About Café Choco
The start of the Café Choco journey — the day we found the original steps of Casa de Choco hidden among the coffee trees.
We are Café Choco — a family coffee project born in the mountains of Jamamucito, San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic.
Our finca is not just land to us. It is the same finca where my father was born, and the home of his grandfather, Juan “Choco” Espinal. Here, Choco and his wife, Elvira, raised their five children and built a life rooted in family, hard work, and the tradition of the Dominican countryside.
The finca was outside of our family for more than 36 years, but this year my parents, my brother, and I were blessed with the opportunity to purchase it again. For us, this is much more than a business. It is a return home. It is a way to honor Choco’s legacy and continue the story that began on this land generations ago.
From coffee to plantains, limes, and other fruits from the finca, we are working to care for this land with pride and respect. Every bag of Café Choco represents family, tradition, sacrifice, and a dream planted in Dominican soil.
This is only the beginning. We are learning, building, planting, harvesting, and growing step by step — with the purpose of sharing a true taste of our family’s land in every cup.
Café Choco
Café de Altura. Café de Tradición
Who is Choco?
Juan “Choco” Espinal was born in 1923 in Cebú, Jánico, Dominican Republic. Choco and his wife, Elvira, made their way into the mountains of Jamamucito, where they built a life rooted in family, hard work, and the traditions of the Dominican campo.
In Jamamucito, Choco became known as a patient, kind, and well-respected man. He worked across hundreds of tareas of land — raising cattle, growing coffee, plátanos, fruits, vegetables, and caring for everything the land provided. His name became part of the history of the community, remembered not only for the work he did, but for the way he treated people.
Choco lived a long life, reaching the age of 96 before passing in 2020. Although he did not live to see the land return to the family or the rebuilding of Casa de Choco, his legacy remains at the center of it all.
Café Choco carries his name as a tribute to his life, his land, and the legacy he left behind.
Where Our Story Began
The original Casa de Choco once stood on that same land — a home where family was raised, traditions were lived, and the values of the campo were passed from one generation to the next. It was more than a house. It was the heart of the finca.
In the 1980s, Choco and his family moved to New York City, and over time, the family finca changed hands. But the memory of that land, that home, and the life built there never disappeared. The pride of Jamamucito continued to live through the family’s stories, memories, and connection to the mountains.
Today, Casa de Choco has been rebuilt in the spirit of the original home — preserving the look, feeling, and meaning of what once stood there, while bringing it back to life for a new generation.
A Taste of Jamamucito
Our coffee is grown high in the mountains of Jamamucito, San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic—where cool mountain air, fertile soil, and generations of tradition come together to create exceptional coffee.
At approximately 1,410 meters (4,625 feet) above sea level, our coffee grows slowly beneath the mountain canopy, allowing each bean to develop the smooth, rich character that defines Café Choco. Every harvest reflects the unique climate and landscape that have sustained coffee farming in Jamamucito for generations.
More than a single-origin coffee, Café Choco is a connection to our family's history. Every bag comes from the very same finca where Juan “Choco” Espinal built his life, raised his family, and inspired the legacy we continue today.
Our coffee is carefully crafted to be smooth, balanced, and approachable—rich enough to showcase the character of Dominican mountain coffee while remaining perfect for everyday enjoyment. Every cup is a taste of Jamamucito and a tribute to the traditions that continue to thrive on our family finca.
Rooted in Jamamucito
Café Choco comes from Jamamucito, a mountain community in San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic.
Sitting around 1410 meters (4,625 feet) above sea level, Jamamucito is known as the highest populated place in the country — a place shaped by cool mountain air, rich soil, and generations of Dominican campo life.
For our family, Jamamucito is more than a location on a map. It is where Choco built his life, where the original Casa de Choco once stood, and where Café Choco continues that legacy today.