This month's blog is a bit different in recognition of a big step I took last month- to leave Elixir and dedicate myself 100% to Hato Viejo. For those not in the Upper Valley. Elixir is a fantastic upscale restaurant in downtown White River Junction, Vermont owned by Skip and Jane. I hope you enjoy!
This week was the last farmers market for the season. The markets give us the opportunity to sell our products directly into the community. For the vendors, this is our connection with the people and community. The end of the season is the end of production for most and begins the process of planning for the following year. I remembered growing up my father would have tobacco, fruit, and vegetables ready to sell at harvest. He would have to wait for the distributors to set a price, then he would negotiate the sale. The distributors would try and negotiate the price down, leaving the farmers with little to no profit and some years with debt. When I moved to the...
Every day, I get morecalls, more emails, more interest. People who want to be involved, people excited by whatwe’re doing. And my favorite: the people that come up to me to say “I bought your coffee, Itried it, and I loved it!”
Seven years ago, before the idea of importing coffee had even occurred to me, I got in touch with the organizer for the Lebanon Farmers Market. Beans and legumes are a huge part of the Dominican diet, and I had a dozen recipes that used lentils, garbanzos, and black and red beans- everything from salty to sweet, snack to dessert. The idea of sharing my country with the people of my new home appealed to me even then, and I started to get a little excited, but it was not to be. The deadline to apply for the year had already passed, the vendors were set, and that summer’s market would go on without me. Over the next year, as...
It wasn’t any easy night. By the time Tuesday dawned, the phrase “my coffee is stuck in customs” was running on a loop through my head. Tuesdays are my busiest day of the week since we started Hato Viejo, because after dropping the kids at school, I have two hours of driving to pick up the freshly roasted beans from the roaster, and then get home to fill all of the orders for the week. I started the day as I normally would, trying to stay calm, and pensively awaiting the email from the broker- just hoping I would get the news in time to make the two hour trip to Boston before 5pm, when the freight company closed. I’d...
