Maritza Taylor - Director of Quality Control

Naturally we had our Director of Quality Assurance, Maritza Taylor, set the table as a "double blind" cupping. We are very excited to offer the two best coffees from Panama in 2011. Â In fact these two coffees were vying for the top spot in the SCAP Best of Panama competition. Â It was a close finish in the competition, and they were only separated by a 1/2 point. Â Jeff and Maritza Taylor were both in attendance and it was clear that the two top coffees were Geisha varietals. Â Panama has been known for this variety, and after it was discovered, it has crushed the record books multiple times for the prices paid at auction for coffee. Â There would be a new winner this year.

MARITZA TAYLOR One of the newest additions to the PT's Team, is Maritza Taylor. Maritza and Jeff met at origin, and were married in 2010. After a long wait, Maritza and Jeff could finally be together in the United States. Maritza is the head of our quality control, and brings a multitude of expertise and experience from her past career in coffee in Colombia. She is constantly monitoring our coffee profiles, and evaluating every roast for consistency and quality. She is also in charge of roast development, and before we release any coffee, she is testing roast temperature, time, and taste. Maritza has proven to be an invaluable member of our team, and will be helping Jeff source coffees at Origin in 2012.

"I met Maritza at a coffee competition in Ecuador in 2008. It may not be work for the feint of heart, but for Jeff and Maritza Taylor and their customers, it is an adventure and risk worth taking to find exceptional coffee. It was our good fortune that Mauricio Rosero, Finca Villa Loyola's new farm consultant, was a friend of PT's Director of Quality Control, Maritza Taylor. So with Mauricio's invitation, Maritza and I (Jeff) visited Finca Villa Loyolla during the harvest of 2011. MARITZA TAYLOR One of the newest additions to the PT's Team, is Maritza Taylor. Maritza and Jeff met at origin, and were married in 2010. After a long wait, Maritza and Jeff could finally be together in the United States. Maritza is the head of our quality control, and brings a multitude of expertise and experience from her past career in coffee in Colombia. She is constantly monitoring our coffee profiles, and evaluating every roast for consistency and quality. She is also in charge of roast development, and before we release any coffee, she is testing roast temperature, time, and taste. Maritza has proven to be an invaluable member of our team, and will be helping Jeff source coffees at Origin in 2012.

Naturally we had our Director of Quality Assurance, Maritza Taylor, set the table as a "double blind" cupping. Jeff and Maritza Taylor were both in attendance and it was clear that the two top coffees were Geisha varietals. Maritza Suarez Taylor evaluates coffees from the national table during the Best of Panama Coffee Competition. Maritza Suarez Taylor evaluates coffees from the national table during the Best of Panama Coffee Competition. When Maritza and I visited this farm harvest was already complete, but we could easily see the care that was taken on the farm as we walked the classically aligned rows of coffee. My wife, Maritza, currently works in quality control for an exporter in Bogota, Colombia for the last 6 years. We've been working hard on legalities of immigration now for nearly a year. You could say its been a bit stressful. But I am happy to announce that we now are confident Maritza will achieve full immigration status around the first week of May! When she arrives her help in Quality Control will be welcomed with open arms as the staff is working extremely hard to keep up with all the changes in the coffee industry this year- from new arrivals of Kenya and Burundi to ongoing pricing and quality changes. Maritza is a certified Q Instructor with the Coffee Quality Institute and is well versed in the subtleties of seed to cup. Her expertise on quality control will be a huge boost to our staff.