Proyecto Diaz shares family legacy, perseverance through coffee

SAN FRANCISCO -- For Fernando Diaz, coffee is truly part of his DNA. His dad, grandfather and great grandfather paved their family's legacy through coffee.

"For me, it's wonderful to know that it has traveled many miles to get to this point," said Diaz.

It took over a century for the Diaz family's coffee to reach the Bay Area. Their journey started in Oaxaca, Mexico, each coffee bean representing sacrifice and history.

"I grew up hearing about my grandfather's farm. There was always drama around it," said Diaz, "My grandmother didn't want my grandfather to spend so much time on it, because there's no livelihood in it. Or at least, it didn't seem like there was a lot of livelihood in it," adding, "But when I got older, like in 2013, 2014, I recently graduated college. I was like, wait a minute for the light bulb. My grandfather has a coffee farm. So, let's do something about it."

Diaz made it his mission, his "proyecto," to help keep his grandfather's coffee farm alive. That was the birth of the coffee roasting company Proyecto Diaz.

"I wanted to keep that history that I knew was there for over 100 years, I wanted to keep it moving into the future," said Diaz.

Ten percent of Proyecto Diaz's profits go toward rebuilding his grandfather's farm.

"There is a lot more production," said Diaz. "New plants have been replanted, there's growth for future years. There is now a consistent farm manager on the farm living with his family, where we're also helping him build his own little house."

Almost a decade later, Proyecto Diaz's coffee is sold in stores throughout the Bay Area, online and in San Francisco at the Ferry Building three days a week.

For more information, visit here, and follow @proyectodiaz on Instagram.