Relationship Building Spans Generations for Carrboro Coffee Roasters and Finca Jazmin in Marcala, Honduras
After many years for working directly with farmers in coffee growing countries, Owner Scott celebrated the first ever Origin of Denomination seal awarded to the coffee grown in Marcala, Honduras (think Napa branding for wine from that region) at the cultural fair put on for that honor. During this period, and in talks with an all-women coffee growing Co-Op (COMUCAP), he arranged with one of the organizers to have one of the young members come to the CCR Roastery in Carrboro and be trained in all things coffee/retail.
2006 COMUCAP Visit
It was then, Over 12 years ago, that Nancy Hernandez left her country for the first time and was sponsored by Carrboro Coffee Roasters to learn her trade; beyond coffee growing. She wanted to learn all she could in the 10 days she was in USA about coffee roasting, espresso preparation and coffee brewing, and any other retail experience she could take home to Marcala in order to open her very own Cafe. Soft spoken but knowledgeable Nancy (who spoke no English) also shared her viewpoint with area residents and staff so they could put the pieces together for what really needs to happen in the farming/processing side of coffee, before it gets to us as green coffee to roast.
2009
10 years later, she has 5 coffee shops and is actively selling an amazing high quality coffee from her farm, derived form years of hard work, to select roasters around the world. While we stayed in touch over the years and I have visited her in Honduras; 2016 marked the first time she could return to visit CCR again, the starting place of her retail coffee education! Even more amazing was to be visited along with her daughter Angelica, who at 12 was already starting to be an amazing coffee professional herself!
2016
For CCR, this is but one example of the supportive work we have done over the past several decades, but a quintessential one, as it clearly shows our larger goals of creating a broad economic base for all of our Farmer Partners that allow for greater long term, and truly sustainable, relationships for them, their families and their communities. This isn’t just about buying a coffee once or even twice ( though we do value delicious, unique, high quality coffee…), but about safeguarding the future in all forms. For us this started as an investment with a young Nancy, and now extends to her daughter, their family and their community at large.
Now, in 2021, we have had the honor of a return trip by Nancy and her brother, along with Angelica her daughter. This time it is Angelica who will stay to work with us for 3 weeks to absorb all the details we can supply, so that best practices and a new level of skill & knowledge can be brought back to their town of Marcala, and shared with the people of Honduras.
2021
Our tag line is ‘Coffee Unites the World’ and we strive every day to make that true. Sometimes the effect is immediate and observable, and sometimes, like coffee, it too is a seed that is planted for future hope.
Since 2015 we have been working with Nancy to offer her own farms’ coffee –Finca Jazmin. This coffee is amazingly balanced. The care thatwent into it’s growth and processing, that we tease out with carefuland expert roasting, shows in its amazing tropical fruit sweetnessand lovely floral and brown sugar qualities. While we have many more examples of our hard-earned Farmer Direct Relationship coffees available, this one has an amazing, fullcircle quality that really epitomizes all the years of effort, travel, and actual blood, sweat & tears invested in what we lovingly call ‘work’.
This is a special relationship that we strive to share with all of our partners, to have theunique qualities that are exhibited in this program put at theforefront of our company ideals and mission statement. We are willing to go to the lengths necessary to fulfill them & provide hope and a path for the future.
This year, Taiwan Coffee Laboratory, on behalf of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan R.O.C. (Taiwan) and Taiwan Coffee Association, is enlisting the help of Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) to host the first ever Private Collection Auction (PCA) of Taiwanese specialty coffee.
“With a diversity of coffee varieties, and the many thoughtfully detailed processing steps found in these different farms, we found a wide range of flavor profiles and experiences when cupping the samples,” said Scott Conary, head judge at ACE. According to Scott, such flavors included everything from tropical fruits & Dark brown sugar to savory umami and spice notes.
Taiwanese farmers have been growing coffee for more than a hundred years. Since Taiwan Coffee Laboratory started working with the central and local governments to organize national coffee evaluations and regional competitions, they have witnessed a significant increase in the cup qualities of locally grown specialty coffee. This auction will honor the incredible work of the local Taiwanese coffee farmers and share their prize coffees with the rest of the world.
“Taiwan is probably the most saturated place in the world in terms of specialty coffee culture. The booming consumer market and the close proximity of coffee farms and urban centers motivate local baristas, roasters, and coffee traders to visit and connect with the producers. In the past, we used to think that consumers or retailers in big cities and the coffee farmers who produce the coffee exist in two non-overlapping spheres. That is no longer true in Taiwan; the ever more regular interactions and philosophical exchanges between the consumer market and the farms now allow both to more clearly explore cup qualities for all.” – Krude Lin, president and founder of Taiwan Coffee Laboratory
By pinpointing exceptional producers with the Private Collection program, ACE will curate auctions with organizations and farmers who best exemplify ACE’s standards & its Cup of Excellence programming, and hopes to expand its reach with these curated auctions.
