Bringing A Family's Business Across Contintents

Early on Sunday morning, Kingfield Market has yet to fill with customers. Fall has settled in and the unseasonably warm weather of last weekend seems gone for good. While most of the vendors haven’t seen many customers yet that day, Café Palmira already has a line of people waiting to buy cups of coffee. The chilly morning weather makes coffee seem irresistible.

Café Palmira’s owner, Carlos Palacios grew up in Guatemala on a coffee farm. Palacios moved to St. Paul, MN 8 years ago after marrying his wife, a Minnesotan working in the Peace Corps.

After his move, Palacios began to consider introducing his family’s coffee to Minnesota. “We started by bringing beans on the plane back from Guatemala,” said Palacios.

After experimenting with roasting beans in Guatemala, Palacios realized the importance of roasting the beans in Minnesota. “Roasting here is key,” Palacios says.

Café Palmira’s coffee is flavorful without being acidic and has a smooth finish. It is the kind of coffee you could imagine drinking all day.

Coffee is a challenge for people committed to buying local. Coffee only grows in subtropical and equatorial regions, making Minnesota grown coffee impossible. Palacios offers the next best thing by connecting Minnesotans with his family’s farm in Guatemala.

Café Palmira sells only shade grown coffee, which allows for greater biodiversity and prevents deforestation.

Palacios still returns to Guatemala every winter to help his mother with the harvest. The Palacios family, along with local Mayan families, harvest coffee cherries from January through March.

Café Palmira coffee can be found at the Kingfield Market as well as Mill City, Shoreview, and Maple Grove Farmers Markets.

During the winter, Café Palmira coffee can be found at the St. Paul Winter Market and local co-ops in the Twin Cities. Coffee lovers can also order online at www.cafepalmira.com.