For the past several years, I’ve been in a pretty serious relationship but many things change on the Race and it’s just not working out anymore. Starbucks, we’ve had a lot of great times: Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Caramel Macchiatos, Skinny Vanilla Lattes, Peppermint Mochas, Caramel Brulee Lattes…all cherished memories but our season of love has come to an end.
Starbucks will always have a special place in my heart but it’s time to move on. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put the ways of childhood behind me (1 Cor 13:11).
I’m in a new relationship and I’m so excited. When you meet the one, you just know. Let me introduce you.
Broken coffee starts at the Santa Rita coffee plantation in Teotepeque, El Salvador. It’s a Rainforest Alliance plantation that lies in the mountains about 2 hours outside San Salvador. Rainforest Alliance partners abide by high standards of environmental and social practices that promote healthy land use, alleviate poverty and protect wildlife and forests.
The plantation is owned by Rodrigo. As he explained how they operated the plantation, the challenges they faced, and the successes they had enjoyed, his passion was contagious. I began to flirt with Santa Rita. Starbucks had been more distant recently, anyway.
After touring the plantation, we drove the 2 hours back to San Salvador to the roasting plant. This was where I knew Santa Rita was more than just a fling. We watched as the beans were dried, separated by density and then roasted for perfect flavor.
Rodrigo led us upstairs to the demonstration area. He laid out several bowls with fresh coffee grounds for us to smell and compare the roasts. One by one, our group lined up and smelled the different grounds. The better roasts were first and poorer quality roasts last. The last few bowls were almost offensive after the sweet courting of Santa Rita. Then he added boiling water to compare the coffee aromas. Again, we lined up and made our way through the different coffees. There was no need to go more than halfway. I already knew which was The One for me. Finally, we tasted. After such anticipation and patient waiting getting to know each other, how could it not be love?
Thank you for sharing in my joy. If you would like to support our life together and the Broken campaign of Envision Wired in El Salvador, you can order your Santa Rita coffee at www.envisioncoffee.org.
Coffee sales support the Broken campaign to continue to heal and bring hope to the broken people of El Salvador.
