Guatemalan Coffee Next Step In Woman’s Import Business

When Pat Kinner has an idea, there’s no stopping her. Dreams led her from a comfortable life in her native Guatemala to Salt Lake City.

Another took to her to Southern California, where she met her husband, David Kinner. She followed him to Spokane, where she has worked for six years as a probation officer for the state Department of Corrections. Now the North Side woman has another idea: coffee.

Well-aware of the Northwest’s love affair with the bean, Kinner has recently started importing coffee from Guatemala.

She’s the first to admit the competition is steep.

“It’s going to be really tough. There is a lot of coffee here,” she says. “But this coffee is different. It’s darker, a little stronger. It’s roasted in Guatemala and comes right from that country.”

Besides coffee, Kinner imports brightly embroidered clothing, and hand-made art including wall hangings, wood boxes decorated with rustic village scenes, and silver jewelry.

She started the business in her home a couple of months ago, but sensing that this is going to work, she has now opened a kiosk at the Schade Brewery Public Market.

Although she heads the company, Kinner-Maldonado Imports is a family effort. A sister in Guatemala shops, looking for clothing, art and jewelry that is unique and provides a taste of the country. Another sister in Guatemala, an attorney, takes care of the mountain of legal paperwork necessary for an import business. Her mother, Irma, a Guatemala native now living in Spokane, speaks little English. But she runs the booth at the Schade Brewery Public Market, handing out samples of coffee, selling the beans and hand-made gifts.

Kinner has already developed a devoted following for her coffee.

“Oh, I absolutely love it,” says her friend, Erin Griffin. “I’m an avid coffee drinker and I love this one. It has a richer color and flavor.

William Pike was convinced after trying a few samples offered by Kinner.

“I don’t usually buy gourmet coffee, but I tried this and it is really good. It has a good, deep mellow taste,” he says.

Kinner sells the coffee for $8 per pound. She also has a website up and running promoting not only the coffee, but Guatemalan clothing and crafts.

Looking back, Kinner has to smile as she thinks of all the changes in her life since she left her native country in 1979. She was a shy, quiet young woman from an upper middle class family. She graduated from the University of Guatemala with a degree in education, then returned, studying law for two years.

Her grandparents were working with the Mormon church in Guatemala and decided to move to Utah. Kinner went to visit them and decided to stay. In Utah she studied English.

“I didn’t speak English. As a student in Guatemala I hated it. What a difficult language!” she says. Then she laughs. “But now I talk it all the time.

She was last in Guatemala two years ago, when her father died. The visit reminded her of the unique treasures.

“There are some things that other countries make that are so beautiful, and you just don’t see them here,” she says. “I wanted to bring them here.”

Kinner’s web address is http://www.data-by-design.com/ kinner.htm.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo