When you hear the name “Maya Mountain Coffee & Spice Company,” you might conjure up images of the rain forest. And you’d be correct. Maya Mountain products are jungle-sourced and wild harvested. So in what exotic tropical location is the company based? It’s in the far-flung outpost of Warriors Mark, PA. But the products are born from the jungle.
On a cruise to Belize City in 2015, Eric and Cindy Noel stopped to visit a display of Mayan civilization . On the bus to Altun-ha, they were struck by the poverty on display in the villages, schools, and shops. They knew they had to help. Late in 2015, Eric and Cindy met a couple who had been serving people in Belize for more than 20 years. They joined forces and went to Belize again in 2016, and visited children’s homes, rescue shelters and even a prison. They sought out farmers in remote villages, and met families and school students. And together, they worked at developing garden projects, and took on the challenge of food preparation and preservation training.
And that grew into Maya Mountain Coffee & Spices. Eric Noel says, “we work in remote villages with schools and families on sustainable food gardens and small business development… Profits from Maya Mountain are returned to the villages for student sponsorships. We work directly with farmers to source our products, which ensures quality and freshness as well as building a working relationship with farmers and their families. Packaging and production of value added products are done in our licensed kitchen in Warriors Mark.”
At this writing, their coffee supply is somewhat limited for now. Eric says, “Initially we connected with a farmer who had a large supply, however he decided to chop all his plants down….after we had made a deal with him to purchase a significant ongoing supply! Our name had already been in place by the time this happened.”
Nonetheless, they offer a wide variety of Belizean spices, such as turmeric, cardamom pods, allspice and nutmeg, to name just a few. And they create tea blends, using spices, leaves and other items, which are, according to their website, “sourced from the fertile volcanic soils throughout the Belizean rain forest.”
This year, Eric and Cindy are looking forward to making their products available at their first People’s Choice Festival, as specialty food vendors. And we welcome them aboard!
Website: https://www.mmcsc.org/