Join CCR as we support Perennial Cafe on West Franklin street in Chapel Hill for their ‘Grand Re-Opening’ Ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, August 16th at 10am.
Perennial had re-opened in June after having closed operations when the pandemic started. Starting by focusing on take-away, online ordering and curbside, the Cafe was able to expand their lovely outdoor seating on both their side & back patios for all to enjoy.
Now with this ribbon cutting ceremony they are also celebrating the opening of tables inside the Cafe for folks to soak in the beauty of the space.
Masks are currently required to be worn while indoors unless actively eating or drinking while seated, due to the current state of the pandemic.There is still much to enjoy and celebrate in this striking space, with its high ceilings and lush greenery.
Enjoy an elevated coffee experience with seasonal menus based on favorite cocktails twists and herbs growing in the back patio! Linger with amazing, locally baked treats, and maybe some award winning chocolate CCR collaborated on with local chocolate experts Chocolatay!
We are so excited to support the 5 year anniversary of Bulldega Urban Market by sharing our personally sourced Farmer Direct Relationship coffees at @bulldegadurham this Saturday (May 8th) from 12pm – 2pm.
There will be a little something for everyone with some unique options and we will be hand brewing both hot and iced coffee ☕
“It was an honor to lead the Cupping teams around the world to sample these unique coffees from these innovative producers,” Scott Conary, the head judge of the competition and owner of North Carolina’s Carrboro Coffee Roasters, said. “I was impressed overall with the consistency of the cupping experiences, both in terms of temperature changes through a single cupping, and comparing separate cuppings. This kind of consistency is a testament to the quality of these coffees, which also showed up when different judges from around the world described their experiences similarly! These top coffees sampled for the auction would impress anyone with their uniqueness, clarity and their sweet, well-structured character”
The winners, 11 of which scored 88 points or above, represent six farms and five processes.
The first-place winning coffee, an Anaerobic Low Temperature processed Ethiosar from Los Placeres Farm, earned the competition’s only 90+ score with 90.30 points.
Overview:
> 15 Winning Lots
> 6 Farms
> 2 Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees, including the 1st place Ethiosar variety
The quality competition and auction program is part of ACE’s ongoing Private Collection series, which launched in 2019 and features partnerships with origin-specific green coffee producers focused on quality focused production. While these small auctions are separate from the ACE long-running Cup of Excellence competition and auctions, both have the goal of supporting farms and farmers who work to create & increase quality in the industry as well as celebrating innovation and connecting farmers to buyers.
“The Ethiosar taking the highest score was definitely a pleasant surprise! We never would have expected that, and for it to have been processed using one of our new controlled fermentation techniques is equally fulfilling. This is the first time we’ve included this variety in any sort of auction, and it’s quite a rare variety to see in these types of circuits,” said Fincas Mierisch General Manager and Cup of Excellence Head Judge, Eleane Mierisch.
The Ethiosar variety – also represented in the 6th place winner – is a hybrid of the Ethiopian varietal Rume Sudan and Sarchimor, whose offspring is then re-crossed with a Villa Sarchi.
These coffees are lovingly cared for by the Mierisch family, Nicaraguan coffee producers since 1908; with farms perched in the beautiful mountains of Matagalpa and Jinotega. Their private auction ‘Los Favoritos’ was born in 2013 as an initiative to show the world the exquisiteness and allure of the coffees produced by them.
Characterized by cultivating different varieties and experimenting with distinct post-harvest processes, the lots are chosen from the cream of the crop of the family ‘s eight farms. “Quality is not a coincidence. Quality is hard work that is built every day. We are a generation that is passionate about coffee and our mission is always focused on continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainability“, says Eleane Mierisch, who is leading this project along with her family.
Meet Edith Meza Sagarvinaga, the farmer behind our current featured coffee, Finca Tasta Honey Caturra, Lactic Fermentation, from her farm in Llaylla-Satipo, Peru. She’s the face you see looking back at you on every bag of her coffee.
Edith has been a part of Carrboro Coffee Roasters’ Farmer Direct Relationship Program for many years now, officially coming aboard in 2015.
CCR President Scott Conary first met Edith in 2013 when she volunteered to judge the Peru National Barista Championships, where Scott also acted as Head Judge. It was at this event that Edith shared her coffee with Scott, her first harvest of a natural process coffee from her farm, which she had recently inherited from her mother. This coffee was incredible – clean and sweet with notes of fresh tropical fruit. At this time just the idea of a natural process coffee in Peru was considered impossible but here was Edith with an incredible natural process coffee.
