26 December 2019
It was a particular honor for me to interview Rebecca Atienza for Barista Magazine online, because it was thanks to the Barista Magazine cover feature of her in 2015, that I first read about her, ultimately leading to our first meeting in January 2016.
Since that first meeting at her inaugural café in San Juan that opened in 2008, Rebecca and I have stayed friends through many conversations at coffee conferences, via text, and through social media.
As my final publication of the amazing year that was 2019, I send a shout of gratitude for Barista Magazine online, which featured our interview in two parts. This conversation was a composite from Rebecca’s and my four years of friendship, with some thoughts expressed by phone in December 2019. Enjoy reading part one here and part two here!
Our talk highlights Rebecca’s and her family’s resilience through two Hurricanes, Georges in 1998 and Maria in 2016, as well as the blessings and challenges of Rebecca’s life in coffee in the last four years. To visit Hacienda San Pedro’s farm in Jayuya or cafes in San Juan, learn more on their website here! To view the video by Lin-Manuel Miranda that Rebecca mentions in our interview, click here!
