The Coffee Diary

Our general manager, Caroline Kellems Godoy, is also an author. Her first novel is now available in hardcover on this website for the low price of $15.00 for an autographed copy. The setting for the novel is the same setting as the coffee farm where our coffee is produced. Here is a blurb about the book and some of the comments.

Two years after her father's brutal murder, Veronica returns to Guatemala to decide whether to sell her family's coffee farm. Stumbling upon the journal from her teenage years, she recalls crucial events from the past, in particular the arrival of her younger, illegitimate half-brother. This trauma changes her, and forever links her family to Jaime, the man who later becomes the town's corrupt mayor. Born into the lower class and yearning for respectability, Jaime turned to illegal activities to break the inevitable cycle of poverty. Now he is determined to have Veronica's farm by any means possible.

During the years she lived away, memories of her country faded: the haunting landscapes, the beauty of the coffee farm, traditions, and faith. Upon returning she discovers - despite corruption, violence, and organized crime - a sense of belonging not experienced elsewhere.

The country casts its spell on her and she realizes that Mayor Jaime, the villain she thought threatened her, is a human shaped by the unforgiving nature of Guatemalan society.

An autographed, hard-covered copy, only available through this website.

Reviews

“Caroline Kellems’ striking debut is a love letter to modern-day Guatemala—to the rich chiaroscuro of the beauty, violence and cultural complexities—straight from the heart of someone who clearly knows this world well.”
-Julia Glass, author and winner of the National Book Award.

A first novel with no shortage of plot or film worthy characters.
–Kirkus Editor Review

“(Kellems’) descriptions of a landscape clearly familiar to her shine.”
–Publisher’s Weekly

“The plot and a cast of characters intrigue, and debut author Kellems knows the setting….for readers who can’t get enough of Guatemala or coffee growers.”
–Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati State Technical & Community College.