Profile: Fernando's Kaffee
My father and I recently returned from a trip through Central America, in part to visit roasters and coffee farms in Guatemala, one of my favorite growing regions of coffee.Read: Our Trek Through Central American Coffee CountryAhead of this trip, I contacted David Cook of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company in London, Canada. David had made an origin trip to Guatemala before, and I wanted to know who he thought I should see while there. One of his first recommendations was a roaster named Fernando in Antigua. As an unexpected surprise, my father and I happened to be in Antigua at the same time as a different friend named David, and his wife. They have friends who live near Antigua, and when they heard what my father and I were up to, they also recommended that we visit the roaster named Fernando in Antigua.
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Two separate recommendations to meet the same coffee man. That's all we needed to hear. We set up a time to meet Fernando himself to find out more. As I did some research ahead of meeting Fernando, I quickly checked his TripAdvisor rating - 170 reviews with an average 4.5 stars! Very intrigued. My father and I arrived shortly after it opened and had breakfast. When we were done, Fernando took a break from making chocolate to join us.
BackgroundFernando opened up shop originally in Guatemala City almost 15 years ago. He started as a coffee roaster, and eventually became interested in making chocolate as well. He could see that tourists to Guatemala had high hopes for coffee before they arrived, and were often disappointed by what they were served. He would do what he could to change this perception, particularly after relocating to the more touristy Antigua. He has the ability to work directly with coffee farmers for quality assurance, but there's much more to this business than simply being in the right place.I told Fernando how we found him, and brought up his TripAdvisor rating. I asked him quite simply why he was so well-known for what he did. The answer..."I don't know why."
I wouldn't let him off with such a modest answer, so he considered a little deeper and brought up a few things that he feels has contributed to the success of his business among both locals and tourists to Antigua.The Whole ExperienceFirst of all, he offers much more of an experience than simply roasted coffee. He offers chocolate, a full menu for any meal of the day, a very comforting ambiance. It is spacious, so it never feels noisy or crowded.Fernando: "People come here for all that. It's the kind of cafe where you can come and meet people from all over the world. You can disagree with everything everyone is saying, and still agree that you're having a nice time."
He takes pride in what he does well, but also takes accountability for what he knows he could do better. Fernando makes amazing dark chocolate, and yet still admits how far he still has to go in order to learn more and continue improving. There is a modesty that drives the constant improvement of his product. Fernando's commitment to quality even extends to your kitchen - he will not sell you ground coffee. Why? Because it will go stale faster, so that by the time you make it at home, it will not taste as good as what you had in his cafe. If you want to buy his coffee, you'll need to buy a grinder. It's his small part of ensuring where his name appears, good coffee is being made.And finally, Fernando himself is very accessible. He told us, "I live here. I just happen to sleep at home."
Eye-OpeningOver the years, I've met many roasters in the United States and Canada. This was the first time that I met a roaster outside of North America. It's amazing that rather than be struck by the differences, I was struck by the similarities. Like any successful North American roaster that I've met, Fernando's same accessibility to his customers, passion for improvement, and quality standard has been the key to his success in Guatemala.Check out: Fernando's Kaffee websiteCheck out: TripAdvisor page (Fernando's Kaffee)