Today we’d like to introduce you to Yessica Schessler.
Hi Yessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I migrated from Panama to San Antonio, Texas in 1992 with the dream of completing my education. My tia/godmother and my three primas received me with open arms. Later that same year, my mother joined us. It wasn’t easy to be so far away from the rest of our family. I’m grateful to my mom and aunt for all the hard work and sacrifices to provide for us. They raised 4 girls into strong, determined, and successful women. I graduated from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, met my husband while in college, and moved to the North Dallas area. We have built our lives in this area, but San Antonio will always be home to me.
My family is from Boquete, a district in the province of Chiriqui in Panama. They live in a very small town called Palmira Abajo. Even though I grew up in the city, I spent most summer vacations in Palmira with my uncles and cousins surrounded by nature, cool rainy weather, and coffee! The best memories of my childhood come from my summer visits, and the time I spent with my cousins playing, chatting, and picking coffee to sell at a local roaster. I will never forget the smell of the summer and rainy cold weather days as we picked coffee cherries alongside family and other workers. The best part was when my grandmother and aunts roasted their “backyard” coffee outside in a pot.
The smell of freshly roasted coffee transports me back home to all my lovely childhood memories.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, it has been a smooth road. Cafetos Roaster Company has been welcomed by family, friends, and local coffee lovers from other cities across the U.S. Our coffee is just that, a great specialty coffee, cultivated, processed, and roasted with love from our family to yours. We are a small batch roasting company for now and we are so blessed to be serving all of you.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cafetos Roaster Company?
Cafetos Roaster Company is part of a family business. Sandi Coffee Estate is owned by one of my cousins and together we are dedicated to supplying the best specialty coffee the country of Panama has to offer.
Our coffee is grown at altitudes over 1,500 meters (approx. 1 mile) above sea level. Sandi Coffee is grown in Piedra Candela, Chiriqui and it yields deeper and more compelling flavors due to the cooler temperatures and improved drainage resulting in a higher concentration of flavors.
Panamanian specialty coffee is well known internationally and a little more than a year ago, we decided to import small batches of our delicious coffee with the intention of having friends and family enjoy specialty coffee cultivated, processed, and roasted with love and pride. Little by little my love for coffee spread out cup by cup and bag by the bag! Now we have loyal customers and coffee lovers who prefer our rich and smooth coffee.
We have participated in small market events in north Texas. In February 2022, we participated for the first time in the San Antonio Coffee Festival and it was a complete success. The San Antonio community loved our natural processed coffee, it was such a great experience!
We offer different varieties of coffee including Geisha. Our most popular processes are washed and natural which we roast medium to medium dark. Sandi Coffee Estate cultivates the best quality, flavors, and varieties of Panamanian coffee.
Customers can shop our coffee online through our website or in local shops like the Painted Tree Boutiques in Frisco, TX. Now you can find us in San Antonio inside the new Painted Tree Boutiques [shop H11] located at 522 NW Loop 410 Suite 211.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is very personal to me due to the fact that we have created a company that believes in family, community, and great specialty coffee! Success for us is delivering the best quality cup of coffee from our family to yours!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cafetosroaster.com/about
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafetosroaster/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafetosroasterco
- Other: https://linktr.ee/cafetosroaster