At this time she had not produced much of this coffee and had already sold what little she had but Scott continued to visit Peru each year and continued working with Edith. She continued to grow her natural process harvest and finally in 2015 had enough of her harvest to share with CCR. From there CCR and Edith continued to support each other and find ways to continue to both develop the farm and experiment with new varietals and processes. The fruits of which we are now sharing with you as our featured coffee!
We are inspired by Edith’s determination to accomplish something that everyone said was impossible as well as by her excitement and enjoyment for creating and developing. Over the years CCR has worked together with Edith and her brother Ivan to support variations and experimentation’s in farming/cultivation, increasing the varietals types and processing potential. Just one of many reasons we love serving CCR coffee!
When you purchase this coffee you are setting yourself up to enjoy a truly incredible coffee and you are directly helping to support Edith, her farm and her family.
Click the link below to get details about our Featured Coffee From producer Edith Meza in Peru, our support of the WUNC radio Spring Fund Drive, along with our efforts to improve quality & the coffee industry worldwide; plus so much more!
Sensory Education Training (SET) Virtual Calibration (VC) is a global calibration course led by Cup of Excellence (CoE) Head Judge Scott Conary. Students around the globe will cup and score coffee sourced from award winning CoE farmers.
This unique educational experience will allow students to learn & practice cupping standards, & calibrate their cupping scores with the global community of coffee professionals.
Course Schedule
May 7th – Introduction Session
May 17th – Coffee Scores Due to Head Judge
May 21st – Head Judge Results Report Emailed to Students.
May 22nd – Presentation of Results/Report
SET VC students will receive a box containing roasted samples for three cuppings, sample placement, instructions, CoE score sheets, an official CoE cupping spoon, and other goodies from our sponsors. The Program will kick off with a special presentation where Scott will instruct students how to cup and score using the CoE score sheet, and explain exactly what makes CoE award-winning coffees so special.
Students will have 10 days to cup & score the coffees, and then return their filled-out score sheets to the course coordinators. During the cupping days students will be able to sign into special video sessions led by CoE staff and Scott to have any questions answered. as well as a WhatsApp group to ask questions and meet fellow participants.
After the cupping, students will receive a special report compiled by Scott that is based on the same format CoE uses to select cuppers for their National Juries around the world. This report will provide insight into students’ cupping skill and as well as the coffees that were evaluated. On the final day, Scott will give a presentation explaining the data and take questions about the coffees and the cupping data.
Participants will:
Learn how to cup and score coffee using the CoE score sheet
Cup and score award winning and unique coffee
Compare their cupping scores to the global coffee community
Gain understanding into what exactly high scoring specialty coffee is
Gain insight into their own cupper confidence and accuracy
What’s included:
2 instructional webinars
Office hour access
Coffee kit (see below)
Access to class WhatsApp group
Certificate upon completion of class
Kit includes:
Roasted coffee for 3 cuppings, 24 coffee samples total
“I am excited to lead the Cupping teams around the world to sample unique coffees from these innovative producers,” Scott Conary, the head judge of the competition and owner of North Carolina’s Carrboro Coffee Roasters, said. “I have been fortunate to experience first hand over the years the results of all the hard work the Mierisch family has put into their harvests, starting in 2012 while on a COE jury. The cupping teams are in for some exciting flavor profiles, and will decide which coffees make it to the auction.”
The quality competition and auction program is part of ACE’s ongoing Private Collection series, which launched in 2019 and features partnerships with origin-specific green coffee producers focused on quality focused production. While these small auctions are separate from the ACE long-running Cup of Excellence competition and auctions, both have the goal of supporting farms and farmers who work to create & increase quality in the industry as well as celebrating innovation and connecting farmers to buyers.
These coffees are lovingly cared for by the Mierisch family, Nicaraguan coffee producers since 1908; with farms perched in the beautiful mountains of Matagalpa and Jinotega. Their private auction ‘Los Favoritos’ was born in 2013 as an initiative to show the world the exquisiteness and allure of the coffees produced by them.
Characterized by cultivating different varieties and experimenting with distinct post-harvest processes, the lots are chosen from the cream of the crop of the family ‘s eight farms. “Quality is not a coincidence. Quality is hard work that is built every day. We are a generation that is passionate about coffee and our mission is always focused on continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainability“, says Eleane Mierisch, who is leading this project along with her family.
2006 COMUCAP Visit
2009
2016
2021
t went into it’s growth and processing, that we tease out with careful and expert roasting, shows in its amazing tropical fruit sweetness and lovely floral and brown sugar qualities. While we have many more examples of our hard-earned Farmer Direct Relationship coffees available, this one has an amazing, full circle quality that really epitomizes all the years of effort, travel, and actual blood, sweat & tears invested in what we lovingly call ‘work’.
