Last week we celebrated "National Coffee Day," and "International Coffee Day." We’re reminded this time of year of the rich coffee heritage we have as a nation. On December 16, 1773 we spilled the tea into Boston Harbor and said “Enough!” to the British crown, their taxes, and their tea. Doing so was not just a protest; it was the pivotal moment in which we made a conscious decision to drink only coffee, which in turn fueled our Revolution as drinking tea became “Anti-American.”
Our American coffee heritage also happens to tie directly into the heritage of the world’s first Black republic—Haiti. In 1715, the French brought coffee to Haiti, and by 1788, Haiti produced half of the world’s coffee; a great deal of it was exported to the United States. Similarly, coffee was brought to Nicaragua in 1750, and by 1780 the majority of Nicaragua’s international exports was coffee. Coffee has brought economic wealth to the Western Hemisphere for centuries, and to this day the second most traded commodity after oil is KAFE!! To celebrate our collective coffee heritage in the Western Hemisphere, we developed the Raíces blend.
This Latin Heritage Month, have a sip or more of our Raíces blend. It’s a wondrous merging of Nicaragua’s Red Caturra beans with Ethiopia’s Sidama beans giving birth to a complex mix of chocolaty, nutty, and stone fruit flavors.
Through this blend, we are making a conscious effort to recognize and amplify the contributions and sacrifices made by our indigenous and Black ancestors. We choose to remember that theirs was a life lived in the duality of joy and human exploitation. It is their fortitude and commitment to stand up against injustice even in the face of death that has brought us to where we are today.
Raíces is a reflection of who we are, where we’ve come from, and the cultures that have merged to create Latin heritage. From Puerto Rico’s bomba, to New York’s salsa, Latin culture has changed the very fabric of our society for the better. This is our history, these are our roots, and we believe they’re worth celebrating. Celebrate this Latin Heritage Month with a bag of Raíces! And while you're at it, tell us: What are your Raíces?