Transcend is currently looking for experienced baristas who can pull some part-time hours, or alternatively, some passionate coffee lovers who would like to learn the fine art and trade of creating beautiful coffee.  If you are interested fire me off a resume at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cook's Illustrated has a video report on drip coffee makers, wherein the Technivorm KBT741 is rated the best out of all the machines they tested.  Check it out.

I thought I would blog a lot more than I have on this trip.  The truth is that we were on the go most of the time, and up late every night, so there wasn’t really any opportunity to keep the blog up to date.  Having said that, there is plenty of fodder for blog posts bumping around inside of my head; which will undoubtedly find its way onto the screen in the weeks and months to come.  I am currently writing this post on a plane traveling between San Jose, Costa Rica and Denver.  We are on our way home, and I hopefully will be able to post this when we land in Denver, and if not when I get home.

The trip overall was amazing, and we learned so much.  Learning in the true sense of the word, acquiring understanding of both the good things and the not so good things.  In all honesty, Costa Rica was the hi-light.  I went to Costa Rica with very little in the way of expectations.  Costa Rican coffee in my past experience has not been very good.  It has never been terrible, but it has, in my opinion, never been great either.  With that said, we were treated to Costa Rica the only way one should see it – first hand – and the view was amazing.  Not only is the countryside amazingly beautiful but the micro mills that we visited were very impressive.  All of this would be a bit redundant unless, as it was, the coffee was amazing too.  Last night we celebrated a cupping with Ryan Brown from Ritual Coffee Roasters (San Francisco) along with the crew from Exclusive Coffees.  Out of 17 coffees we cupped, all of them were at least an 85 and 4-5 of the coffees were 90+.  This is a stark contrast from my previous cuppings of Costa Rica coffee, including COE cuppings.  The work that Francisco and Tim are doing with the micro producers is quite amazing and their efforts are worthy of being illuminated within the broader specialty coffee industry.  It should be noted that one of the highest scoring coffees on the table last night was the Mamacata Honey Geisha produced by my friend Jose David.  This coffee was like drinking blueberry pie in a cup and it scored between 92 and 93 points.

It is an exciting time in the world of specialty coffee.  The world is getting smaller all of the time.  On this trip we met and developed relationships with amazing people, like  Michael and Laura Johnson of Johnson Brothers Coffee, Maura Harrington from Flying Goat Coffee, and Andy Newborn from Barefoot Coffee, among numerous others.  People in the industry are working on exciting new projects like Square Mile Coffee Roasters and Marco ___ constantly focusing on how we as an industry can produce and present coffee in ways, which inspire and excite.  The bottom line is that it remains focused on quality coffee, those who produce it and those of us fortunate enough to have careers where we get to play instead of work.

I need to go to bed.  We leave for the mountains at 8, and it is almost 12:30.  Having said that, it was a great evening.  The presentation from Fintrac and the food was OK, but it was the talking afterwards, rum in hand out on the pool deck that made the evening for me.  I got to reconnect with Bob Weeks from Redeye Roasters (cupped together last year at BOP).  I met a tonne of new folk all who are passionate and commited to great coffee.  The evening ended with a smaller group, Bob and Mike and Laura from Johnson Brothers Coffee.  It is always such a cool thing for me to be able to sit and talk into the night with people I have just met.  We share a passion for coffee and can tell stories all night long.  We spur each other on, inspire each other, with our victories, and educate each other with our mistakes and failures.  All in all, at the end of the night I leave richer, fuller, and glad for the experience.  Can't wait to actually taste some coffee.

