Gina Cordoba didn’t expect to discover a new passion during a trip home to Colombia. However, when she returned to the family farm just before the COVID-19 pandemic, something unexpected was waiting for her among the brush.
Cordoba, who moved to the Charleston area at age 14, told What Now Charleston there had long been a disconnect between her and the life she left behind. A week before the pandemic was declared, she traveled to her homeland and ended up staying longer than planned.
“I decided to visit my grandma who is still living on the family farm,” Cordoba said. “My grandma’s plants were overgrown, there was a lot of grass so I decided to help her bring the farm back. I started clearing the land and in between all of the brush, I found some coffee plants that were still producing.”
Cordoba hadn’t always been a coffee drinker, but the discovery sparked something new. She began immersing herself in all things coffee.
“I realized there was something called specialty coffee,” she said. “It’s usually traceable to the source, it helps with sustainability and it has very good flavoring and processes that help produce bright flavors and exceptional coffee.”
When she returned to the United States, Cordoba brought more than just memories; she brought a mission.
“We just don’t have that here in the U.S., so I wanted to bring that experience of trying different varieties of coffee for people to know that black coffee with no sugar and additives is really good,” she said. “I wanted to bring that to Charleston precisely.”
The mission became Summit Grounds, a pop-up coffee venture rooted in sustainability and high-altitude Colombian coffee.
“Colombia only produces coffee at a high altitude. It so happens that coffee grown in high altitudes tastes better than coffee grown in lower altitudes,” Cordoba said. “The coffee we carry comes from very, very high hilltops, so we wanted to make sure the name ensured people knew this was high-altitude coffee.”
Cordoba said every bag of coffee they sell is 100% traceable to the farm where it was grown, helping customers connect with the people behind the product.
“A lot of our pop-ups do happen in veteran settings, so whether that is a fundraiser or activity, 10% of our sales go directly to support local initiatives with veterans and mental health in general.”
Another standout feature of Summit Grounds is its commitment to single-origin coffee rather than blends.
“Our coffee is like tomatoes—you have your cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes,” Cordoba said. “They’re all tomatoes but they’re all different, so it’s the same for coffee.”
At pop-up events, Summit Grounds serves both hot and cold coffee, using beans roasted and ground on site.
Cordoba hopes to eventually open a brick-and-mortar location and expand distribution through other businesses, while continuing to teach people about Colombian coffee.
“One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to do coffee is because of coffee shops,” she said. “It’s because I find that coffee shops produce an environment and an experience where people can connect, so that’s definitely in the future for us.”
Summit Grounds appears every other Tuesday at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market. For the full pop-up schedule, visit their website or follow them on social media.
