“A Few Questions With…” is a series featuring some of Ally’s partners across the globe. Our goal is to get to know the people who make coffee happen a little better, to talk about their work, and to look forward toward their vision of where coffee is headed. We’re thankful for these relationships that we get to be a part of, and excited to have the opportunity to let these folks tell you about themselves in their own words.
The following responses have been edited for clarity.
Silvio Antonio Sanchez Orellana is a coffee producer operating Santa Teresa de Mogoton in Mozonte, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. His coffee career began in 2012 when he and his mother made the investment to purchase a plot of land and begin their own coffee farm. The farm is relatively remote, tucked away in the dense pine forest of Nueva Segovia; coffee trees are interplanted with pines and the rows are expertly organized, a testament to Silvio's training as an agronomist before he began his career as a producer. Ally Coffee began our partnership with Silvio in 2018, and we're proud to continue to offer coffee from Santa Teresa de Mogoton to roasters around the world.
Silvio Sanchez at Santa Teresa de Mogoton in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
Ally: Where does your farm name come from?
Silvio: The farm is named for my grandmother, Teresa, and is located near the highest hill in Nicaragua, called “Mogoton.”
A: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
S: Ride bikes
A: What’s your favorite food to have with coffee?
S: Sweet bread
Ripening coffee cherries at Santa Teresa de Mogoton
A: What does coffee mean to you?
S: Coffee is a profitable item, and allows me to make many friends both nationally and internationally. It's also a way to pursue my career as an Agricultural Engineer.
A: How has your work changed as a result of your relationship with importers and roasters?
S: These relationships have allowed me to better assist the farm, provide better care to employees, and achieve better profitability.
A: What has changed in your perspective as a coffee grower over the past five or ten years?
S: The way of producing coffee was very basic for us years ago. Now we focus on being more efficient and innovating in our work.
Coffee cherries being dried at Santa Teresa de Mogoton
A: What is one message you’d like to share with the coffee community?
S: At the farm we try to produce coffee and improve quality while being sustainable with the environment in order to do our bit for climate change.
A: What do you hope to see for the future of your farm?
S: I hope to add new varieties to try to improve quality and production.
A: What do you hope to see for the future of coffee more broadly?
S: As a coffee grower, I hope to see that the work we do is valued by the consumer. As an industry we face problems in finding a large enough workforce (like pickers during harvest), which adds to the fact that the cost of production in general is becoming more expensive.