Barista at Large

Visiting coffee origin is something we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. Through winding mountain roads and beautiful landscapes, the Banana Dang team finally made it to Sandra Farms Coffee in Adjuntas, PR for our first visit to origin. The air in these mountains is sweet smelling and dryer than the tropical humid beaches of Rincon.

At Sandra Farms, Israel and Sandra Gonzalez greeted us with a snack of local cheeses, guava paste and organic farm grown tomatoes. Lemonade and orange juice were fresh from the trees and the coffee, of course, was delicious.

Israel and Sandra gave us a history of the farm and walked through the process of farming and producing their specialty coffee. Along the vast coffee fields we saw orange, papaya, lemon, sugarcane, avocado and cherry trees. It was not harvest time so the coffee cherries were green, but plentiful.

After our visit to Sandra Farms, we drove another 20-minutes through the mountains of Adjuntas to arrive at Hacienda Monte Alto. We met Don Jimmy and family who showed us the amazing coffee processing setup on the Hacienda. Monte Alto had been producing coffee for over 30 years and it was amazing to see the processing on a larger scale. Alongside the commercial grade coffee was a completely separate specialty coffee processing system. We got another review of the care that goes into Specialty Coffee processing. Smaller batches of the highest quality beans were washed, sorted then dried.

We picked up some coffee and got to enjoy the smell of fresh coffee along the drive home. Visiting origin is a great education for any barista and coffee retailer. It gave us even more of an appreciation for what we serve to our customers every day.

Banana Dang + Surfrider

A lot of friends ask: What is Rincon like?

Aside from great weather and some of the best surf we've ever experienced, there is a short documentary on Rincon from Surfrider Foundation called Salva Tres Palmas. The movie can be seen on Surfrider's website (in both English and Spanish). We recommend it highly.

Salva Tres Palmas tells the story of the environmental victory that gave life to Tres Palmas Marine Reserve, the first marine reserve on the main island of Puerto Rico—in Rincon. There are lots of characters we recognize from living here, as well as being an informative film about the environmental hazards that face Rincon.

Aside from that, DANG Factory also designed a poster—and book—for Arte Acuatico, a project sponsored by NOAA's Marine Debris Program and is part of the educational component of the ambitious community driven program "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal at Reserva Marina Tres Palmas," where more than 475 tires have been removed, among other debris.

Opening night of Arte Acuatico takes place on Thursday, June 25 at Rincon of The Seas, 7-9 p.m. The show features kids' art from surrounding schools in Rincon and runs all the way to July 9. We hope you can make it!

See you out there,
T2 + Mario

Banana Dang at WBC 2009

The world's best baristas from 52 nations just competed for the crown at the 10th Annual World Barista Championship 2009 in Atlanta. #1 went to U.K.'s GWILYM DAVIES!!! #2 Canada's Sam Piccolo and #3 USA's Mike Phillips. It was an amazing performance by all, including Puerto Rico's Daniel Rivera.

WBC/SCAA Conference was a coffee geek fest—an excellent chance to network with friends and coffee professionals. Best part: rows (seemed like a mile long) of the best baristas in the world serving espressos, lattes and cappuccinos—all you can drink for the price of admission! To get in FREE, we volunteered to do dishes for 10 hours, but it was an unbeatable learning experience.

In front of a live crowd and countless cameras, baristas prepared 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos and 4 signature drinks in the allotted time of 15 minutes. They were judged on everything—including cleanliness, technicality, speed, but most of all—the proof is in the cup.

Once again, it was an international mix of vendors associated with espresso machines, roasters, teas, baked goods, hardware, and chocolate (yum). We soaked in labs and lectures that taught latte art hosted by USA/World champ Heather Perry and #3 USBC 2009 winner Scott Lucey, cupping, roasting and biz management. And the parties lasted all night as coffee poured like chocolate from Willy Wonka's Factory.

Pix highlights include:
* Lee Jong Hoon: #6 WBC Finalist from Korea
* Phuong Tran: 2005 USBC winner and the only "other" Vietnamese in Specialty Coffee
* Matt Milletto: Bellisimo Coffee (coffee educator)

WBC gave us even more *spark* to present the best Puerto Rican coffees. With this knowledge, Banana Dang will offer our own Barista Training Certification Program. We look forward to serving you the best cup.

We also got to visit family in Atlanta—my cousin Phi Phi, husband Jae and their baby boy, BABY CALEB. In this picture, he is curiously checking out his second cousin! Ha ha.

Always Caffeinated,
T2 and Mario

For the Love of Coffee...(and Love in general)

We are well into the season, which picked up late. So late—infact—that talk among business owners is it's the slowest season ever experienced in Rincon. But we have high hopes as more travelers head this way in February (one of the busiest months of the year, next to Christmas). We're working 13-hour days, six days a week.

