I went into last year’s farmers market season with few expectations. I knew I had something great to share, and most of the Upper Valley hadn’t tried it yet, but I had faith. As the summer went by, I started hearing from people- some customers became regulars, stopping by my booth regularly for another bag of beans- others came by the market every week just for a cup of iced coffee. Over the winter, with the parks covered in snow and ice, a lot of the people I’d seen regularly week after week at the markets started showing up in my inbox- subscribers! Those faces turned up again at the New Year’s market, but I’ll admit, that as the summer...
A few months after opening Hato Viejo last year, Dan and I decided to become members of the Upper Valley Business Alliance. We didn’t have a solid reason at the time- we really weren’t even aware of the benefits of such an alliance, but I knew the value of community- everything is just a little easier when you have allies. What I have found was that getting involved with the UVBA got us involved in our community in the best way- we were putting names and faces together with the business of our area and making connections. Tracy and Tammi stopped by my booth at the Farmers Market not long after we signed up, to officially welcome us. What...
My mom used to brew coffee and tea for all of us every morning. The first batch of coffee, for the adults was strong. The second batch, made from the same grounds, but lighter, and without much caffeine, was for us kids. I woke to that aroma every morning, the scent finding its way to our bedroom- freshly roasted coffee. My mother would roast the beans the evening before, and my father would use a Pilon (a wooden hand grinder) to grind them, and then a Colador (a pour-over sack) to brew the coffee. My parents were up early, by 5 am every morning, to brew coffee and tea, to make breakfast for all of us kids, and for those...
When I first had the idea to bring Dominican coffee to the US, I did my homework. The island is home to some of the world’s best coffee plantations, so there were choices, but I wanted to get it right. I wanted a farm in the north of the country- where I’m from- and I needed a company that was already prepared to export and had done their paperwork. Finally, I got in touch with the Belarminio Ramirez farm, and the process began. It was a little scary, but I had hopes of creating a great and long relationship. We reviewed the paperwork, and placed our first order, a little fearful of all of the things that could go...
It has been a year. One year, since we started this journey, and every day brings new challenges, new opportunities, and new joy. When we first started our Hato Viejo project, we knew the first thing we needed to do was introduce ourselves to the wider world, and the best way we could see to do that was with free coffee. We opened our online store with a three-day promotion: 6 ounces of our coffee, any roast, ground or whole bean, for free. Really, actually free- we didn’t ask for a credit card number for future orders- we just wanted people to try it and let us know what they thought. For those three days I worked harder and faster...
