(from our time capsule – originally posted in our newsletter at the start of 2018 as we were just getting started with Luna)
Greetings from LÃœNA! If you’re just joining us, we’re a tiny (but mighty) company that’s all about delightful coffee and the weird and wonderful world of those who love drinking it.Â
Um, ok, so I’d say this gif is completely accurate for LÃœNA this month and I can probably just stop writing now…. but I’ll indulge you. Over at LÃœNA HQ, we’re putting every spare second (On top of the day jobs!) into finding and sharing the best coffees we can find, thinking and planning for the coming year, and pumping out delightful coffee.
On top of all that, this has been the month to achieve funding for LÃœNA Version 1.0. From the very beginning, we knew that if we were to do this thing, it had to be 100% our vision, without anyone else to answer to. So far, with a tiny menu of two stunning and diverse coffees, it’s off to an awesome start. Building up the menu for LÃœNA has been an exercise in patience, akin to decorating a house slowly, with intention. We’ve been busy working connections with friends to make sure the vision of bringing only the coffees that make us smile make it to your cup. You guys deserve beautiful coffees! We’ll make it happen.
You’re at the finish line! … Just kidding
Last week I had that feeling of being so tired, but ultimately triumphant as I hit send on an application to Futurpreneur and BDC for a youth business loan. That feeling of “exhale – you can take a breather now” was totally shortlived as we got hit with another round of surprise documents to fill out, including yours truly hanging at city hall to make this dream even more official. You know that feeling when the dude with the carrot on the stick says “nope” and puts it just out of reach? Yeah, that was us last week. All you can do is chuckle, and move forward. We are SO. CLOSE! This step is so important for us because getting the funding means we can focus on LÃœNA full time, and start fully realizing the vision. The silver lining is I get to grab a coffee near city hall at our dear friends at Johnny Can’t Surf. Visit these guys. They’re good people.
Where to find LÃœNA this week
Birds and the Beets in gastown – Retail bags of Disco Marmalade and Electric Lime as well as Electric Lime on drip (ask for it!)
Aubade in Chinatown – Retail bags of Electric Lime and Disco Marmalade as well as Disco Marmalade via Aeropress
So far, LÃœNA has been the conduit of our vision: Bring beautiful, bright coffees, with a focus on light roasting – coffees that highlight articulation with clean and clear flavour, to people who want to have a delightful coffee in the morning. That’s it. Simple as that.
-Nate
Nate Welland
LÃœNA
On rotation
The back story…
This story starts in the early 2000’s, in the Santa Barbara region of Honduras. Here, with winding dirt roads, and steep mountain-slopes are tight-knit communities, who (at that time) had a terrible reputation for producing the lowest quality coffee in the country.The closest dry mill (Beneficio San Vicente) regularly received wet parchment coffee from these families, and due to the state it was received in, not picked ripe or processed well, its fate was to be sold in the local market all blended together.Then one day everything completely changed. In 2005, when a young Benjamin Paz began working more closely with his family at the dry mill, they decided together to try working with one of the producers up the mountain range, entering a specially prepared lot into the Cup of Excellence competition.
The day when that lot took an astonishing first place (!!), it was a paradigm shift for the people of Santa Barbara -That moment was the start of a new reputation as high-quality coffee producers.
Fast forward years later – Routinely, Santa Barbara coffees place in the top 10 and often win. In fact, Ovidio Gomez (who grows this coffee) placed in the international auction for COE in 2011.Ovidio Gomez is part of a lineage of 4 generations all producing coffee. He’s got 4.4 hectares cultivating Pacas, Catuai and San Ramon (we have the San Ramon, a Typica strain). Ovidio began producing coffee in 1995 and has seen with his own eyes the complete shift, allowing Santa Barbara to not only shed its reputation for bad coffee but to attain the well-earned reputation as the most respected and award-winning regions in Honduras.
This coffee from Ovidio Gomez has a lovely lime acidity. cardamom-like spice, and a honeyed sweetness. As a selection of 100% San Ramon cultivar, this coffee is a lovely example of the Santa Barbara region and is shared here as Electric Lime.
DISCO MARMALADE
This coffee from the Bishan Fugu community, assisted by Hambela estate, has flavours of bright bergamot and is intensely sweet (think white grapes). These heirloom varieties are a stellar example of the Guji region and is shared here as Disco Marmalade.
The back story…
In 1934 Ethiopia, a young woman named Muluemebet, with equal parts fierceness and confidence overcame the odds and became Africa’s first female pilot. She flew an aircraft called the Tiger Moth a number of times a week over Addis Ababa and was determined to complete her pilot training and start a career. Her efforts were almost unbelievable at a time
when it was nearly impossible as a woman to get your drivers license.
In a twist of fate, Italian troops invaded Ethiopia in 1936, forcing Muluemebet into hiding (she was on their hit list). Trading in your dream for the domestic life seems a bit anti-climactic, but what happens next involves moving forward to today, this coffee and a continued legacy.
Ethiopian government awarded Muluemebet land as recognition for her efforts during the war and decades later Aman Adinew, her grandson, is entrusted with this same land – Hambela Estate.
The Adinew family manages Hambela Estate with the same drive that Muluemebet showed as she learned to fly all those years ago. They not only employ the local community complete with healthcare but also provide agronomy assistance for smallholders. The quality of the lots produced under the guidance of Aman and his team are consistently gorgeous and vibrant.