Today we spent most of the day in Volcan with the Berards, and while we were looking forward to seeing the farm, and spending the first real nice day in Panama in the coffee, that didn't happen.  The day started off well, with a small cupping of five Santa Teresa coffees.  Given the 3 days each of the coffees had on them, they showed really well.  They had hoped to have more coffees for us to cup, but given that there has been no power in the Volcan area for 3 days, it just didn't come together.  Talking to Mr. Berard today, he said that the winds up at the farm were blowing at speeds over 140kms per hour.  In short, my joking about a mini-hurricane was closer to reality than I first thought.  The devastation at the farm was staggering, as we looked at pictures later at the Berard's house.  What was luscious green hills of coffee last year, is now barren twigs.  The mill's roof was torn off and there are trees all over the farm.  So rather than drive up to the destroyed coffee farm, we went to see the Berard's beef operation.  Given my farming history, and Tim's history with his families ranch in Kansas, it was a fun day.  I am not sure that Chad was really all that excited about the unique breeds of cattle.  It was amazing to see the detail with which the Berard family manages their beef farm, and it reminds me a lot of their coffee farm.  I hope today was a bit of a distraction for the family with us and the cattle, where they could take their minds off of all the work that they have to do back at the mill and in the fields.  Tomorrow we fly back to Costa Rica, and then on to El Salvador.  The weather should be better in El Salvador, and we will truly enjoy meeting the farmers there.  Just a quick side note; we also know that Costa Rica was also hit very hard with the brutal weather.  The micro mills in the West Valley of Costa Rica, places we have now been, were rocked by winds and rain.  These small farmers have lost much, and we will know more as the week progresses.  Having said all of this, I am hoping that some of us back at home can mount a bit of a fundraiser to assist these very small farmers in getting back on their feet.  The people of Central America are so warm and hospitable and I feel that it is the least we can do in their time of need.

We made it to Volcan today.  Like Boquete, the weather on this side of the Volcano Baru has been brutal.  We are scheduled to tour the farm of the Berard's who grow Transcend's beloved Lot 87.  When I finally connected with Maria (no phones or power for two days) she informed me that they had lost half of their farm to the bad winds and rain.  This is devastating and I feel so bad for them.  She simply said that it would be best if we didn't go to the farm as it has virtually been destroyed.  So we are cupping coffee in the morning, and will likely head out to visit their beef farm instead.  Tim O'Brien, who is with us from Exclusive Coffee in Costa Rica, has a huge family ranch in the Kansas panhandle, so he and I are both interested in the Berard's beef operation.  The trees that have fallen and the beans that are bursting on the branch are hard to take.  It is like a huge hail storm in Alberta during the peak of harvest season, where you see huge potential and then nothing.  Thankfully, the Berard's have finished most of their harvest this year, and this devastating loss will not settle in until next year.

Nonetheless, it is hard to describe the craziness of the weather and its effects over here.  Global warming is starting to have a huge effect on the coffee farms in Central America.  Tim O'Brien is planting coffee in the Terrazu region of Costa Rica where it would never grow before.  Growing coffee at over 1700 meters was simply unheard of.  In Panama, we are seeing very confused plants.  This rain is tricking the coffee trees into thinking it is April, instead of February (normally very dry).  So they are starting to bloom, while still having green and ripe cherries on the branch.  This confused behavior of the coffee plants totally impacts the quality and volume of the next year's harvest.  In short, the weather is changing dramatically over here, and not for the better of the specialty coffee industry.

On a more exciting note, we got to visit the Don Pachi estate today, and meet the man himself.  Don Pachi is a man in Boquete who is simply a legend in the coffee world.  He has brought and nurtured varietals of coffee to the Boquete region, and is single handedly responsible for bringing the Geisha to Panama from Costa Rica, when they thought the varietal was garbage.  The Serracin family coffee farm is now in its 6th generation, and continues to grow and treat the coffee plant with respect and honour.  It was an amazing experience to hear Don Pachi expound on his intimate knowledge and wisdom of coffee first hand.  Our translators Tim O'Brien and Jose David, were so excited to share what the Boquete sage had to offer us.  Imagine, tasting Java in Panama, and watch out Indonesia, if this plant continues to develop, it could be a new cult coffee like the Geisha.  Some days I have to slap myself in the face to ensure that all I get to experience in the world of coffee isn't simply a dream.

