*Alert: During the show I say Náhuatl is a Mayan language, and I attribute the word and deity Quetzalcoatl to the Mayan’s, but after further reading I’ve learned it is an Aztec language and mythology. Aztec and Mayans cultures both have history in the Southern Mexico region. I got Mayan in my head when writing. My apologies, and an edit to the show will be forthcoming.
COATL COFFEE: DORIAN ESCOBAR & LOUIS ELGUERA, FOUNDERS
In Chiapas, Mexico there is a coffee farm. Coffee is being grown and harvested there as it has for more than 60 years. Someday soon a coffee cherry will be deemed to be ripe by a farmer, picked from a tree, and added to a batch of coffee cherries to be processed. Eventually, the bean that is left after processing will be placed in a burlap sack, shipped north and end up at the Coatl Coffee Company in Oceanside, California.
There it will get roasted, packaged and sent to a local grocery where someone, maybe you, will put it in their car, take it home and make a cup of coffee to drink. When Dorian Escobar and Louis Elguera talk about the energy of the coffee they aren’t just talking about the uplifting feeling that comes with a caffeine boost. They are referring to the sun that shown down helping draw that original coffee plant out of the ground, the effort of the farmer to select it, the journey it took from Mexico to America, and finally from the roaster to you.
They are referring to the connection that exists between that cup of coffee and a farm in the highlands just north of Guatamala in the very southern state of Mexico. Along with the kick of caffeine comes centuries of history linking you to the Aztec, to the Mayan, to the Olmecs, to the unknown hunters who were drawn to that region 9,000 years ago.
Louis and Dorian met long before deciding to build Coatl Coffee, as electricians with a passion for fine food and drink, for natural and organic products. Inspired, in part by Dorian’s grandfather’s coffee farm, the two built Coatl with a mission to, “…source the most biodiverse sustainable coffee in support of the natural organic ways of growing coffee.”
Their coffee is roasted with intention, imbued with their spirit and in pursuit of finding the spiritual moments in the rituals that comes with the creation of coffee. On the Roast! West Coast coffee podcast I’ve spoken to nearly twenty different coffee professionals over two seasons, and we almost always come around to the concept of coffee as a ritual. For many of us that ritual begins when we press the button on the grinder, and ends when we’ve sipped the last of our morning cup. Who are we kidding? It’s cups. For the gents from Coatl, the ritual began long before, when the sun first shown on the earth, and continues on into the future.
Their version of our connection to coffee is inspiring, and because of it I’ve been inspired to try to find myself in connection to the world when I’m brewing my own coffee in the morning. I hope after listening to the show you feel the same.
The name Coatl comes from an ancient Aztec language known as Náhuatl. It is a shortened version of Quetzalcoatl which roughly translates to ‘feathered serpent’ in English. Quetzalcoatl is also the name of a deity revered as creator, possibly the creator of mankind, and as the god of wind and life and all energy.
It is from these roots that Dorian and Louis have found inspiration for their coffee company, and their pursuit of a sensory driven coffee experiences.
Coatl Coffee is bird friendly which we’ve talked about previously in this newsletter and on the show.
Bird-friendly coffee is sometimes called shade-grown coffee…These coffees are grown amongst the native plants, trees, and animals in an effort enable producers to continue growing coffee without negatively impacting native species and preventing damage to forests, in particular, bird habitats.
ROAST! INDUSTRY LEGACY PARTNERS
Leap Coffee has a new blend, The Wedding Blend, in honor of head roaster Bre’s nuptials. Both coffees in the blend are both Rainforest Alliance certified. They’ve offered flavor notes of: Pink Grapefruit, Citra Hops, Orange Blossom Honey, and Velvety.
@Cafe.LaTerre is doing something called Tik-Tok’s now.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea has a new Yemen Mocca Harazi coffee roasted medium-light to try. Their coffee notes include: strawberry, fig and pistachio. Zumbar is open for indoor ordering, but masks are still required indoors (thanks Zumbar!), and seating remains outdoors only. Please remember to continue social distancing.
Mostra Coffee has a brand new light roast coffee, Colombia Segundo Ortiz, available. Flavor notes include: dried cranberries, violet, and white chocolate.
Need some coffee? Check out these great companies for delivery, pick-up and finally, even some on-site coffee enjoyment.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle •
DON’T MISS IT
Don’t forget to listen to the Coffee Smarter session about Gesha coffee. We’ll be back Friday with Siri Simran Khalsa on her last #CoffeeSmarter session of the Roast! West Coast coffee podcast, season 2. We cover sustainability, sexism in hospitality and what coffee means to her. Don’t miss it.
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Roast! - Dorian Escobar & Louis Elguera, Coatl Coffee