Martin Mayorga, the youngest of four children, was born in Guatemala and grew up in Managua, Nicaragua. At an early age, Martin witnessed the strenuous efforts necessary to plant, cultivate, and sort high-grade shade grown Specialty coffees. In the early 1980's, the Mayorga family left Nicaragua and was allowed into the U.S. under refugee status. Martin was not able to return to Nicaragua until 1990, after the first democratic elections in over 35 years took place in Nicaragua. By the end of 1996, Martin had launched Mayorga Cigars into the marketplace with presence in major retailers throughout the US. In 1997, while simultaneously developing the Mayorga Coffee brand in an effort to open a marketplace for small farmers with a focus on quality and community, Martin met his wife, Kerry, who is an integral part of the Mayorga Coffee operations. This was also the year when he signed a deal with JR Cigars for exclusive distribution of Mayorga cigars. This allowed Martin and Kerry to pursue the dream of developing a people-oriented company focused on the art of roasting and blending top-grade Specialty coffees. Martin and Kerry met their first employee, Matt Brown at one of the local cigar shops that carried Mayorga cigars. Throughout their conversations with Matt, they were continually impressed with his attention to detail and refined palate. For this reason, along with Matt's work ethic and passion, Martin and Kerry made Matt Brown a part of the small Mayorga team. As coffee sales grew, so did Matt's position in the company develop while he was involved in everything from packaging to delivering. Matt was also trained in the fine art and science of small batch roasting. After several trips to Central America and over two years of apprenticeship, Matt was ready to be the new Roastmaster for Mayorga Coffee. Currently Matt oversees production, operations, and quality control for roasted coffees and the Mayorga beverage bars. 1 | 2 Back to top