Barista Magazine

BAM_DEC 2013 -JAN 2014

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PU E R TO R ICO ALTHOUGH IT'S JUST AFTER NINE in the morning, the sun already feels like it's taking a sledgehammer to the landscape, and a layer of humidity drapes over the terrain raising thick blankets of sweat on the skin. Looking up the steep slopes of the mountains in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, the rows of coffee trees stretch up into the distance and almost reach the peak of the ridgeline. Picking coffee here, like almost everywhere coffee is grown, is brutal work. After a few minutes, the novelty for amateurs wears off. After a few hours, they might never want to see another coffee tree. After a few days, well, forget it. Tourists and amateurs don't pick coffee for days at a time. At this farm, however, on this morning, a tree in one of the rows will shake every so often as the picker beside it works over the branches looking for ripe, red cherry. All over the hillside, the sounds of birdcalls and buzzing insects mix with laughter, music, and the constant refrain of, ÒRagazzi!" (ÒchildrenÓ, in Italian). A flash of a bright yellow T-shirt breaks up the verdant green to the left or right, then disappears again. Those are glimpses of the shirts that all of the participantsÑnot professional coffee pickers, to be sureÑwear each day as they work the rows. Through all of this, the 15 Italian baristasÑmembers of the inaugural Barista & Farmer program taking place for a week this past November in Puerto RicoÑare indefatigable. Every day they've been here, they've risen at 5 a.m. and they've started picking at 6. They will do this for six days. They will think about it for the rest of their lives. Hacienda San Pedro is nestled in the midst of the highest peaks Opposite page, top: The Italian baristas embrace Hacienda San Pedro owner Roberto Atienza. The 15 "Italian pickers" harvested more than one ton of cherry in their six days on the farm. Below: The mountains of Jayuya, Puerto Rico form a rugged and magnificent vista in the middle of the island. This page: The participants and hosts of Barista & Farmer 2013 in Puerto Rico pose a er bringing another day's harvest to the mill at Hacienda San Pedro. in Puerto Rico, nearly smack in the middle of the 100-mile-long island. It takes about two hoursÑmuch of it on narrow, winding roadsÑto reach Hacienda San Pedro from San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and largest city. The farm stretches over 360 acres, and 120 of those are planted with coffee. Owners of Hacienda San Pedro, the Atienza family, also grow oranges and other fruit on the land. The baristas spend the first part of the day working alongside Puerto Rican pickers. Since they don't share a common language, they communicate through a series of hand gestures and facial expressions. Of course, with this crew, they also use a lot of laughter and song to talk with the pickers. After the three hours of morning picking are up, the baristas take their harvest to the mill for weighing. An awardÑand mad propsÑgoes to the barista who has picked the most. As an additional bonus today, the three Puerto Ricans who picked the most snag a cash prize. Without exception, the baristas say they have developed a new respect for coffee and the work that goes into it over the course of the week. Ask any of them if they think coffee is too expensive, and they'll answer with a resounding, ÒNo!Ó It ought to be much, much more expensive, they say, based on the amount of work that goes into picking it. And they'll volunteer that they'll never waste coffee againÑÒnot even a gram!Ó Rebecca Atienza, granddaughter of the original owner of Hacienda San Pedro and daughter of Roberto, who farms the land www.baristamagazine.com 31

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