But we're loving the coffee business. Seriously.

Our coffees are sourced local from Maricao (Cafe El Mananero), San Sebastian (Cafe Casablanca) and Adjuntas (Sandra Farms).

Sometimes we bring in special coffees off the island (Kana, Intelligentsia), but mostly we plan to find more roasters on the island to bring our customers the best espresso Puerto Rico has to offer. Besides the full range of espresso drinks, we also debut the Purple Bowl—Acai blended with bananas, topped with organic granola and organic coconut—as well as Vietnamese Coffee Jello served with condensed milk. We'll soon offer vegan jello—another unique offering to our health conscious clientele.

A few quick bites—

Rincon's 1st Speed Dating sponsored by Banana Dang; Wed. Feb 11 @ 7pm. Each bachelor/bachelorette meets a potential date every 5-minutes. Free coffee.

2nd Annual Rincon International Film Festival happening April 28-May 3. Poster by DANG Factory.

"Make it Dirty" promo: Add espresso to any smoothie for a unique drink experience! So far, the Nutty Dang is the #1 "Dirty Drink" at Banana Dang with chocolate, banana and peanut butter.

10th Annual World Barista Championship comes to Atlanta this April. Banana Dang is proud to volunteer at this prestigious coffee event at the SCAA Conference where coffee connoisseurs (and geeks!) from around the globe talk shop and give respect to the best in the industry.

Banana Dang's head barista Mario Jimenez is planning to compete next year in Puerto Rico's Barista Championship. To prepare, he is pulling shots all night and mixing ingredients for his signature drink.

...On a personal front, T2 is happy that her big sister, Kim-Van Dang is getting married! My new brother-in-law (from South Africa) is a sommelier with an affinity for action sports. Congratulations to you both. We wish you a lifetime of love.

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo T2 and Mario

First Year Anniversary!

When it rains it pours. Metaphorically speaking. We just hired 3 new part-time employees to help the season rush, which usually happens the day after Thanksgiving (the biggest shopping day of the year!). It’s exciting because we have a culturally diverse group: Japanese, Puerto Rican, and Spanish—not to mention our Vietnamese, Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian backgrounds. Right now, training takes place in 4-hour shifts. Soon, we’d love to hand the keys over to the most willing and competent so we can do more graphic design and pour extra time into marketing Banana Dang.

November 20, 2008 is the one-year anniversary of Banana Dang. We survived our first year with just the two of us running the show (except for help in cleaning at night). We weathered the “dry spell” of Rincon’s endless summer, and got a few accolades worth mentioning...

The new Lonely Planet spotlighted our business. Local paper El Coqui did a feature on Banana Dang (you can download the story in the November issue). The Hartford Courant ran a feature on Rincon titled "No-Frills Paradise" and mentioned Banana Dang. On Trip Advisor, we are fortunate to be the #3 restaurant in Puerto Rico!

Promo-wise, check out our FREE postcard with $5 purchase in-store (stickers coming soon). It also took a year, but we finally finished the Banana Dang Guide to Rincon—a complimentary 2-pages that features all our favorite hangouts and “secrets” of the town. We also redesigned the DANG Factory logo for our own graphic design business—and got a few more jobs out of it, including designing the visual identity for the 2nd Annual Rincon International Film Festival and logo redesign for Flying Fish Parasail. Images soon.

One of the best things we’ve done for our barista career is joining the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and the social network Barista Exchange, a forum for barista “geeks” to talk coffee. The David Schomer bible, Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, is still the #1 required reading for anyone who wants to up his or her skill. If anyone is thinking about opening a coffeehouse, that’s the best advice we can give.

In the near future, our vision is 3-fold: expand the seating area of Banana Dang downstairs and bring the DANG Factory graphic design business upstairs (with chaise lounges, projectors...). The other “dream” is to open a Banana Dang drive-thru kiosk or a Banana Dang Guesthouse in Rincon…or San Diego?!?

That’s life on the BD front.
Mario + T2

Comings and going-ons...

Ahhh...the dog days of summer.

August was a surprisingly good month although it's slowed down since. The streets are empty as Hurricane Hanna and Ike ventured north of Puerto Rico. They were mild storms that turned heavy after they passed, giving us fun surf. The locals say the "spirit of El Yunque" protects the island.

Last week gave us a "breather" so we can upgrade Banana Dang for the upcoming season: a local woodworker made us some new pine bookshelves for our book exchange and merch area, we installed new signs and expanded our menu that now includes cinnamon toast, homemade delicious "Rocky Road to Happiness" brownies, Oatmeal a-la-mode cookies (with apple + cream-cheese icing), chocolate chip scones and the tasty Spanish sponge cake, Brazo Gitano.

