For 30 years, Caroline MacDougall has worked with the forest concession communities in the Peten as part of Teeccino’s mission to create the best organic herbal teas and coffee alternative drinks. Learn more about her team’s process and their work in Guatemala’s communities.
Very few stakeholders in the world know the ramón seed’s potential better than Caroline MacDougall. If it were up to her, the ramón seed would have a place on the shelf of every major grocery store or cooperative in the world.
“For us we have the ramon seed flour raw, roasted, we have the ramon seed granular. Just many different forms.” Caroline MacDougall
Teeccino is split into two brands. 1 is the Teeccino drink brand which features their tea line such as the French Roast and the Maya Chocolate. The second brand is the Worldwide Botanicals which is only sold on Amazon and they sell the ramón seed flours in bulk one pound bags.
Earlier this year, Teeccino purchased the remaining last supply of ramón seeds to produce their new line of products which will be a mix of coffee substitutes and tea products which will highlight the darker flavor and lighter taste of ramón.
Teeccino is reliant on the wild trees in the Maya Biosphere Reserve and through their relationship with FORESCOM to harvest more ramón and store between harvest so if it is a long time between the trees fruiting, there is still ramón seed to be used, stored and processed.
Another aspect of Teeccino’s relationship with FORESCOM is pricing, and how to develop an inexpensive flour due to the difficulty of margins and also competition with other brands such as almond flour.
“We do sell ramón to other companies in the US and they are using it for their own sake, but the demand is going up.” Galen MacDougal, Teeccino’s Vice President of Sales. That is also why Teeccino is working with Cafinter- a family owned Guatemalan supply company who sells spices from all over the country such as ramón, cardamom, anatto seeds and allspice.
Caroline believes in selling the functions of her products first then the specifications later. “The most crucial thing is to give people an idea of the applications. They’ll find out the specifications later like ‘does it come packed in 20-25 lb kilo bags?’ That isn’t very important to begin with. But it is important to give the readers an idea like ‘hey, you can use ramón seed flour when it is raw in smoothie mixes and in baking, it’s gluten free, etc.’ You want to suggest the ideas and let the buyers decide.”
Another aspect of Teeccino’s work is helping communities thrive financially through multiple sources of income from the result of harvesting, manufacturing and producing the seeds to flour. “Every family (in the Reserve) are involved in a number of crops, not just one.” Caroline.
There is also a focus on sustainability in the Reserve and to not tear down what currently exists. “We are not cutting down trees, we want to preserve what exists to produce these seeds, and by adding an economic value to these trees, they are more inclined to keep them growing rather than to cut them down for other crops.” Galen. “There is always pressure to cut down trees, and do something else with the land. Look at what is happening in the Amazon where people want to grow soy. To be able to find these crops is what helped someone like me start working in this business, and to bring income to these forests, and make them sustainable.” Caroline
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