Guatemala Finca El Pilar

Today we’re back to our atmospheric river, or pineapple express: meaning that the rain is pouring down again. Apparently winter is not done with us yet. Earlier in the week we enjoyed sunshine and trees blossoming, and at our house the tulips have been greeting us with shining faces. We enjoyed watching Jack’s team play baseball on Tuesday night, and we have another game tonight, if it’s not rained out. Springtime baseball requires flexibility.

With the advent of April we are celebrating our 35th anniversary in business. We’d like to say thanks to all of you for keeping us in business. Over on our blog we have a giveaway going on, here, and we’d like to invite you to leave a comment for a chance to win. There are many great reasons for owning a small business, but not the least of them is the joy we have in being a place to connect with our community. We appreciate all of you. Do enter the giveaway–we’d love to be able to thank you with one of our prizes.

Tulips from our garden

This week we have a Guatemalan coffee for you. This bean comes from Finca El Pilar (The Pillar Farm) near Antigua. It is owned by Juan Carlos Chen, and was given to him by his father-in-law. Sr. Chen is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of the coffee they produce, and has been renovating and improving the estate for the last five years.

He also has a focus on conservation. Finca El Pilar has 225 acres of coffee, and 470 acres of preserved forest: a private nature reserve. They have opened part of the property for ecological hikes and bird watching–especially hummingbirds. You can see some pictures of the birds here. In addition, they have kept some coffee trees on the plantation which are over sixty years old. You can find a video of these tall old trees on their Facebook page here.

There is a great write up about Finca El Pilar and Juan Carlos Chen by a British and an Australian coffee company, here and here, respectively. It’s pretty amazing in this day of internet connectivity to be able to read multiple articles about the estate and owner of the beans used in your daily brew.

In the cup this is a beautiful washed bean, with sweet flavors of cream and vanilla, and a lingering caramel finish. The care taken in production shows in the final product. You can try a cup of this on us with the code tulips* this week. Stay safe in all of this wind and rain, and drink good coffee. I know that I will be drinking this Guatemalan this week. Enjoy!
–Holly Fike

*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of Guatemala Finca El Pilar. Code expires on 4.13.17. Limit one free cup per customer please. Valid only at Carolines Coffee Roasters, 128 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Code/Offer has no cash value