Hello!
You are probably used to hearing from my wife, Adriana, but today it is Guillermo here.
She is off enjoying a well deserved hiking break, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce the creative force behind so much of what you see, experience and sip at Crickle Creek Coffee roasters.
Adriana is the co owner and creative lead behind much of our Calgary specialty coffee roastery. She moves between branding, marketing, operations and customer care, usually while carrying more ideas than the rest of us can keep up with.
But her connection to specialty coffee, farming and creativity began long before Crickle Creek Coffee roasters.
Let me introduce her properly.
Who Is Adriana from Crickle Creek Coffee Roasters?
Adriana was born in Costa Rica to Salvadoran parents during a period of civil unrest in El Salvador.
She spent her childhood between Costa Rica and Ecuador, returned to El Salvador in her twenties and eventually moved to Calgary with me and our two children in 2014.
Her heart holds a little piece of every place she has lived.
So does her vocabulary.
Adriana has mastered what I like to call creative language. When she invents a word halfway through a sentence, there is no need to worry. It is probably a real word somewhere.
I have even caught myself using a few of them.
Growing Up Close to Farming
Adriana comes from a family with deep agricultural roots.
Her father, like his father before him, worked the land growing soy, rice, macadamia nuts and coffee.
Farm visits were a normal part of Adriana’s childhood. She grew up understanding that food and coffee do not begin on a store shelf. They begin with land, weather, patience and the people who care for a crop over time.
That connection has stayed with her.
Even now, she is happiest outdoors.
Summer is definitely her season. Give her a hiking trail, a camping trip or an evening beside the backyard firepit, and she is completely in her element.
From Graphic Design to a Calgary Specialty Coffee Roastery
Adriana is a graphic designer by training, and creativity has always been central to how she sees the world.
Today, she is the co owner, operator and creative mind behind much of Crickle Creek Coffee.
Alongside Alejandro, she works across:
• Brand strategy
• Marketing
• Packaging and design
• Website development
• Daily operations
• Customer service
• Product ideas
• Community storytelling
Usually, several of those things are happening at once.
She has an instinct for colour, composition and the small details that make something feel thoughtful.
That creative eye shapes almost every part of Crickle Creek Coffee, from the way our coffee bags look to the stories we share and the experience we want customers to have when they open an order.
Spreadsheets, however, are another story.
Ask her about the time she used a calculator to work out every answer and then entered the numbers manually into a spreadsheet instead of using formulas.
We still laugh about it.
The Creativity Behind Crickle Creek Coffee
Adriana does not see specialty coffee as only a product.
To her, coffee is connected to beauty, ritual, memory, hospitality and the way people experience an ordinary moment.
That is why she cares so much about how the coffee is presented, how the website feels and how customers are welcomed into the Crickle Creek community.
She wants specialty coffee to feel elevated but never intimidating.
Beautiful, but still approachable.
Expertly made, but connected to real life.
Her creativity shows up in every corner of the business, along with what appears to be endless Energizer Bunny energy.
That may be partly natural.
It may also be powered by the four cups of coffee she can drink before noon.
What Is Adriana’s Favourite Way to Brew Coffee?
These days, Adriana’s favourite brewing method is the Clever Dripper.
She loves its clean flavour, reliable results, easy cleanup and, naturally, its clever design.
It suits her perfectly.
The Clever Dripper combines immersion brewing with a paper filter. The coffee steeps in the brewer before draining into the cup, creating a method that is simple, consistent and easy to repeat.
For someone who loves both design and practicality, it makes complete sense that this would become her favourite.
The Coffee Origins She Loves Most
Adriana enjoys exploring different coffee origins and keeping her daily cup interesting.
She is curious about how growing region, coffee variety, processing and roasting shape flavour.
But she will always have a soft spot for Costa Rican coffee.
Maybe it is the sweetness and balance.
Maybe it is the familiarity.
Or maybe it is childhood nostalgia showing up in a cup.
Coffee has a way of connecting flavour to memory, and Costa Rica will always be part of Adriana’s story.
What Adriana Brings to Crickle Creek Coffee Roasters
Adriana brings energy, imagination and a strong belief that work should feel meaningful.
Her love of art, colour, adventure and connection is woven into everything we do.
She believes in living creatively, surrounding yourself with inspiring people and making the most of everyday moments.
Especially the simple ones shared over coffee.
She also brings a very personal understanding of what Crickle Creek is trying to build.
We are a family owned Calgary coffee roaster, but we are also part of a much longer story involving farming, migration, creativity and generations of knowledge.
Adriana helps us express that story in a way people can see, understand and feel.
A Family Business Shaped by Different Strengths
One of the interesting things about a family business is that everyone brings something different.
Alejandro brings deep knowledge of coffee, quality and finance.
I focus on wholesale partnerships, fundraisers and community relationships.
Adriana connects the pieces through design, communication, operations and the customer experience.
She is often the person asking:
How should this feel?
How can we make it clearer?
How can we make it more beautiful?
How do we help people understand why this coffee matters?
Those questions influence everything from a product label to a new collection or a simple email.
More Than Coffee
Crickle Creek Coffee Roasters would not look, sound or feel the same without Adriana.
Her creativity is present in the colours, photography, packaging and words.
Her farming roots shape the respect we have for producers and the work behind every harvest.
Her life across Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador and Canada gives her a perspective that is both deeply personal and wonderfully broad.
And her energy keeps the rest of us moving.
Sometimes faster than expected.
So, the next time you open a bag of Crickle Creek Coffee, read one of our stories or notice a thoughtful little detail, there is a good chance Adriana had something to do with it.
There is a little spark of her heart, joy and creativity behind so much of what we share.
And I am very proud to introduce her.
Warmly,
Guillermo
Explore the Crickle Creek Story
Brew boldly. Live fully.