Hato Viejo Brings Dominican Coffee to NH

Daniel and Yaniris McLenithan. Courtesy photo.

After giving up coffee for six months during the pandemic (who does that!?), Daniel McLenithan needed a caffeine fix. When his wife Yaniris found him grinding beans for the first time since relinquishing java, she told him, if he were going to drink coffee, he should make it Dominican.

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Yaniris grew up on a farm where her family grew coffee, cacao, tobacco, fruit and vegetables, and raised livestock. “I grew up drinking really good coffee,” she says. Yaniris moved to the United States to work in the hospitality industry and eventually met her husband, Daniel, a director of digital solutions at Hypertherm in Hanover.

Daniel did switch to Dominican coffee, but, while he agreed it was good, he quickly discovered it’s not readily available. That prompted the couple to consider introducing it to Americans.

Yaniris began working the phones in late 2020 calling family and friends to figure out how to import the beans. And, by the end of December 2020, the couple launched a coffee subscription business, Hato Viejo Coffee in Hanover, which buys green coffee beans from Ramirez Coffee in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, roasts it weekly using local roasters and packs its coffee to order. “We were going to be stuck inside because of the pandemic all winter; we wondered, can we channel this into someplace positive?” Daniel says.

Customers can order individual bags of coffee online or sign up for a subscription, which is less expensive. Hato Viejo offers a variety of roasts including Red Honey coffee, which occurs when some of the fruit remains attached while being dried and oxidizes, giving the coffee a red hue and a fruity, sweeter taste when brewed.

The couple initially used farmers’ markets and social media to get the word out, even giving away coffee to introduce it to customers. Theyl also showcased the coffee at the Made in New England Expo last December. “We’re still figuring out our channels to market,” Daniel says.

Yaniris says business is building. “Our sales for the year [2021] will be three to four times more than we thought it would be,” Daniel says.

By October 2021, Yaniris left her part-time job to work on the business full time. The coffee is now also being sold wholesale. “My goal is to be one of the top Dominican brands in the United States,” she says.  

For more information, visit hatoviejocoffee.com.