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Every once in a while you meet a person in your life who inspires you to be better and makes you smile everytime you see them. Gaby was this person. Earlier this year, Gaby was unfairly taken from us after a battle with colorectal cancer.
He had big dreams, a radiant personality and infectious positive energy. He was taken far too early. Gaby had trained to become our Green Coffee Buyer and loved traveling for coffee, tasting coffees with farmers, and sharing his love of coffee with others.
To honour him and build on his legacy, we’ll plant coffee in a plot of land in Costa Rica. This plot belongs to our friend Ricardo Perez. We will plant the coffee this fall, and in three years, when the plants begin to produce, we will sell the coffee annually and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause in Gaby’s name.
This fall, Sebastian will travel to Costa Rica with Marion, Gaby’s wife (who also works at Phil & Sebastian) to plant the farm. The proceeds from Gaby’s Tribute Coffee will go towards the initial costs of starting the farm, and any remaining funds will be donated to Gaby’s son, Lenny.
This coffee is a natural processed Geisha from Finca Hartmann, grown in one of our favourite lots called “Ender”. It’s a traditional natural coffee, dried in raised beds and dehydrated in dark rooms. It’s a coffee that Gaby loved to drink and share with coworkers, customers and friends.
Gaby joined Phil & Sebastian in July 2016 as a barista at our Chinook cafe. He is originally from Paris and was highly recommended to us by our friends at Nordic Approach in Norway, where he did a lab assistant internship. Gaby quickly won over everyone with his enthusiasm and joy de vivre at Chinook. He expressed to us his desire to become a Green Coffee Buyer in 2017, and in 2018 we began the long training journey for Gaby to become a green coffee buyer.
Our plan was originally for him to begin in the role in 2020, but Covid had other plans and we were forced to delay the start of that role. During Covid, Gaby managed our Calgary Place cafe and was instrumental in its survival. He created a warm and welcoming space for all customers, so much so that many customers have said that Gaby was the main reason they went to work in their offices during Covid.
In February of 2021, Gaby and Marion had their first and only child, Lenny. Lenny was Gaby’s greatest joy and inherited Gaby’s amazing smile.
An interesting fact is that Gaby’s father was born in Reunion Island, formerly known as the Island of Bourbon. This island is believed to be the birthplace of the Bourbon coffee variety. For this reason, we will be planting the Bourbon varietal in Costa Rica. Ricardo Perez is a longtime friend and coffee producer of ours and was touched that we asked him about planting the coffee on his land. He had the chance to meet Gaby in March of 2022 and made an instant connection with him – It was hard not to. We miss you, Gaby.
