Pono Collective

Day 6 recap part 2 ☕️🥰
 
Day 6 of Pono Collective was our most exciting yet, featuring a Roasters Masterclass hosted by Talha Erdinç Baş , the 2023 Turkey Roasting Champion and 2nd at the 2023 World Coffee Roasting Championship! We also had the honor of inviting our friends throughout our journey in El Salvador: Café L’Étranger co-owners Liza and Ernesto, Finca Los Pirineos owner Diego Baraona .baraona, and Viva Espresso’s .espresso talented Q-grader Rebeca Ibañez (Pono Collective 2023)! 
 
To wrap everything up, a panel of champs and more invited guests (Rodrigo of , Lily Pacas  , Jorge , Daniel  and Katherine  of , Rodrigo , Belen .rivera_ , El Respectivo  and more!) got to ask questions, exchange ideas, and talk about the needs of coffee from a coffee producer perspective, as well as a roasting and local client perspective. It was amazing to see the buzz and a-ha moments by each person attending. Telling the unique stories of coffee, being more collaborative, and pushing the coffee producer to the forefront to coffee consumers is of vital importance to educate others on the true nature of coffee: as an agricultural product. 
 
We are fortunate that we had support of venue and the roasting equipment by our friends   and .sv, they really helped us make this magic happen. ✨  

Thank you everyone! 🫶🏽      

Day 6 recap part 1 🌱 
 
Day 6 of Pono Collective was our most exciting yet, featuring a Roasters Masterclass hosted by Talha Erdinç Baş , the 2023 Turkey Roasting Champion and 2nd at the 2023 World Coffee Roasting Championship! We also had the honor of inviting our friends throughout our journey in El Salvador: Café L’Étranger co-owners Liza and Ernesto, Finca Los Pirineos owner Diego Baraona .baraona, and Viva Espresso’s .espresso talented Q-grader Rebeca Ibañez (Pono Collective 2023)! 
 
To wrap everything up, a panel of champs and more invited guests (Rodrigo of , Lily Pacas  , Jorge , Daniel  and Katherine  of , Rodrigo , Belen .rivera_ , El Respectivo  and more!) got to ask questions, exchange ideas, and talk about the needs of coffee from a coffee producer perspective, as well as a roasting and local client perspective. It was amazing to see the buzz and a-ha moments by each person attending. Telling the unique stories of coffee, being more collaborative, and pushing the coffee producer to the forefront to coffee consumers is of vital importance to educate others on the true nature of coffee: as an agricultural product. 
 
We are fortunate that we had support of venue and the roasting equipment by our friends   and .sv, they really helped us make this magic happen. ✨  
Thank you everyone! 🫶🏽      

Recap part 1 from Finca Los Pirineos 🫶

Thank you again to Diego Baraona .baraona and his team at Los Pirineos for sharing your experiences, milling processes, and beautiful farm with us. We learned so much with you! 🥹

Stay connected with the Pono Collective journey through stories, reels, and posts! 📲

Part 2 of our Cafe L’Étranger () coffee experience 🫶🏽

Thank you again to Liza and Ernesto, the co-founders of Café L’Étranger , for sharing your space, kindness, and knowledge (and coffee cherries) with the Pono Collective! 🥰

We have 2 more days of adventure awaiting in El Salvador. Stay tuned through the Pono Collective stories/posts/reels! 📲

Day 3 is one for the books 😌

We had another fantastic cupping experience with of in Antigua, Guatemala. Each day has been a blast, and we’re excited to hear the experiences and knowledge from more coffee experts this upcoming week!

Thank you to Torch Coffee Company for letting us use your beautiful space! And thank you to Raul for your valuable insights! 🫶

Stay tuned for more of our one week journey through Guatemala and El Salvador’s specialty coffee industry!

Day 2 complete!

Our last day in Guatemala City closed out with a cupping experience and coffee farm tour hosted by Paradigma and Raul Rodas (), the 2012 Word Barista Champion!

Our next stop is Antigua, Guatemala! Stay tuned for more of our one week journey through Guatemala and El Salvador’s specialty coffee industry ☕️

We had an amazing day 1 of Pono Collective in Guatemala City!

We started the day off strong with a tour of Dinámica Coffee Mill, and ended with a cupping experience hosted by Daniel Montenegro.

Joining us on this journey from Guatemala to El Salvador are Champions Yoshiyuki Nakamura .monbeya (Japan Roasting Champ 2023), Diana Ledezma (UK Roasting Champ 2023), Christian from Alpen Sierra , and Marie and Ana from Cafe Pista !

We have so much more in store for each day for a week. Stay tuned for more updates, stories, reels and posts! 🌎

Day 4, our last and final day of the Hawaii Cacao journey from bean to bar was amazing! 🤩

Culinary Institute of the Pacific students () were able to get an amazing hands-on experience with making their own truffles, aka bon bons during the first Cacao edition of the Pono Collective. Here are some photos of the experience, showcasing the amazing Alan Martin () who walked everyone through making this delectable treat.

Special thank you to everyone who attended and made this possible:
Jon Ching
Dylan Butterbaugh
Rodney Weddle
Alan Martin
Dr. Lauren Tamamoto