Thursday, November 18, 2004

Cafezinho

Roberto Kuyumjian’s paternal and maternal grandparents fled Armenia during the Turkish genocide of 1.5 million Christian Armenians in the early 1900’s. With tears in her eyes and overtaken by emotion, his grandmother would tell the story of her escape, as a child rolled up inside a burlap bag. Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, nearly disappeared as a country when half of its population was wiped out by Ottoman Turks. Many found respite in the western free world. Brazil, its friendly populace, warm weather and vast territory gladly embraced amongst others, Armenian immigrants. Three generations later Roberto and his Brazilian wife enjoy the bounties of a free society and a rich heritage in not least of which, coffee plays its part. Dalva grew up on a coffee farm in town called Formiga where coffee farms blanket the landscape, migrant workers flood town during harvest and rambunctious coffee barons brashly sport their latest wheeled acquisitions. Dalva favors a fireside brew, made from freshly roasted beans, fine ground, steeped in pre-boiling water in a pan, cloth filtered, served in demitasses with a chunk of fresh farmer’s cheese to boot. Roberto does not have much use for coffee for his own enjoyment, yet not a visit to his home goes unattended by the rich brew. Incidentally, in his thriving human relations business, he encourages managers to take time to talk to their subordinates in an informal setting, preferably and most appropriately around a “cafezinho”, the ubiquitous Brazilian brew. So, Life…Coffee…Simple.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004


The dramatic mountains of Veraguas, Panama, where military commandos once roamed expurgating the area of leftists who threatened the established dictatorship, are now home to hundreds of small coffee farmers whose ability to produce high quality coffee is critical to their survival. Posted by Hello