Visting Finca San Francisco, near Juayua El Salvador.

I love this coffee. It has the perfect balance of full creamy body, sweetness and acidity.  If there's a Venn Diagram of what everyone likes about coffee, this one is right at the center. Basically, it's that kid in high school that everyone wants to be friends with.

But there’s more to it. This coffee and I, we have history.

See, I’ve been drinking this coffee for over 15 years now, going all the way back to my first job out of college at a small roaster in Texas. After a couple of years of  buying from Finca San Francisco, my boss at the time arranged for the farmer, Jose Antonio Salaverria, to come visit.

Jose Antonio was the first coffee producer I ever met, and I was starstruck. Fast forward 3 more years, and I’d moved to New York to become a coffee buyer. And what coffee did I find on our menu when I arrived? None other than this very same coffee.

So as I planned my first origin trip, I knew that this had to be the place.

I was welcomed by Jose Antonio to his home after a long day of travel. We ate chips and salsa, shared a beer, and he opined about sustainability for coffee producers. The next day, we drove through the farm, ate a lunch of bean and cheese sandwiches on a scenic outlook (see photo above) all while he liberally shared what his family had learned in their three generations running this farm.

The next year, I’d meet 2 of his sons, Jose Antonio Jr, and Andres. Jose Antonio Sr was ready to retire. Jose Antonio Jr would be running the farms, and Andres would  focus on managing their clients. The fourth generation was now in charge.

Jose Antonio Jr and Andres are about the same age as I am, so we hit it off, sharing our experiences through random texts, as we got engaged, married and later had kids. I’d attend one of their weddings, and every year we had a few days together. I learned so much from them about coffee farming and processing, and they always indulged me, when I’d sneak out to the wet mill after dinner to watch the coffee processing through the night. They'd translate for me, smoothing my attempts to ask questions of the mill workers in my broken Spanish. In turn, they’d ask me to cup the coffees from the farm they were starting together, or pick my brain about what was happening in the US market with coffee roasters, or what I had seen on other farms in my travels to various countries.

Years go on, and things change, but some things stick with you. This coffee has been with me, through 4 jobs, living in 3 states, getting married, having kids, and now starting a company. Jose Antonio Jr moved on from the family business in 2019, but when I first bought this coffee for Bird and Bear I texted Andres to share the news. He instantly responded with enthusiasm sharing well wishes for our new endeavor and how proud he was that we had chosen their coffee to be our first.

In that, I hope it will be the first of many more years to come. Cheers Andres, hope to come visit you and Finca San Francisco again very soon.