Organic Beachwood

Beachwood holds a lot of meaning to us. The name comes from Beachwood Canyon in Los Angeles, the canyon where we—Ally and Casey—met back in 2013. A place known for its vibrant energy and the creative people it attracts, Beachwood was a place of great growth for us both. Nestled above the noise of the city, it was a place where we felt grounded, inspired, and where great relationships thrived.

It's out of these sentiments—relationships, creativity, and inspiration—that we developed the idea for our Beachwood Coffee. Beachwood is the name on the bag, but inside are coffees to which we hold a special connection. Our goal is for Beachwood to be a showcase for fresh, seasonal coffees that we can talk about through story. 

In terms of flavor, Beachwood will always champion the style of cup we sought to create when starting Canyon—smooth, balanced, and caramelly. A coffee that's easy to brew at home and hits the spot, every morning. 

Producer: Chochajau Collective
Origin: Guatemala
Region: Lake Atitlán
Elevation: 1600-1800 meters
Process: Washed
Certification: Organic 

The Chochajau Collective includes around 80 individual farmers who live and farm in the highlands to the west of the beautiful Lake Atitlán, about an hour's drive up the mountain from San Juan la Laguna. The farmers are of the indigenous group Quiché, and speak quiche as their first language. 

(L to R): Dario Mendez (Olam), Casey (Canyon), Leonel, & Pedro

The collective has been producing exclusively organic coffees since its formation in 2001. Today, they are supported by Leonel Soto (second from right), who supplies advances for harvest, operates the beneficios where the coffee is processed, and orchestrates sales of the coffee to buyers. Leonel studied agronomy in Mexico and has helped to start several organic coffee farms. Pedro (on the right) is the leader of the collective, and Dario, on the left, is a representative of Olam, our importing partner. 

When I arrived to Pasajquim, the village at the heart of the Chochajau farms, we came to the center of town where about 30 of the farmers of the collective had gathered. With the local quiché dialect, it was difficult for me to follow the Spanish (I spent four months learning Spanish in Quetzaltenango, or Xela, the second-largest city in Guatemala, back in 2010). Before I knew it, I had been introduced and was asked to speak to the crowd. 

I thanked the farmers for their time, and told the story of Canyon Coffee and how we began our company using the coffee they grew. I talked about how much respect we hold for the coffee, how special it is to us and our lives, and how our goal is to share that sentiment with more people. I talked about how we communicate through story, and how it's our wish to visit farmers more regularly, to find ways to tell their stories directly to the people who are enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Afterwards, I was able to take a tour of several different plots where the coffee was in varying stages of harvest. I was shown plants that had been affected by la roya, or  coffee rust, as well as new seedlings of coffee plants less susceptible to the rust. 

Beachwood Canyon is a special place to us not only because we met there, but because of how much we grew there, and for how it inspired us. It's always been a place favored by creative people. HP Blavatsky, Charlie Chaplin, Aldous Huxley, Charles Bukowski, and Dr. Seuss would have counted among our neighbors had lived there at an earlier time. While the canyon is frequented by tourists driving up to snap photos of the Hollywood sign, the locals pass quietly on by to their homes above the din of the city; enjoying quiet walks and utilizing the many staircases tucked away into the hills.