Ticas, received 2nd place in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence. Coming from Chalentenango, Sergio was not supposed to produce a remarkable coffee. And yet, here stood Sergio at the Awards Ceremony collecting his plaque for 2nd place. This award, and his remarkable coffee, has helped catapult this “no name” region of El Salvador into a star in the coffee-growing world.

We purchased his coffee in the Cup of Excellence auction, a Pacamara Variety coffee, and later that year I traveled to El Salvador to meet Sergio and his family and visit his farm.  On that visit, I met a man who has a passion for the land, the people he works with and the coffee he produces!  We developed a quick friendship that has become stronger each year. We’ve carried Finca Los Planes as a Direct Trade coffee for several years now, and each year we have worked with Sergio to bring you new and different coffees from his farm, along with the normal favorites.

The first coffee we bought was the Pacamara variety of coffee that won 2nd place in the 2006 Cup of Excellence.  Throughout the years, it has maintained its beautiful, sweet citrus flavor, and it seems to get better year after year.  After running out a couple of weeks ago, you can now purchase the new crop of this incredible coffee!  You can purchase it here!

The next year, we introduced a little spin on the Pacamara variety, a carefully sorted Peaberry coffee we christened Reserva del Mandador.  It was a specially processed, hand-sorted Peaberry that was a mixture of Pacamara and Bourbon Peaberry.  We will be launching the new crop of this spectacular coffee very soon, just in time for the Holiday season.

And this last year, we convinced Sergio to go even further in his pursuit of the perfect cup.  We had him sort out his Pacamara Peaberry from his Bourbon Peaberry.  The Bourbon Peaberry we introduced as Peaberry de La Lagunita. It is a remarkable Peaberry that is full bodied, juicy and sweet.  We still have a little bit of this extraordinary coffee, and at its current price, it is literally a steal!  Buy Peaberry de La Lagunita here!

The Pacamara Peaberry we are offering as Peaberry de Pacamara.  It is an elegant cup, with rounded notes of citrus and a beautifully full body.  Do not miss out on trying these two Peaberries side-by-side!  In fact, in the next couple of months, we are going to start offering a limited time Celebration of Harvest Box that will contain all three Peaberry Coffees from Finca Los Planes- Peaberry de Pacamara, Peaberry de La Lagunita and Reserva del Mandador.  It will be the perfect gift for the holidays! Purchase Peaberry de Pacamara here, and watch out for the forthcoming Celebration of Harvest Box!

As you may have noticed, Finca Los Planes produces two different varieties of coffee. The Pacamara variety coffee that won 2nd place in 2006, and now, in its first release, the Bourbon variety called Lote La Lagunita.  This coffee was entered into the 2009 Cup of Excellence and finished in 30th place, a very admirable finish in a country that is now producing some of the best coffees in the world.  Lote La Lagunita is a wonderfully clean coffee, with nice depth and sweet notes of nectarines.  You can try this beautiful coffee for the first time here!

We consider Finca Los Planes a part of our PTs Family, and we hope you enjoy the many different coffees we share with you from this remarkable farm.

- Jeff Taylor

Gombe Coffee Project: Kanyovu Coop 2009

We were still hours from our destination, Kigoma, Tanzania, when we told our Rwandan driver, Saidi, to keep the Land Rover in the “ruts of the road.”

It appeared to be the safest place to ride. The “road” was really more of a trail left by Chinese contractors creating a new modern highway through the heart of Tanzania. But that dream of a road is three to five years from being finished. There are no caution signs in this part of the world. No orange cones to mark the way or flagmen to tell you which direction to travel that is the safest. This was nothing more than a rain soaked trail of orange clay that was often as slick as an oil spill on a glass plate. Unless we stayed in the ruts of the road, it was nearly impossible to stay on the road.

Moments later the unstoppable Land Rover, in 4-wheel drive, veered from the rut we had hoped to guide us and came  to an abrupt halt in the ditch to the left side of the road. We were stuck; no, we buried the front left side of the vehicle.

