Carrboro Coffee Roasters recently lost a member of our family. Tomas Sosa Calderon, one of our original Direct Relationship farmers, passed away in Honduras. We invite you to help us memorialize Tomas and support his family and local community. When you purchase our Tomas Sosa Calderon – Finca El Aquacate coffee, Carrboro Coffee will donate a percentage of these sales to his family to continue his legacy of producing world-class coffee on their farm in Comayaugua. Funds will go to build new drying beds for next years harvest with an eye towards future programs in their community.
Read more about Tomas and his relationship with Carrboro Coffee from our founder Scott Conary below. And, please purchase this delicious coffee at our flagship cafes, at retail or with our cafe partners, or in our online store.
2007 was a year of introductions to coffee farmers we would go on to support for many years to come. I first met Tomas during a coffee industry development program I was working on for USAID, as he was an example of traditional farming that had unique coffee quality way up high in the remote mountains of the Comayagua region of Honduras.
Later that year I was able to try his coffee again, in the Cup of Excellence competition, and scored it well when sampling blind….when I found out it was his coffee I made it a goal to try to purchase it!
After that initial purchase I went back to visit him again, this time as a partner with a desire to makes sure we can support him in continuing to grow such high quality coffee!
We were able to come to an agreement for support year after year, that has meant our customers have also been able to consistently enjoy this coffee all these years!
The farm, El Aguacate, is at one of the higher elevations in the area, just under 1600 MASL. The coffee is grown under natural, indigenous shade trees and nearby are the avocados he also grows, and for which he named the farm.
Tomas was in his 60’s when I met him, and had that confidence in his farming that comes from understanding the land and the traditional methods of farming he used to such delicious results. Nothing fancy, and certainly not high tech…just good honest effort and a lifetime of knowledge.
This last year marked a downturn in Tomas’ health, and his son, Nelson Yobani Sosa Euseda, who will be the 3rd generation to run the farm, has been taking over operations. We were excited recently to be able to share our roast of Tomas’ coffee with him personally, complete with the label that featured him on it, which brought a smile to his face!
Sadly, a few months later, Tomas passed, leaving his son to carry on the farming tradition. This marks the first time in 20 years of forging relationships that we have had to deal with the reality of our short time here on earth, in terms of the people we have been working with so closely.
It is with this thought in mind that we wanted to pause and take the opportunity to memorialize our 12 year relationship with this steadfast coffee producer by highlighting this special coffee, and the special connection we forged with the man who, hesitantly at first, entrusted this gringo with his life’s work.
Take a moment. Breathe. Spare a thought for those around you; and save one for the hard work and decades of craft put into this coffee you are enjoying by this man and his family. With a little luck, we will all apply what we have learned from our experiences and relationships, and continue to carry the torch with the next generation.
