Hello, Guillermo here.
You are probably more used to hearing from Adriana. She writes many of our emails and stories, so I thought it was my turn to tell you about the person behind them.
Adriana is my wife, a co-owner of Crickle Creek Coffee and the one who notices when a label needs a little more space, an email sounds too formal, or a customer needs a recommendation that goes beyond “this one is popular.” She sees the whole experience around a cup of coffee. I am usually still thinking about the coffee.
That is one of the reasons we work well together. Most days.
Who is Adriana?
Adriana was born in Costa Rica to Salvadoran parents. She grew up between Costa Rica and Ecuador, later lived in El Salvador, and moved to Calgary with me and our two children in 2014.
Those places are all part of her. So is her vocabulary. Every now and then, she invents a word halfway through a sentence, says it with complete confidence, and somehow I know exactly what she means. I have caught myself using a few of her inventions.
Her family has a long history in agriculture. Her father and grandfather worked with crops including coffee, and visits to farms were part of her childhood. She knew the people and work behind a harvest long before we owned a roastery in Calgary.
What does Adriana do at Crickle Creek?
If I give you her job title, I will leave half of it out.
Adriana trained as a graphic designer, and you can see her eye in our packaging, photography and website. She also works on marketing, customer communication and the details of running the business. On any given day, she might be answering a customer, discussing a new coffee with Alejandro and changing a design because it does not quite feel right yet.
Her question is often, “How will this feel to the person receiving it?”
That question can change something small, like the wording on a label. It can also shape how we tell the story of coffee grown on our family farm in El Salvador and roasted here in Calgary. Adriana wants people to understand the care behind the coffee without feeling they need to pass an exam before they can enjoy it.
Spreadsheets are a different matter. She once used a calculator to work out the answers, then typed each result into a spreadsheet by hand instead of using formulas. Alejandro may still be recovering from that discovery.
The coffee drinker behind the designs
Adriana is curious about coffee, but she also knows how she likes to live with it. She will happily talk about flavour and brewing one minute, then want a cup she can carry outside and enjoy without thinking about settings or timers.
She has enjoyed using the Clever Dripper: coffee steeps in the brewer and then drains through a paper filter. It is a thoughtful little design that makes a repeatable cup without demanding too much of a busy morning.
She also has a soft spot for Costa Rican coffee. I could tell you it is about the flavour, and sometimes it is. I also think a place you have called home can find its way into the coffees you reach for.
When she is away from the roastery, give her a hiking trail, a camping trip or an evening by the firepit. Summer is her season. She has enough energy for the rest of us, which may or may not have something to do with the size of her coffee mug.
Why her perspective matters here
Alejandro brings his experience growing, evaluating and roasting coffee. I spend much of my time building relationships with our wholesale customers and community partners. Adriana connects that work to the experience of the person at the other end of it.
She wants the bag to be beautiful, yes. She also wants you to know what is inside, why we chose it and how to make a cup you will enjoy. If you tell us a coffee was not quite right for you, she wants to understand why. That care is present in her designs, but it shows up even more clearly in the conversations she has with customers.
So the next time an email from Crickle Creek sounds like someone is speaking to you rather than at you, there is a good chance Adriana wrote it. And if you spot a little detail that makes your order feel more personal, she probably had a hand in that too.
I am proud of what we are building together—and very proud to introduce my wife.
Warmly,
Guillermo