When in the middle of Africa, American style tow-trucks are not really an option. We were still hours from our destination, and our vehicle was buried so deep, I didn’t think we had any chance of unearthing it in a short period of time. This was officially the first time in two weeks of traveling through Africa I had a moment of trepidation. It didn’t look good.

A month earlier I was told the story of a group of Europeans who were traveling along this same road.  They hey were robbed of everything, including their clothes, and left naked with nothing but their pride. This was the worst case scenario that was coming to my mind. Hopeless in Tanzania; a long way from Kansas! But since I knew the worst case scenario, it was time to try and improve upon that scenario. We needed to dig out and quick!

Fortunately, a mini-van loaded with locals behind us had come prepared with shovels for just such an occasion. Apparently, this was not the first time this has happened. Our new friends quickly offered up assistance and nearly an hour and $20 later, we were back in our rut and safely on our way.

That $20 bill is close to a months wages in Tanzania but it was worth every penny to us. Kigoma and a warm bed awaited after a 14-hour drive that was easily the longest 4-wheel drive adventure I’ve taken to date. Sleep never came so easily as it did that night. Day one in Tanzania was under our belts and day two would be filled with beautiful coffee trees and new friends. Surely nothing so eventful would happen again.

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Mubanga Primary Society

As the sun rose over the sleepy town of Kigoma, the rains from the previous day seemed miles away. My friend and colleague Sara Morrocchi, of Sustainable Harvest Kigoma, met me at the hotel ready to lead the way.

Morrocchi, a young Italian woman, is Sustainable Harvest’s Tanzania Office director. She has a master’s degree in Peacekeeping from Universities in Italy and the U.K. and somehow found her way into the African coffee industry. She’s fluent in four languages, including Spanish and Swahili which comes in handy every day in Tanzania. Many locals speak English, but in the more rural parts, English is rarely spoken and Swahili is the standard language.

Her leadership and respect is apparent as she is able to quickly befriend almost everyone she meets. As we get closer to our destination, neighbor children shout her name as we pass by - “Sara, Sara” - the children scream as they run towards the vehicle. It’s very charming even though Sara seems slightly embarrassed by the whole event.

Morrocchi is charged with assisting the Kanyovu Coffee Cooperative.  She represents nearly 5,000 Tanzanian farmers who work in one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. She is helping them improve coffee quality, decrease pressures on the landscape and achieve a profit for their harvest, creating a sustainable income for the Cooperatives members.

This project started a couple of years ago when members of the coop sought assistance for improving their coffee .  Farmers were not receiving a sustainable price for their coffee. The price the farmers were receiving was directly tied to the quality of the coffee they produced. Unfortunately, they had little knowledge of proper coffee farming techniques and a lack of water complicated the task even more. With the help of Sustainable Harvest and a group of coffee roasters from the United States(including PTs Coffee Roasting Co.) , training is being implemented and quality is improving.

The Kanyovu Coop is an umbrella organization that represents 10 smaller primary societies in the Kigoma region. The washing station that I was visiting, Mubanga Primary Society, is next on the list for upgrades in water conserving processing equipment that simplifies the process for farmers and reduces the loss of this precious natural resource. This area is one of the most remote and impoverished regions in Tanzania. However, it possesses all the essential elements needed for quality coffee: high altitude, fertile soils and heirloom varietals called Bourbon.

Until the new equipment arrives later this summer, the washing station is still processing coffee with a hand operated de-pulper and using the traditional method to ferment the coffee. (see Video) With technical assistance provided by Sara and her staff, quality has improved enough to garner a higher price, and this higher price has already improved living standards of the people in this region.

I arrived just before noon and waited as the producers began to arrive with the day’s harvest. In order to receive a higher price for their coffee, a lot has been required of the coffee producers. They can no longer simply strip the trees of all fruit; selective harvesting and proper sorting techniques are a must. Sustainable Harvest is holding a ripe cherry competition this season where the farmer with the most ripe coffee cherries will collect an additional sum of money.

