Panas we did it!
With the help of a lot of hard working people along the way. The samples we spoke of in part 3 were from two different farms were great... so shortly after cupping, we took a road trip to Belgium! As you know, we are a small operation… so to rock up to an enormous coffee distributor and queue alongside huge trailers to collect a comparatively small amount of beans was an experience… in fact the centre was so unequipped for regular vehicles that I had to get out of the car to reach up high to the entry key-pad (usually used by lorry drivers).
With the back of the motor weighed down with hessian sacks, large and small, we brought them all the way home without a hitch – the unique smell of green beans smothering us as we came back through the tunnel. A few hundred miles seemed like a very small cost in comparison to the time and effort that has gone into sourcing these beans over the last year, along with the setbacks we have faced along the journey. Even better, is that we sourced our beloved Maracaibo’s the right way – the transparent way – which means we are able to share the wonderful origin stories of each of the beans we source over time, to further celebrate and highlight the hard work and beautiful coffee that Venezuelans are producing every year.
Today, and along with another new gem, the beans are in the Probat… So this week we come first in our Copa America group – and now we are just hours away from this…