Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/853621
101 www.baristamagazine.com things about coffee from his many customers, getting to know their facilities, and enjoying the in-cup preparations they offered us. BMag: After earning your advanced degrees, how and in what capacity did you return to coffee in Mexico? AH: Upon my return, I found out my parents had invested in the con- struction of a wet/dry processing plant with the support of two of my brothers: Florencio, a civil engineer, and Carlos, an agronomist. The processing plant had a capacity of 69 metric tons of cherry per day, and was located in the town of Villa Avila Camacho, in Puebla. My father requested that I help them in monitoring and improving the processes, implementing quality controls. Due to the knowledge I had of coffee commerce with roasters and exporters in the country, he also wanted me to lend support with sales, now with much greater volumes of coffee. This responsibility made me travel throughout the country in search of possible customers, roasters, instant coffee producers, decaffeination companies, and exporters, and I also began to visit different countries that offered courses and conferences about coffee. I began participating in every trade show or- ganized by the Specialty Coffee Association of America and Europe, Coffee Fest, Sintercafé, etc., and I started to understand that there was a different type of coffees beyond the commod- ity market. My "a-ha" moment was when I discovered the possibilities that [coffee] could have, not only price-wise but also in quality and cup complexity, so I became very interested in learning more about specialty coffees. I had a feeling that this type of business would soon reach Mexico, and that, since I was already focusing on specialty coffees, it was necessary to know more about the market and its needs. This way, 22 years ago, my life partner, Antonio, and I decided to open our own concept of a specialty-coffee bar in one of Mexico City's more traditional neighborhoods, the Colonia Roma. As with any fl edgling business, and espe- cially one with a new and different concept to what was offered back then in the Mexican market, it took a lot of effort to position it. We had to train all our personnel, travel to the U.S. to purchase all our barista accessories, syrups, and powders to prepare our beverag- es, and even an industrial blender, as none of that was available in Mexico. We invested a lot of time promoting the concept to get to the break-even point. My family was worried that such an un- important business took so much of my time and distracted me from focusing on the sales of green coffee. It was a constant struggle to make them understand that the specialty-cof- fee business was far more profi table than that of commodity coffee. As I was in contact with small roasters through the sale of green beans, many of them decided to venture into starting their own concepts of [cafés], so they came looking for advice and sale of supplies for beverage preparation. Little by little, Café Etrusca grew to not only have its own coffee shop, but also sell green coffee and supplies for the preparation of beverages, and give support through training. BMag: Can you tell us what you fi nd particularly rewarding about your work with Café Etrusca now that the company is 22 years old? AH: Café Etrusca has evolved over time, and the people who work in the company are as motivated, passionate, and involved as I am. In the company we have more than 20 baristas who started to work in the café and are now our cuppers, trainers, roasters, tea sommeliers, branch managers, or work in different control areas of the company. I am happy to see them evolve, and to see how, little by little, they sup- port us in the decision-making and inject new ideas to the company.