When I first met Edwin Martinez, he called me up asking if I’d be interested in trying his coffee. My first impression (don’t take this the wrong way Edwin) was that he was quite a bit older than I. It was the way he talked, with such grace and wisdom. He wasn’t frantic. He was certain of what he said. And he was generous in a way that I have really only encountered with people who have lived many lifetimes.
Without knowing what I was going to get, but knowing that at the time, I had almost no central american coffees (his farm , Finca Vista Hermosa, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala) I thought it was a good idea to meet. It was clear from what he said that he was as interested in finding out what I was doing as he was in selling me coffee. In other words, he was more concerned that if he sold me coffee, he would be selling it to someone that was going to continue to take car of it as he would. I respect that immensely.
So one Saturday, late morning, we sat down and chatted. The first thing I remember when I actually met him was woah. He’s like my age. Crazy. Anyway, we talked for probably an hour and a half… And thinking back to that conversation, I feel that the most important part of that conversation was about the nature of the relationship that we were forming. It was about trust, and equitable trade.
And I should point out that his coffee was pretty amazing as well… I still have such fond memories of how complex, clearly fruity it is. A true expression of it’s own land. It’s not exactly simple, but it approaches you much like Edwin does, calmly with a lot of history rolling around inside. I as very intrigued when he told me that Barefoot was using his coffee as a single origin espresso, and how it could hold up to any blend. I was (and am still) unable to justify blends if the intention is to produce and roast coffee of the utmost caliber. And the idea that I might offer exclusively single origins, even as espresso (which was the one method where I was, at the time, willing to compromise that position) was soo cool. In the end, I didn’t all the time, but in hindsight, I should have.
Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about when I got to this illustration. I’m not sure when I made this, but I think it was a little before I began carrying Edwin’s coffee.
[here is a transcript in case you can't read my writing (which is highly probable]
Guatamalan (sic) Huehuetenango Finca Vista Hermosa
Very Smooth - sweetish crema -> is okay not a lot of crema…
crema — sweet but not tremendous amount… more like mango than straight sweet - that slight tang of fruit acid juice.
Good body - but could be a lighter roast - slightly chalky
a real interesting, mild espresso
[I want to point out that at the time I wrote this note, I was serving Malabar Gold as espresso, which is pretty much the opposite when it comes to amount of crema. I was young, what can I say?]