The Long Journey of
Martina's Mayan Coffee
Growing
Rich volcanic soil, forested mountains, and regular rain offer superb coffee-growing conditions in Guatemala. In this remote region, farmers often establish their own mills along the abundant rivers to grow their coffee, reflecting the ingenuity and resilience of the local community. It takes 3-4 years for plants like Modesto's to start bearing fruit (called "cherries").
Harvesting
The coffee cherries turn a bright, deep red when they are ready to be harvested. Modesto and Manuela can pick 150 pounds of cherries in one day, which produces 30 pounds of beans after they are sorted and de-shelled. The whole family helps when it is time for harvesting, and processing must be done quickly to prevent spoilage.
Processing
Modesto pays to use a neighbor's husker, which removes the red outer shell, leaving the green coffee beans.
Sorting
Martina's parents sort the beans and remove any that are small, discolored, over-fermented, insect-damaged, or still retain their hulls. Martina has learned that this is one of the most important phases because thorough sorting directly affects the coffee's flavor.
Drying
The beans are sun-dried in the arid, frost-free climate. Modesto and Manuela regularly rearrange the beans to ensure they are all thoroughly dried.
Bagging
Martina's family performs the final task of bagging the milled beans (now called "green coffee"). They take the beans to a local buyer who normally pays the unreasonably low amount of 8-5 Guatemalan Quetzales (GTQ) per pound -- an equivalent of 1-2 United States Dollars (USD). But through this project, Martina ships the coffee directly to the United States to secure fair pay for her parent's valuable beans.
Re-sorting
When the coffee beans arrive in the United States, the beans are sorted a second time to remove any deformed beans, which will immprove the coffee's taste. Here, Martina and her sister Zoila sort the beans in Martina's home in Alameda. (See more sorting pictures in the Gallery.)
"Nosing"
At Red Bay Coffee in Oakland, the coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. First the beans are evaluated for their visual quality. Next a small batch of beans are roasted and ground. Water is added to the beans and Martina "noses" the coffee to experience its aroma, an essential step in determining the quality of the coffee.
Tasting
With a quick inhalation, Martina "slurps" a spoonful of coffee. This method sprays the coffee evenly over the taste buds. It is then weighed on the tongue and spat out. This is the phasewhere the "notes" of the coffee are determined. In this batch of coffee, Martina detects notes of caramel and pear. (You can especially smell caramel when you open your bag of Martina's Mayan Coffee.)
Roasting
Roasting transforms the green beans into aromatic brown beans. The beans are constantly stirred so they don't burn. This process releases a fragrant oil locked in the beans. (See more roasting pictures in the Gallery.)
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Final Bagging
The coffee is put into labeled bags. In this photo, Martina stands with Karla Mancio, the head roaster at Red Bay Coffee. Karla has been tutoring Martina about coffee production process. (Karla is a certified "Q Grader" -- professionals skilled in sensory evaluation of green coffee. In addition to Karla's tutoring, Red Bay Coffee also donated the use of their roasting and bagging machines to this project.)
SPECIAL THANKS TO
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Karla Mancio for taking Martina under her wing and Red Bay Coffee for roasting the coffee
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Sonya Yruel from Sonya Yruel Photography for taking many of the pictures
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Food and Beverage Professor Aaron Adalja of Cornell University for supporting and guiding this project
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Maria Cleaveland of Cornell University for supporting this project
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Kate Lassalle-Klein for creating the logo and coffee bag labels