New Rays slugger Jose Martinez is a coffee entrepreneur

This offseason the Rays traded for OF/DH Jose Martinez, a player well known for his success hitting lefties (last year’s slash line: .329./397/.600). But he isn’t just a great hitter; he’s a coffee maven.

Involvement in the coffee business and love of coffee apparently runs in the family. That’s why he’s long had the nickname Cafecito (little coffee, also the term used when you order a small cup of black Cuban coffee) and the handle Café Jr., and his siblings all carry coffee related nicknames as well. His father, Carlos Martinez, had also been a major league player whose nickname was Café.

Don’t we all dream of turning our passions into a business?

Martinez is now selling his own coffee line, “Cafecito #38” — possibly no longer Martinez’ number with the Rays, although maybe Colin Poche would be willing to give it up in exchange for a few shipments of coffee beans? — and you can purchase it through the Primos Coffee Co, a family-run business that grows its beans in Nicaragua.

Martinez spoke publicly about his foray into coffee, and his hope that he can use profits to help those in his home country of Venezuela, last year in Spring Training.

Cafecito #38 is described on the company’s website as a premium Arabica coffee, shade-grown in Nicaragua, with low acidity and sweet citrus notes.

I got the dark roast, and the beans have a deep, rich flavor. When I opened the package the aroma was intense, suggesting that these beans were indeed roasted to order as the website claimed they would be.

I thought the coffee had a nice, full-bodied taste. The citrus tones are subtle — and not necessarily detectable to my palate as described on the website — but I liked the slight chocolate flavor.

If my few words of description are insufficient for you I can recommend this video, created by a Cardinals fan last year, which provides a lot (13 minutes worth, also below) more detail about the coffee (including contrasts between the light and dark roasts), as well as the stresses on Venezuelan baseball players.