Emiliano was born in Nicaragua and grew up in the California Bay Area. He spent much of his childhood listening to his dad’s stories about life in the coffee mountains of Nicaragua, helping farmers organize and rise out of poverty. As a result, he grew up loving coffee culture and dreaming of a career in the coffee industry. During his summers in college he spent time at origin, working with coffee co-ops in Costa Rica (Coopetarrazu) and Colombia (Cooperative de Caficultores de Aguadas). He led farmer training sessions that covered sustainable production and Fair Trade standard compliance. In addition, he spent three months assisting and training with the co-op’s cupper. He gained more experience in coffee when he worked with Café Moto, a local roaster in San Diego, CA.
After graduating from San Diego State University with a degree in Environmental Studies, Emiliano decided to apply his Nicaraguan background and his passion for coffee to the green coffee industry.
In his free time, Emiliano enjoys traveling, skiing, watching baseball and attending concerts.
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First concert: Steve Miller Band
Random fact: Collecting records has become a new obsession of mine, since my coworker Josh, at InterAmerican, gave me his old turntable.
Favorite coffee experience: Living and working in the Tarrazú coffee-growing region of Costa Rica for three months.