Producers weigh their harvest using a hanging scale that checks total weight of the coffee. Then the coffee cherry must  be sorted to select only the ripest of red fruit. Under-ripe or over-ripe cherries are not permitted and are rejected if not sorted properly. This system is not perfect, but the coop is a work in progress. And progress is being made on a daily basis.

Specialty Coffee of the nature we purchase requires attention be paid to every detail of the harvest. We don’t purchase coffees where corners are cut, mills are left dirty or selective harvesting is not employed. This may seem harsh, but it is the nature of the specialty coffee industry. One cherry that has mold can ruin an entire day’s harvest for every member of the cooperative.

Since I visited on the first day of harvest, there was indeed a lot of unripe cherry that was harvested. Sara and her staff have their work cut out for them, but they are up for the task and have indeed shown great progress in other regions.

………….

Jeff

Jason Johnson, a PT’s Coffee’s employee, was visiting Hacienda La Esmeralda during the auction.  Here is his first hand account:

I got up this morning at 6 am with nervous anticipation.  Daniel was picking me up around 7 and then we were going to the farm to watch the auction.  This year’s crop production was down because it was hit by some high winds, but there was also a new part of the farm that was producing enough to be sold as a separate lot for the first time, so there was a lot of excitement around that.

We got to the house and had a quick breakfast, then it was short walk to the office.  The auction began at 8:30 a.m., and it was obvious that there was not going to be a repeat of last year’s marathon.  People knew there wasn’t a lot of the Geisha, so no need to mess around.  As we watched the screen Daniel told me how the auction worked.  The Geisha was separated into 7 batches and those batches had various lots of 300 pounds, for a total of 47 lots or 14,100 pounds.  As we watched the prices go up across the board, Daniel Peterson was very excited.  In the next room all of the workers were talking excitedly in Spanish, and Rachel Peterson continued to message Daniel with things like “everything is above 20, unbelievable!!” The whole auction lasted for only a couple hours, but it must have seemed like years to the buyers.  The low coffee received an incredible $24 a pound and the high was $117.50.  After it was done, the family got together for lunch.  Monday the staff had asked if there was going to be a bonus this year, the answer at lunch was… “Yes!”

While you wait in eager anticipation of the new crop of Esmeralda Special, be sure to try out the current crop while it is still available!  You can purchase a bag here!

- Jason Johnson

MISSOULA, US - The Cup of Excellence wraps up another successful competition and auction year, giving the program sustained momentum to continue discovering and promoting the world¹s exemplary coffees as the program enters its 10th year.Nine countries: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Rwanda, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil, hosted extensive cupping competitions in 2008, and 236 distinct lots were recognized by national and international juries as exemplary and deserving to be considered Cup of Excellence award-winning coffees. The true honours, however, belong to the farmers who produced these superlative coffees. In a country like Rwanda, where many smallholders contribute to one washing station, success means a strengthened infrastructure to continue improving quality. For many individuals and families in coffee-producing countries, recognition through the Cup of Excellence program leads to long-term relationships in the specialty coffee market. Once selected and celebrated through the competitions, the 2008 award-winners attracted over $4.2 million from enthusiastic roasters on the online auctions.The average gross value from each auction was $472,523, up from an average of $422,114 in 2007, illustrating that even with global economic changes beginning in 2008, coffee lovers worldwide see extraordinary value in Cup of Excellence award-winners and want to reward farmers for their craft, care and diligence: 2008 price premiums rose to an average of $7.05 per pound compared to an average of $6.11 in 2007.As quality-minded roasters both large and small share the mission, stories and award-winning coffees with their customers, public enthusiasm and demand continue to grow. While 2008 Cup of Excellence coffees are being enjoyed at points all around the globe: from Japan and Taiwan to the US, from all over Europe to Australia, a new year of quality discovery and appreciation is at hand.Since its beginnings in 1999, the Cup of Excellence program has hosted almost 50 quality-focused programs in nine coffee-producing countries.   The Cup of Excellence program is managed by the non-profit Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Inc. The state-of-the-art Cup of Excellence auction platform has been managed in partnership with CommoditiesOne, a leading software development firm since 2002. For more information about the Cup of Excellence program, to participate as a juror or to become a member, log onto www.cupofexcellence.org <http://www.cupofexcellence.org > (Source: Cup of Excellence)

