Tuesday, February 20, 2007


the zoka montenegro de santa ana c.o.e.

c.o.e. winning coffee farmer, amedeo figueroa, with his coffee from zoka first, let me say i loved zoka's el salvador c.o.e from yesterday. i enjoyed it this morning in the cafetiére for its heavy, nearly gelatinous body, which drags like a thick velvet train across the roof of your mouth.

this is not to understate its floral, lightly nippy, slightly citrus, balsamic rice, honey and caramel notes. you'll probably need the scaa flavor wheel to compute all that. . .i drank it black with ease.

it's gorgeous, delightful, and roast-dated feb. 12. i think it would also be fantastic in a chemex.

another virtue of this coffee, of course, is learning about the farm and the farmer. for those of you who like social justice with your coffee, feel free to note that zoka paid US$8.05 per pound green to compensate don amedeo (above) for the quality of this bean -- far, far above any fair-trade price.

i roughly calculate that zoka's jeff babcock paid the farmer about US$16,000 for his 13 bags of coffee. considering that the 2005 average per-capita income for el salvador was approx. US$2,450, you can see what a life-changing situation this is for the farmer, his workers, and the local community.

this is how high-quality coffee can transform the situation at origin.

and what will the farmer do with this quality premium? not only is he intent on improving his farm, but he will also use some of the money to help construct a health clinic in his rural community.

the zoka montenegro de santa ana c.o.e. is not only delicious, it does all the right things for all the right people. transparently.

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posted by fortune | 8:23 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments