Barista Magazine

BAM_DEC 2013 -JAN 2014

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"What makes 5pm so special is the fact that we have an unusual schedule," says Fabrizio. "We open in the afternoon from 5 to 11 at night. The name was taken from the official teatime, as we are a teahouse also. At the beginning, we started like that so we could have the time to attend university, and then people got used to it and things were working good, so we kept it like that. And of course now we have the time to run the roastery in the mornings, do the delivery, packing, training, and so on." The roastery is called Sublime. "Sublime is a young project, [and its] focus is on specialty coffees from Mexico," he says. As with other Latin American coffee-growing countries, it's difficult to import green coffee across the border. "The good thing is that Mexico can deliver completely different mosaics of flavors from south, to west, to center," says Fabrizio, always the optimist. "It might take some years to get bored with this." "I have a crush on Mexican coffee from the south," he continues. "Chiapas and Oaxaca are some of the most consistent and tasty coffees. But we also have seen amazing improvements in the coffees from Colima, Nayarit, and even in Jalisco, my home state, we have found some crazy flavors, especially in coffees processed in a natural way." Fabrizio works closely with his roaster, Jorge Sotomayor, but lets Jorge have his way in the roastery. "I do love to roast," Fabrizio admits, "but when it comes to setting all the parameters, Jorge's intuition is in charge. I'd rather spend my time behind the bar in front of a coffee machine, speaking with customers, so I can have the a bigger picture of how our coffee is tasting." 60 barista magazine "So far we have had eight different single origins from across the country," Fabrizio says. "Of course, we go with the philosophy of direct trade. [For] most of the producers we buy coffee from, it comes in a very natural way. We know how they work, and most importantly [we know] every single step that the coffee takes before it comes to us." Fabrizio plans to continue working to improve the coffee culture in Guadalajara and across Mexico. "I hope that in five years Mexico stops consuming so many soluble coffees," he says. "It is kind of a shame to be a coffee-producing country and have so many instant coffees everywhere. I would like to see people more involved in specialty coffee, more involved in trying new things, new methods, and of course espresso." Arturo says Fabrizio's skills, charm, and humility serve him well as a coffee ambassador and educator for Mexico. "He [does not] forget that although he is a star in the international barista world, he keeps himself, his feet, brain, and heart on the floor; learning, sharing, and teaching his experiences and knowledge to everybody on the level you need to understand. Fabrizio is a barista that has grown beyond his profession and has become a mature coffee expert. I know that he will bring positive things to the trade beyond a strong ego because he understands that, as in life, in coffee you will always be a student." Fabrizio's own goals are fairly simple. "In five years I see myself roasting and cupping in the mornings, serving coffee in the afternoons, and enjoying family at the same time," he says. "I want to do this for the rest of my life."

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