For over a year now we’ve been working to reward the pickers at Finca Los Planes in El Salvador for all their hard work. They’ve been very diligent in their harvest, picking only the ripest red cherries to ensure the coffee harvest from this small farm in El Salvador will be exceptional. We promised them early on that we would reward them for their hard work, and a couple of weeks ago, on my annual visit to Finca Los Planes,  I was able to live up to my word. In cooperation with Sergio and Isabel Ticas, owner of Finca Los Planes, we acquired complete uniforms for the local soccer team to wear in games. The jersey’s were adorned with the PTs Coffee logo on one side and Finca Los Planes logo on the other. The quickest way to a young person’s heart in Central America is to appreciate their soccer team. Well, we do indeed appreciate their team and all the hard work they do in the fields to harvest one of the most outstanding coffees from El Salvador.  We look forward to a long partnership with Sergio, Isabel and the entire community of Finca Los Planes (small community located adjacent to the farm).In addition to the uniforms we provided medicine and small equipment for the local clinic to help keep the community safe. All of us at PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. are very proud to bring you this remarkable variety of coffee. We hope you enjoy the coffee and as a result the help we are able to provide the community.  ~ Jeff in El Salvador 

 

A couple days ago, PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. and Coffee Klatch donated nearly 20 soccer balls to six teams that are in the community near Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador.  Jeff Taylor and Mike Perry were able to participate in the presentation in El Salvador.  Finca Las Mercedes and its community are particularly special to us at PT’s Coffee.  In 2006, their coffee won first place in the Cup of Excellence, barely nudging out Finca Los Planes’ outstanding Pacamara.  It’s sweet but subtle fruitiness make it a perfect coffee to help ease in the morning workday.

Yet our affection is not limited to their incredible coffee.  They have shown great leadership in giving back to their community.  Earlier in the year we helped in the construction of a clinic, donating building supplies and medicines.

We love working with farms like Finca Las Mercedes.  They have a dedicated drive for producing some of the best coffee in El Salvador, and they also have a drive for giving back to their community.  You can purchase their El Pepinal 1 here!

On my morning commute, it always seems like war and violence dominate the news.  Stories about innocent people hiding in their houses for days on end tug on my heartstrings.  In the midst of all of these stories, the ones that report someone giving a helping hand or bringing a little joy into the lives of young people are always heartening.

At PT’s Coffee, we treasure the opportunities we have to bring a little joy into the communities that help produce our coffees.  Oftentimes we are able to do something that may seem somewhat insignificant to us but has a tremendous impact on these people and their communities.  One such effort is finally coming to fruition.  In Central America, one sure way to make a significant impact upon the local community is through football.  In partnership with Finca Los Planes (Sergio and Isabel have a true heart for their community), PT’s Coffee has supplied the local football team with new uniforms.

We hope that these beautiful new uniforms will help bring a little bit of joy to this community that helps to produce some of the best coffee in El Salvador.  Next week, Jeff Taylor and PT’s store manager Robin Seitz will deliver the uniforms and a new lot of medical supplies during their visit to Finca Los Planes.  Check out the new uniforms below!

 

In this video you can hear from Wilford Lamastus as he describes the various harvesting processes he uses on his farm. You can read more or purchase Elida Estate Reserve coffee here…

The coffee stained faces of a few PT’s Coffee Roasting Co.  employees graced the front page of the November 3rd edition of the Topeka Capital Journal.  In their article, “Coffee Roaster Recognized for its Way with Beans,” the Capital Journal discusses PT’s new Roaster of the Year Award from Roast Magazine.  Check out the article here!

 Thad Allton / The Capital-Journal

   

Magazine picks local business as top roaster

By Michael Hooper

 

 One would expect the finest roasters of coffee beans to be found in Seattle, Chicago or Portland, Ore. But one national expert says the best roaster of beans is right here in Topeka.

