aponte's guardians - colombia

Little Waves Coffee Roasters is a small independently owned Latina majority-owned, women-forward company based in Durham, North Carolina. They are a group of thinkers, dreamers, and doers who delight in the enduring power of coffee as a shared experience. Their team is diverse and open-hearted, made up of people of different cultures, genders, languages, faiths, and beliefs. Little Waves' mission is to source the highest quality coffees that make the deepest impact. By making small, determined reverberations through sourcing, roasting, and brewing, they add their open-hearted energy to the tides that unconceal and uphold the beauty of coffee and life.

Little Waves Coffee Roasters strive for sustainability in everything they do from relationship to energy usage. Their roaster has an 80% reduction in energy usage compared to traditional roasters. Their retail coffee bags are 60% compostable. They divert coffee bi-product chaff to be used in local community gardens.

Aponte's Guardiants has its roots in the region of Nariño in the Southeast of Colombia, where the Inga tribe lives in Aponte, from the Inca civilization which expanded a long time ago by the Andes trails. This indigenous community has strong pillars towards Mother Earth and preserving the wildlife and their customs. This region was strongly hit by the "Guerillas" in the past, and had many difficulties staying ahead of all these challenges. Nonetheless, the Inga people of Aponte have become very famous for their production of coffee, and most of all for their honey processes, which have brought a whole new face to their name and many opportunities to grow and preserve their lands in the best way possible.

This coffee wowed Little Waves/Cocoa Cinnamon on the cupping table due to its tropical and juicy flavors.

The Chilito Family grows it in the highest parts of Aponte's coffee production regions. The name is in honor of the relentless effort of the Inga tribe to preserve and take care of the earth making them "The Guardians" of their lands.

Grind note: If you are used to European third wave coffee roasters, note that this is a darker roast and will need somewhat of a coarser grind to shine, especially if you are hand-pouring (e.g., 2-3 clicks up on a Comandate hand-grinder).

Shelf-life: 180 days