And not one to be shy about coffee: We proudly introduce the new Puerto Ricans in town—Sandra Farms Coffee—from the mountainous region of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. The roasters are a mom-and-pop team who walked in one day with the most pleasant sweet-toned aroma beans. In fact, we liked them so much we named Sandra Farms our official house coffee and designed their website. Also in rotation are Puerto Rican coffees Hacienda San Pedro, Yauco Selecto and Cafe Mananero, plus the award-winning "Black Cat" espresso from Intelligentsia in the States.

Yes, we do miss home (California). What we found out living here is that electricity and water are definitely luxuries. In the summer, especially, power can be knocked out for 10-15 hours, with water running empty for 8-12 hours. Every business has to have a generator, water pump and an extra water tank to stay afloat. Those expenses are costly but necessary. There's no buyer's remorse, but we do realize there are things we take for granted. Luckily, we're not living in a Third World country. Crime in Rincon are "crimes of passion," as the ex-owner of our home told us with a smirk on his face.

What's kept us busy and creatively juiced is our graphic design business—now officially DANG Factory. It falls under the marketing umbrella of Banana Dang and stands for Design, Art, Network and Graphics. We've designed posters for the local chapter of Surfrider Foundation, logos and brochures for Lazy Parrot, Belmar Parasail and a slew of indie businesses in the area. DANG Factory has a website on its way. Next month, we are debuting our new ads for local paper El Coqui.

We're off to the water every day to snorkel or surf. It's a luxury you can't get back home on a daily basis. To love Rincon, you have to love the ocean or nature. There is relatively no materialism and people do live off the land. We cherish this and feel that our experiences here will always make for good story-telling at campfire parties!

If you haven't been to Rincon and want to see what it's like—check out Gabriel and the Sea—a new 5-minute short by Brendan Basham of Tapas Bar (great restaurant located a few blocks from us). It's possibly the beginning (or the ending) of a larger project. Starring Paul Carmean. Music by Brokeback. Best seen with headphones and expanded to fit the screen.

Peace out, T2 + Mario

Notes from a Tourist Town

Tourist Town: According to the Urban Dictionary with minor changes from yours truly, a tourist town has a relatively small population that seems to grow exponentially during certain seasons due to tourists. More often than not, these tourists keep temporary homes—they've got jobs elsewhere or sound investments to survive the rest of the year.

What attracts tourists, "snowbirds," and weekenders to Rincon, Puerto Rico may be the same things that attract people who live here all-year round: the surf, natural beauty, local goods, the "Simple Life." Interestingly, while some tourist towns double their population in the summer months, Rincon is the complete opposite. Winter is when the surf really happens—witness 6-15 ft. sets that even an intermediate surfer has no problem riding.* And every ex-pat who lives here surfs. We've met 80-year-old surfers, 10-year-old rippers, surfing moms, men of all ages, girls who shred...Everyone in Rincon surfs.

*Note: Winter in Rincon is about 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some locals hate The Invasion of The Winter People: the increased traffic, the noise at all hours from people who don't have to get up early to go to work, the parked cars littering the already narrow streets, the demanding customers who get cranky when there's a shortage of water, frequent blackouts and worse of all—weak (or no)—Internet connection.

For those who are still thinking about visiting us and actually want to see us, I've outlined the best times when the "Invasion" doesn't happen:

Best times: Late May-early July, September-October, early November. Unfortunately, the "dead" months (July-Sept) are also hurricane months.

Busiest times: After Thanksgiving to Easter weekend, July 4, Labor Day

Life in a tourist town has its perks: Business cranks up during the winter months and owners rest up for several months thereafter. But resting doesn't mean the work stops—it just means now there's time to do maintenance: paint, build, landscape...Some restaurants and guest houses have already announced their closing during Sept and Oct and every business has excitedly posted their "Summer Hours." On top of that, Puerto Rico celebrates several holidays during summer and it's normal to see 3-day weekends every weekend. Work? What work?!? See pictures of us parasailing.

Every day, we wake up knowing that we live in a surf mecca. One that brings the invasion of thousands of people every winter—some who've arrived over the years to buy into the locals' quality of life, some who just want to escape "drama," some who've lived out their dream of owning land and being entrepreneurs. Generations of surfers and nature lovers arrived before us and have stories to tell about the advancement of Rincon—from dirt roads and horse buggies to grandiose hotels and condos popping up like weed.

Back in Cali, I thought I would miss my 50-meter lap pool—but nothing beats snorkeling after a hard day of work. It's only a 5-minute drive to any beach here: We've swam with schools of 100+ fish, schools of Tuna, tropical fish, lobster and turtles near underwater caves in the clearest of waters.

After all, one of the best things about living in a tourist town is acting like a tourist.