 PT’s Coffee Roasting Co., a wholesaler and retailer of specialty coffees, was named Macro Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine, a magazine devoted exclusively to the coffee elite.

 PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. co-owners Fred Polzin, front left, and Jeff Taylor, front right, along with production assistant Brent Beckley, back left, head Roaster Adam Ross, back center, and production assistant Chris Weber, back right, are celebrating the company being named the Macro Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine.

 Ninety-five percent of PT’s beans come from small premium lots in countries like El Salvador and Panama, “helping PT’s establish a reputation as a source for some of the best limited-edition coffees available in the U.S.,” Roast Magazine said.

 Jeff Taylor and Fred Polzin started the company in 1993. Today PT’s Coffee has 12 employees in its wholesale business in south Topeka and 17 in its coffee shop in Barrington Village.

 Roast Magazine complimented PT’s for its Passport Coffees, which are typically more exclusive than the company’s lineup of single-origin coffees. The Passport Collection includes such award-winners as Panama’s Hacienda La Esmeralda and El Salvador’s Finca Kilimanjaro.

 Perhaps the finest coffee at PT’s is Finca Los Planes in El Salvador, “a peaberry coffee that combines hits of the classic Central American cup with a deeper, fruitier taste, reminiscent of natural Ethiopians,” author Rivers Janssen wrote in Roast.

 “This is a vindication,” Polzin said. “People in the industry knew we were doing it right. This is a great calling card for us.”

 “I was blown away,” Taylor said of the award.

 About a week before the application was due, Taylor pulled together the team and gave each an assignment while they still did their other jobs.

 In three days, they compiled a huge book with more than 100 pages describing the history, mission and philosophy of PT’s Coffee and sent it overnight to Roast Magazine in Portland, Ore.

 Forty roasters submitted applications for Roaster of the Year.

 “This is not a large percentage of the coffee roasters in the world, but the quality of the competition was intense, both in the written applications and on the cupping table,” Roast publisher Connie Blumhardt wrote.

 After its start in 1993, PT’s got deeper into the roasting business in 2000. The company roasted 225,000 pounds of coffee last year.

 Polzin and Taylor do goal setting and strategic planning every year with the help of investor and mentor Jack Brier, but they also have to adapt to change, as PT’s started the year with the loss of a major customer representing 17 percent of sales.

 Using mostly guerrilla marketing techniques, the company has added 25 percent new customers this year and has seen tremendous growth in its online sales. Sales in 2008 are likely to be even with sales in 2007.

 Polzin said the company could have made money by compromising quality but didn’t do it because that isn’t their style or ethics.

 The company’s core values include commitments to great service, superior quality, caring for others, being frugal, having integrity and being consistent and improving all the time.

 “Be true to ourselves,” Taylor said. “We’re not going to compromise. Specialty coffee needs to be special. We don’t believe in buying coffee and saying it’s the best when it’s not.”

 Michael Hooper can be reached at (785) 295-1293 or michael.hooper@cjonline.com.

Helping to open people’s eyes to the vast world of Specialty Coffee is an exciting part of working for PT’s Coffee. Watching as they take the first sip of an eye popping Ethiopian or a comforting Panama is always enjoyable. But one aspect of working for PT’s that does more than just create excitement or enjoyment is seeing coffee change lives.

Sergio, from Finca Los Planes, just e-mailed over some photos from a project that we have been working on in his hometown of Citala. We buy almost all of his coffee, including his Pacamara, Bourbon and Peaberry. This year, we agreed to pay him extra for his coffee so that he could pay his pickers more money and also so that we could set up a community development fund at the local bank. Among other things, this fund is being used to help buy medicines and supplies for the local health clinic. Thank you for all your support of our Direct Trade program. By buying Direct Trade coffees, you are making such things possible. Here are the photos, along with Jeff’s commentary:

“We are so very proud to be helping in the community of Citala! It’s a beautiful place and the people are amazing. Helping Sergio and Isabel do what is right in their community is a major part of our Direct Trade program. We look forward to contributing even more in the future, but this is certainly a wonderful start and we are honored to be a part of it!”

Sergio and Tito (the social worker)