Welcome to Wicked Joe!
To Antigua and beyond! 
Guatemala, February 2012

We rang in February with a trip to Guatemala, one of coffees most beautiful and historic origins.  Landing in Guatemala, Bob went straight from the airport to the cupping lab at Camec's Guatemala City headquarters.  He was rewarded with a number of stellar coffees and a peek inside Guatemala's oldest and most distinguished coffee sourcing operations.  Over the next 4 days, Bob visited some extremely impressive milling operations - notably the Santa Isabel dry mill in Chinautla and the La Esperanza wet mill in Antigua - and some model farms, of which, Finca Ceylan in San Miguel Pochuta was without a doubt the standout.  Finca Ceylan is located in Chimeltenango on the outskirts of the Atitlan region.  The farm was founded in 1870 and has been owned and run by the same family since.  Bob met with and toured the operation with Dariush Echeveria Zachrison, who currently runs the farm and is the great grandson of the founder, Carlos Herrera, who in addition to extensive farming in Sugar Cane and Coffee was also President of Guatemala.  You could feel the history here, and the pride that comes with it making this visit very special.  The conditions on the farm were outstanding in every way.  The farm itself stretches from lower elevations to higher and they grow a number of different varieties along the way, making the farm very interesting.  They have Mundo Novo at the lower altitudes and Typica, Bourbon, Maragogype, and Geisha at the higher altitudes.  There are over 20 species of shade trees including coconut, orange, avocado, cedar and mahogany, while Pito and Matilisguate add shade and exceptional beauty with orange and purple flowers, respectively.  Also abundant are La Cieva, the national tree of Guatemala that add a layer of beautiful shade and can be seen on coffee farms throughout Guatemala.  The local town, San Miguel Pochuta, translates to "place with a lot of Ceivas".  The farm is certified Organic , Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center certified Bird Friendly - the environmental gold standard.  In addition, the farm provides housing, clean fresh water, electric, and medical services for their employees.  Most significantly, Bob cupped Finca Ceylan's coffee on several different days and it was one of the standouts - balanced and sweet, with notes of orange, honey and a cocoa finish.  Bob finished the trip in Antigua one of the world's most charming cities marked by the remarkable Spanish colonial architecture and churches.  Situated in the basin between breathtaking volcanoes at over 5000 feet the city itself is dotted with coffee farms making it truly unique and in some ways reminiscent of California's Napa Valley.  A perfect way to end a great coffee trip.






Feliz Ano Nuevo! 
Nicaragua, January 2012

Coming off a great 2011, Wicked Joe started 2012 off with a bang.....literally......Joe, our lead roaster, managed a flat tire leaving the airport in Managua!  From there, though, it was all uphill.  First stop was the dry mill in Sebaco, a small mill town about an hour north of Managua where our parchment coffee is milled, sorted and prepared for shipping.  Over the next five days Joe visited a number of farms, all of which were remarkable in many ways, but the highlight of his trip was without a doubt Finca La Hammonia, the source of one of our direct partnership Rainforest Alliance certified coffees.   Finca La Hammonia is also the origin of our lovely Bird Friendly, Organic and Rainforest Alliance certified Selva Negra coffee which is sourced for our friends at Birds and Beans.  Located in Matagalpa, Finca La Hammonia is an ecological wonder - from composting and recycling to power and energy generating and recapturing, they truly are a model of sustainability.  They compost 1.5 million pounds per year, feeding their three million strong worm farm, which in turn produces not only amazing solid fertilizer but thick black “liquid gold” fertilizer.   Not far from the composting facility is their own hydro-electric power plant which produces all of the electricity for both the farm and the workers who live there.  All water used during the washing of the coffee is stored in two underground tanks roughly 15 feet across and 45 feet deep that purify the water and break down the vast amount of sugar in it into methane gas which is harvested and primarily used for cooking and heating water.  Coffee isn’t the only thing grown on the farm, they also grow many fruits and vegetables from lettuce, carrots, and beets to papaya, bananas, lemons, and grapefruit.  They raise their own cattle, pigs, goats, and chickens and produce their own eggs, cheese, and meats.  Sitting in a cloud forest the farm is lush and dense with trees of all varieties.  It is also home to howler monkeys, sloths, dozens of species of reptiles and amphibians as well as many species of migratory birds from both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts thanks in part to being uniquely situated on the continental divide.   The highlight as always was sample roasting and tasting the new crop.  Joe is happy to report that this year's crop is better than ever - bright, sweet and balanced.  Look forward to this coffee arriving later this spring.