Tired Thoughts

As I fly home from El Salvador today, I find myself very tired.  It has been a long couple of weeks, with Atlanta happening just prior to this trip.  I need a stint of time at home just to regroup and get my feet again.  Having said that, this trip was amazing in so many ways.  As always, the people that you meet when traveling to origin are one of the highlights of any trip.  As I focus on people first, I have to talk about the crew at the Consejo, and the amazing job that they do.  It was great to visit these folks again, and just like last time I was in El Salvador, the Consejo staff put on an amazing program.  Maria Jose, spearheaded the organizational front of the COE event, and was absolutely fabulous.  She is not only a delight to be around, with her bubbly personality, but she is also so very on top of things.  Everything was looked after, no detail overlooked.

The Consejo is a jewel of Central America in my opinion with a dedicated and passionate staff, they have equipped themselves to be leaders in terms of training the various communities within the world of coffee.  Ricardo, who was present at this COE, suffered a massive stroke earlier in the year, and despite his difficulties, the staff around him continue to do an amazing job.  I talked to a number of producers at the award ceremonies, and tried my very best to communicate with clarity the unique resource that they have at there disposal in San Salvador.  Whether it is education focused on production, roasting, preparation, or even barista training, the Consejo has invested in both the staff and the equipment to deliver some of the best training available, probably in all Central America.  They have equipped their facility with numerous sample roasters, espresso machines, a Clover, and have the staff available that can use all of it in a professional manner.  They brought their Probatino to Hotel Alicante to do all of the COE roasting, and I was so impressed with the level of quality and consistency of the roasted samples.

As we fly over what must be Mexico, I am struck by the dryness I see below us.  This is in stark contrast to the lush green that I have just left behind.  All I know for sure, is that we have been flying over dry dessert for a couple of hours.

While the week was long, and made longer by my uncooperative stomach during most of the trip, I learned so much.  In truth, judging the Best of Panama last year, didn’t really prepare me for the work that we had to do in El Salvador.  I know, cupping is cupping, but what I didn’t know was how much harder cupping is, when the coffees are both great, and unfamiliar.  What became painfully (at times) obvious to me as we worked through the coffees, is how little I knew about the classic El Salvador taste profile.  It was humbling and difficult work this week to cup so many coffees that I knew were good, if not great, and not really be able (at least at the beginning) to pin down the characteristics which make El Salvador coffees so delicious.  So to wrap this post up, I will admit that I have really just started my journey into the huge world of El Salvador coffee.  I am pretty sure that this journey will take me many years to complete.