Today we were picked up by Rachel Peterson, so we could tour the farm of Hacienda La Esmeralda.  It has been a bit hairy around Boquete these last few days.  We have been without power at the hotel for two days, there are no phones, no cell phone coverage, the wind has blown down huge trees all over the place.  So the weather has not been cooperating much, but nonetheless, Esmeralda was just as I remembered it.  The Peterson's are some of the best people in the world that I know, and they are consumate hosts.  The walk through the Geisha was a bit wetter than I last remembered, and instead of the amazingly fragrant flowers there was cherries on the trees.  It was great to get out and walk the path up the farm, in and amongst the coffee, listening to the exotic birds singing in the trees.  We visited the varietal experiment and the nursery, and made our way back to the mill.  After cupping some of the amazing coffee, which exhibits aromas of grapefruit, jasmine, orange, and today even blueberries.  The palate shows the same citrus notes, grapefruit, tangy acidity, with sweetness and balance.  It is such an amazing honour to be at this farm and taste some of the best coffee in the world.  From there we were invited over to the house and treated to a beautiful lunch.  I am typing this post in the cupping lab, and we will now head down and see the Peterson dairy, and then head back to Boquete.  Hopefully they have power back in town.  More on this trip later; I did shoot some video until my camera's battery died.

We left Costa Rica this morning, in a mad rush, got to the airport just in time, paid our $26US each to get out of the country and made the one hour flight to David Panama.  The weather has been a bit sketchy in Costa Rica, so we were looking forward to the warm weather that Boquete is known for as a nice change.  Talk about hopes being dashed.  As we landed in the lush rainforest of Panama, we were greeting by screaming winds and rain.  Talk about the anti-summer weather.  For those of you doubting the truth of global warming, you just need to come to these equator nations and talk to producers, to know that serious changes are occurring in the weather.  Nonetheless, we braved the cold and rain and wind, and hit the farms, toured by Jose David Garrido.  We visited a number of his farms today, seeing first hand the ripe juicy fruit, which I love to pull off the branches and chew.  We saw pickers delivering their picked fruit to the receiving stations, soaking wet, chilled and carrying 100 pounds of wet fruit on their backs.  I can barely pick up the sack.  The weather is supposed to change back to normal tomorrow, if we can trust the forecast.  We will cup coffees in the morning, and visit more producers in the Boquete area.  Then dinner with Rachel Peterson, of Hacienda La Esmeralda.  I didn't shoot any video today as it was simply too wet.  I will get the camera out again in the morning.

This is Transcend's first official video blog.  Remember this video is completely unedited, and withlout any titles or other little bells and whistles.  But it is visual proof that Chad and I are actually in Costa Rica, and it gives you the chance to participate, albeit only vicariously.


Poul Mark in Costa Rica, with Francisco Mena from Poul Mark on Vimeo.

Today was a great day, to say the least.  We got up early, headed to Exclusive Coffee's office and talked about coffee.  A great way to start the day.  From there we started the long day of visiting farms, meeting producers, and seeing the work of their hand's.  It was a humbling experience, to be so welcomed by complete strangers, invited into homes for coffee, and shown such hospitality.  Francisco and Tim from Exclusive Coffee are amazing hosts, and have gone above and beyond to ensure that our trip is amazing.  Costa Rica is wonderful, the people the food and the landscape is spectacular.  Francisco is constantly (akin a new father) pointing out the terroir to me, and the beauty of the country side.  The micro mills that we visited were all pristine.  The people working the farms are passionate, and dedicated people, working very hard to grow and produce the best quality coffee that they can.  After a long day of driving and visiting and seeing drying beds and micro mills, we ended back in San Jose, at the office where we were treated to a "cupping celebration" as Francisco appropriately calls them, of 25 different coffees.  All in all we sampled 125 cups of coffee this afternoon.  At the end of the day, I was impressed with the overall quality of the coffee from Costa Rica.  To be completely honest, I have never been a big fan of Costa Rican coffee, and todays traveling and tasting has now moved me into a new appreciation for the coffee grown in this wonderful small little country.  Transcend Coffee will definitely be bringing in some Costa Rica coffee in the next little while.