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85 www.baristamagazine.com JCA: I was invited to work for a roasting company, Tropical Moka, that belonged to my family. Tropical Moka is the first coffee-roasting plant that was established in Tijuana in 1950. It roasts specialty coffee that is sold under the name of Café Sabarex in many cities of our country. Tropical Moka services coffee equipment needs for coffeehouses, restaurants, and baristas, and it is the Mexico distributor of La Marzocco espresso machines, Bunn, Curtis, and Blendtec equipment, among other related products to coffee, such as syrups, barista wares, etc. Tropical Moka also has specialized in training baristas both for working and for competitions. KRO: Did you have an "a-ha" moment with coffee? JCA: You will not believe this: I did! I had never visited a roasting plant, so when I finally did, I thought it was such a simple process that maybe we should sell the plant, and that I should go back to banking. Fortunately, I was told of a weekend training course in a venue in San Francisco. At that moment, I considered that three days was a little bit too much to spend learning about coffee, as I thought that coffee came from a tin can. So the "a-ha" moment came to me as I entered the facilities where the training was taking place, and was surprised by three cupping tables with coffee from many origins. "Origin?" I thought to myself. "Didn't coffee come from a manufac - turing plant?" We were then shown a film about the coffee process, and we were told about coffee-growing regions, weather, volcanic soil. And then I tasted the most incredible Ethiopian coffee. I was hooked. Right then and there. The rest is history. KRO: What was the first coffee competition you attended and what did you think? JCA: The first competition I attended was in Boston in 2003. I was invited to emcee the USBC (United States Barista Championship) and WBC (World Barista Championship). The second one was in Portland, Ore. I emceed and judged the competition: It was a regional and guess what? Pete Licata [2013 WBC Champ] competed. As part of the first group of judges that were certified by the WBC, I was looking forward to judging, but I never imagined it could be so exciting! You could feel the adrenaline flowing, and as a judge, I was as nervous as the baristas. KRO: How did you become so involved in barista competitions? JCA: It was actually through the invitation of my good friend Sonja Grant of Iceland, who invited me to attend the champion - ship. Afterwards, both Arturo Hernandez [owner of Café Etrusca in Mexico City, and organizer of the now-famous Mexican Coffee Championships, along with José] and myself attended the first judg - es' certification in Long Beach, Calif., because we wanted to bring the competition to Mexico. We just thought that it could be fun to do so. What I did not know was that the competition would teach us so many things about coffee quality and preparation! I discovered a path of no return into quality, learning, and discovery of coffee that has kept me on my toes all these years. I was also drawn by the quality and commitment of the baristas. People from all over the world with one common interest: the best coffee! KRO: Mexico has had a national competition for 13 years, making it one of the oldest in the world, and you have been very involved in developing it. Why did you think Mexico would be successful for building a national barista competition?