Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
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99 www.baristamagazine.com returned to Mexico City to work in quality control with his family's coffee operation. In the role, he traveled extensively throughout the country visiting producer partners, which sparked his interest in the exciting new world of specialty coffee. Ever curious, Arturo attended the Specialty Coffee Association of America shows and took as many specialty-coffee classes as he could. "I was used to selling coffee as a commodity, and then I discovered there were superior qualities that were valued differently," he says. "I began visiting specialty-coffee bars in the USA to better understand the concept." Ready to strike out on his own, Arturo and his partner, Antonio, founded Café Etrusca in Mexico City in 1995. Over the past 22 years, the company has grown into 25 cafés throughout Mexico and in Gua- temala City, and it provides cafés all over the country with equipment, training, and supplies. "Over 80 percent of our customers are small cafeterias, so our task is to support them to be successful and evolve, while positioning themselves in their markets," he says. In 2017, Mexico City is considered one of the most exciting special- ty-coffee cities in the world, but it wasn't always that way. It wasn't that way before Arturo, whose enthusiasm for the barista movement drove him to implement coffee competitions in his home country, with the fi rst Mexican Barista Championship taking place in 2002. Through the competitions, coffee professionals in Mexico City have thrived. In fact, more Mexican Barista Champions have gone on to open their own coffee business than champions from any other country in the world. Arturo credits his longtime friend and mentor Sonja Grant of Ice- land as being the impetus for his commitment to advancing specialty coffee in Mexico City. "She was one of the main pillars in getting me involved in the barista championships, and the one who made it pos- sible to bring it to Mexico, " he says. "Thanks to her, I became part of the fi rst pool of international judges that received formal training on the rules and regulations." You would think Arturo might be loud and brassy, considering all he has accomplished on behalf of Mexico's coffee culture, but he is far from that. Kind and soft-spoken, Arturo is a gentle and effective lead- er both for Café Etrusca's staff—which includes three active World Barista Championship-certifi ed judges, seven Q grader cuppers, and two national barista champions—and in the larger international coffee community, as well. What he has done to help Mexico City become one of the brightest stars on the map of global specialty-coffee cities is nothing short of extraordinary. Barista Mag: Please tell us about your family and background. Arturo Hernandez: At the age of 16, my maternal grandfather emi- grated from Japan together with a friend of his, to look for fortune in the USA During the voyage, his ship was diverted to Mexico, where he disembarked. In Mexico, my grandfather studied medicine, and later met my grandmother in the town of Pahuatlán, Puebla. They had six children—four girls and two boys. On my father's side, my grandfather was a muleteer, and later be- came the strongest trader in Pahuatlán, Puebla. He was widowed and married my grandmother, who was 24 years younger. They had nine children—fi ve boys and four girls. Pahuatlán is located in the state of Puebla's North Sierra, and in my grandfather's time, it was a sugarcane area. My grandfather exported raw sugar to the USA, and it was listed on the stock exchange as "Pi- loncillo Pahuatlán." My grandfather was the fi rst to introduce coffee trees to the Tlaxco, Puebla region, which is near to Pahuatlán. My mom and dad met in the town, married, and reopened my grandfather's shop. It was the typical small town shop that sold everything: medicine, clothing, janitorial supplies, weapons such as machetes and guns, food, and fuel. They also made candles and baked fresh bread every day. My parents built a small wet and dry processing plant inside our house where coffee was processed. As it was a family business, all of us had to participate in the business activities in addition to our school chores. I liked commerce from a very early age, as well as administra- tive activities. I lived in the family home until I was 19. BMag: What are some of your early memories of being around coffee? AH: I grew up surrounded by the smell of the fermented fruit of a wet processing plant. I enjoyed helping out in the washing tasks, laying the coffee to dry on the cement slabs, raking the coffee, and placing it in the guardiola dryers. I enjoyed going with my father to visit several roasters that bought green coffee from us, which gave me the opportunity to chat with many of the traditional roasters there were. My dad sold different types of coffee, according to each roaster's market. We sold washed coffees of different qualities, naturals, and peaberry coffees. My dad knew a lot about coffee. He was crucial in instilling in me the love for the grain and for knowledge. Though I was a small boy, I enjoyed going with him to his appointments and learning practical