Coatl Coffee at Fallbrook Farmers Market

Robert Sommers

Special to Village News

There is a Saturday farmers market on my block every week. It is a work in progress and was sort of a pain in the beginning but I have made my peace with it and it does bring folks downtown, which is a good thing.

I try to see who is out there selling and I met this new vendor today, Michael Contrestano, who works for Coatl Coffee. Coatl is a small coffee operation, organic, non-GMO, essentially fair trade, as its beans are largely grown on one of the founder's relative's farm in Chiapas.

The coffee is naturally grown and mold free. He gave me a small shot of the cold brew with the oatmeal foam and another shot of the hot.

I loved the cold brew, usually never touch the stuff.

I am a Pete's Kenya double A guy and the hot was a touch acrid for my taste and not round enough but still really good. Brimming with pentacyclic diterpenes.

I plan to try the other blends one day and see if they fit my flavor profile. With a vintner's articulation he said that the Ethiopian blend that I did ultimately purchase is fruit forward with notes of blackberry and blueberry. There is also a Sumatran sourced variety. I will let you know.

Being a graphics guy, I liked the design, logo and brand very much.

The feathered serpent and a logo mantra, I am your energy, that sounds like it sprung from a rather hallucinatory woodshed session. Whole presentation is beautiful. Juan Carlos Beaz did a really nice job, from conception to fruition.

The founders are Dorian Escobar and Louis Elguera. The business is now online and in shops, they are currently looking for a cart and coffee shop location. You can visit their shop and roasting operation at 105 Copperwood Way Suite B, in Oceanside. Their phone number is 760-448-0033.

Michael took me through the natural process in which they prepare the beans, which is much more labor intensive than the non-organic method.

He guided me through the five stages it took for the brew to arrive in your cup, from the start to the brisk finish.

One of the cool things for me is that the coffee is officially designated bird friendly. From their website:

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has certified the farm in which our coffee grows as Bird-Friendly coffee. What this means is that there are over 100 different varieties of birds that are present on the finca in which our coffee grows. Including the famous Quetzal, an elegant, exotic mystical creature. The large trees that shade the coffee plants provide perfect conditions not only for the coffee but for these wonderful creatures that sing and maintain the ecosystem of our finca.

The Bird Friendly gold standard has more to offer and protect than other traditional certifications. There are often parts of nature destroyed to make way for coffee growing. Bird Friendly coffees are grown on farms using a combination of natural shade, tree height, and biodiversity to provide quality habitat for birds and other wildlife. As a brand our goal is to promote nature and connection which is why we are proud to serve Bird-Friendly coffee to our customers and donate a portion of our sales to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Robert Sommers is the owner of Blue Heron Gallery on Main Avenue in downtown Fallbrook, a fitting name for a person who is also an avid bird and nature photographer. His gallery is open by appointment only and has been a cornerstone of downtown since 1997. He is a talented writer and this piece was reprinted by permission from his blog blueheronblast.com.