To commence this blog, we'd like to delve into what 2023 meant for us. Although La Clara Coffee Roasters AB was officially established two years ago, on the 21st of December 2021, we only began operating on the 8th of May 2023, a date we now consider our anniversary.
It has been a road full of obstacles to overcome, but the process has been very fulfilling. Frustrating at times, but overall rich in emotions. Despite the stones in the way that, at times, didn’t let us continue, we managed to realize our dream, or at least, start it. Every day we build something that has been in the planning since 2017, during a trip to Jericó, Antioquia, with my family in Colombia. There, somehow, something clicked!
"Coffee! The way to reconnect to your land, to your people and family."
From that moment, the idea has been gradually taking form. Shortly after arriving in Medellín, I reached out to my childhood friend Andrés. As we strolled through the café scene in Medellín, we began to envision the business—its appearance, its representation, and its principles.
The idea started to evolve slowly. At the time, I worked as a researcher in molecular plant virology at SLU in Uppsala. I didn't have much space to develop the business, nor the knowledge. The journey continued by reconnecting with former classmates from the university, farming engineers working with coffee in various sections of the industry production chain.
It wasn't until 2019 and 2020 that I had the chance to meet a mentor in the industry. By this time, I began distancing myself from academia and transitioning to work in the Biotech industry. This mentor, a Q-grader, provided insights into the coffee industry after roasting. Before that, my knowledge was primarily centered around agronomy, crop diseases, and genetics.
This fortuitous meeting also led to reconnecting with Oscar (our producer), who was producing high-quality coffee in Apia, Risaralda. Another "click!" moment.
From there, the business began to take shape on paper, documenting every idea and plan for future development.
We opted for a challenging path for our business, focusing on direct sales and connections with customers. Our aim is to narrate the story of our people and land, minimizing intermediaries in the storytelling process.
Throughout our storytelling journey, we've encountered remarkable people and companies. One such company is Bönan och Mustaschen, an amazing café dedicated to connecting customers with the unique story each coffee has to tell. Their commitment to building a community resonates with ours. Offering our coffees through them was a significant honor.
However, this storytelling journey presents a slight inconvenience. As evident, I'm writing in English, neither my native language nor the local one. This language barrier impedes our reach to you, friend. So, technology plays a crucial role in making our written stories more accessible and readable.
In that line, Gilla Stallarholmen, the local newspaper where we've established our business, crafted a heartwarming summary of our entire story in their October issue. If you're interested, you can find it here: Stallis har blivit med kafferosteri.
And this is our condensed story of our journey so far, with highlights from our adventures in 2023. Please, let us know your thoughts, questions, or just comments.
Until the next one! Chau!