Our Story

Our story begins with Esteban McEwan and Guillermina Callejas, who purchased their first farm in 1947. Don Esteban, born in Nicaragua to a Scottish father and a Nicaraguan mother, dedicated his life to coffee farming and milling until his passing in 1981. This pioneering generation laid the foundation for everything to come—deeply connected to the land and committed to cultivation.

In 1967, Frank Bendana (Don Paco) and Teresa McEwan carried the legacy forward. Born in Manhattan to a Nicaraguan father and an American mother of Lithuanian descent, Don Paco expanded the family’s coffee operations, becoming not just a farmer and miller, but an exporter. He passed away in 2007, having established a reputation for productivity and quality-focused coffee that reached international markets.

Following a decade of civil war and confiscations, the third generation returned to Nicaragua in 1991. With a renewed vision and a global perspective, they became early leaders in what would become the Third Wave of Coffee, championing direct trade, quality differentiation, and traceability. One of our founders was instrumental in launching the Cup of Excellence in Nicaragua in 2001, and in expanding it to El Salvador and Honduras, helping elevate Central American coffee on the world stage.

Today, in 2025, the fourth generation begins its journey—nurturing a vertically integrated coffee company built on data, transparency, and knowledge-based services. In a world shaped by artificial intelligence and global collaboration, this generation is prepared to honor the past while embracing the tools of the future, building sustainable, tech-enabled bridges between origin and market.