Father and Daughter Sharing a Passion for Coffee

Being part of the Puerto Rican coffee industry is, without a doubt, one of the most patriotic acts a Puerto Rican can do. It's a genuine act of wanting to improve the status quo of our island, and since I started working with Cuela, I haven't stopped meeting special people who, against all odds, genuinely want to contribute their grain of sand to improving the coffee industry in Puerto Rico and the country as a whole.

"At harvest time, I get up at 2 in the morning to take the workers to the coffee plantation. Over the years, the challenges have only grown — natural phenomena, politics, worker shortages, production losses, and more. But we can't complain; we live in Puerto Rico, and this is paradise. We have to keep working hard." - Ricardo Giuliani

Ricardo Giuliani and Anette Giuliani are a father-daughter team who, with great determination, are building their coffee brand at Hacienda Salomón. Anette brings youth and fresh ideas full of progress, while her father Ricardo brings the wisdom and knowledge of a lifetime in Puerto Rico's coffee industry — a true dream team. Hacienda Salomón has been producing coffee since 1956 and hasn't stopped since. Ricardo has been part of everything that's happened on the farm, having worked in agriculture since he was 8 years old and knowing every corner of this paradise. Besides being a coffee farmer, Giuliani is also a rancher and works with other crops like citrus — but when we asked him what he loves most, he answered with a knowing smile: "coffee."

Ricardo Giuliani supervising the coffee tress at Hacienda Salomón.

With that same smile and passion, he passes on his knowledge to his daughter, Anette, the visionary behind the Café Salomón brand. Anette entered the business with a clear focus: producing a premium, specialty-grade coffee. She knows the farm has everything it needs to make that happen. Hacienda Salomón sits at about 2,800 feet above sea level — an altitude that keeps temperatures low for longer, extending the maturation of the coffee cherries and allowing them to absorb more of the fruit's natural sugars. The result is a coffee with far more complexity in aroma and flavor, the kind that leaves you wanting another cup.

Anette also knows that coffee is a world full of nuance, and she's taken on the challenge of continuing to educate herself in quality control to keep raising the bar for the Café Salomón team.

Anette Giuliani, daughter of Ricardo Giuliani.

Finally, I consider myself a firm optimist, and I'll admit that visiting farms like Hacienda Salomón fills me with energy to keep introducing coffee brands from Puerto Rico that have real purpose and a reason to exist in this market. Every project like this is a spearhead in the fight to improve our beautiful island. Coffee in Puerto Rico has a purpose, and we have to keep going. 

To learn more and purchase Premium Salomón coffee, please click here.