When Ulysses Romero opened his first Tierra Mía Coffee in 2008, Los Angeles was on the verge of a specialty coffee boom. Chicago’s Intelligentsia had just moved in the year before, sparking a surge in third-wave coffeehouses. Romero, a business school graduate with an entrepreneurial spirit, noticed an unfilled niche in the market and sensed an opportunity.  “I decided that I wanted to start a business, and I felt it made the most sense to do something that reflected who I was and what I understood and what I grew up with,” says Romero, a first-generation Mexican American who was raised in southern California and earned an MBA from Stanford.  While others vied for space in upwardly mobile hipster hubs such as Silver Lake and Venice, where meticulously curated boutiques abound and three-dollar coffees are a given, Romero chose to locate his business in South Gate, a working-class suburb south-east of downtown LA with a 92% Latino population. His closest neighbors were fast food restaurants and a budget motel.  Romero’s decision to cater to the underserved demographic jumpstarted a barely tapped emerging sub-category in LA’s specialty coffee scene: the Latino coffeehouse.  The menu at Tierra Mía, which has grown to 10 locations (with two more on the way), is anchored by familiar Latin flavors – there’s the popular horchata latte, Mexican hot chocolate, and a short list of premium coffees (all prepared by pour-over) sourced from Panama to El Salvador. The company’s bakery turns out tres leches muffins and guava-filled pastries. Latin music, from cumbia beats to Spanish pop tunes, mix with the sounds of families, which crowd the shops from morning to night. Photos of the farms and farmers that Tierra Mía works with hang on the walls.  “The majority of coffee consumed in this country is from Latin America, yet I didn’t feel like anyone was highlighting that in a really strong way,” says Romero. “To me, it totally makes sense to connect to where the product comes from.”  While Tierra Mía is the biggest and most visible player in the genre, other independent shops have earned a following in LA’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods and beyond. Small chain Cafecito Orgánico, newcomer Primera Taza and Antigua Coffee House, which has been around for a decade, are just a few.  Part of the growing popularity of these establishments is due to the popularity of coffee in general among Latinos. A 2015 study from the National Coffee Association showed that Latinos drink coffee at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the country.  Chuy Tovar, who co-owns Primera Taza, a cafe in the east-side neighborhood of Boyle Heights, credits corporations such as Starbucks for cultivating an interest in specialty coffee, especially among younger Latinos.  “Starbucks may not be the greatest coffee in the world,” says Tovar. “But it did expose it to a lot of people, and people started drinking coffee in different ways.”  Today access to gourmet coffee is more common than ever, and Tovar, like his colleagues, is serious about elevating Latino coffee culture. Part of that is done through the painstaking sourcing of beans and building strong relationships with farmers. The other aspect involves showcasing the product through such items as café de olla, a small-batch cinnamon-infused coffee that has been selling out since Tovar debuted it.  Yancey Quiñones sources much of the coffee he serves at Antigua Coffee House in the north-east LA community of Cypress Park from his family’s farms in Guatemala. He was inspired by Hollywood’s Espresso Mi Cultura, a pioneering Latino coffeehouse that closed in 2003.  “I realized that we need shops like those on this side of town,” he says. Ten years ago, when he was planning his concept, gang activity in the area was rampant and outside investment was nil.  As his business has evolved, so too has the area surrounding it. While the population of Cypress Park is still overwhelmingly Mexican, gentrification has brought a new crowd to Antigua. Quiñones says the change has worked out well for his business, and the newcomers seem to appreciate his store’s Guatemalan-inspired aesthetic and his support of local artists.  “I feel like [new residents] like it. It’s different from what they’re used to seeing,” Quiñones says. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about the espresso. It’s all about the high-quality machines we use, and the way it’s pulled. People are going to pay you if it’s a good cup of coffee.”  Cafecito Orgánico, which got its start in 2004 (and opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in 2010) and now has four locations, has also exhibited a broad appeal. Co-owner Angel Orozco, who emigrated from Guatemala as a child, has placed some Cafecito stores in affluent, predominantly Anglo areas, including Malibu. But he and his company are rooted in Latin America. Orozco imports most of Cafecito’s sustainably farmed beans from Central America and is committed to ensuring fair prices and treatment for producers. The imagery used in Cafecito’s branding, including Day of the Dead-inspired illustrations, is also distinctly Latino.  Part of Orozco’s mission is to inspire a younger generation to get into the coffee industry, both by example and through targeted initiatives. Cafecito has recently partnered with the Youth Policy Institute and Fruta y Cultura – a community-based juice bar that purchases produce from local backyard growers – to hire and train young, would-be baristas in Pacoima, a neighborhood in the East San Fernando Valley with a large working-poor population.  “I think it’s a really great industry to be in,” Orozco says, “and I want to make sure that we create something that allows other Latinos to get into it as well – especially young folks.”  This too is a goal for Romero, who recruits employees from the neighborhoods around Tierra Mía’s locations and almost exclusively promotes from within his organization. At a recent cupping session, a room full of fresh-faced managers moved from cup to cup, sniffing and blind-tasting numerous coffee varieties. As they listed off flavor profiles and debated origins, some said their families and friends think their burgeoning coffee obsessions are “weird” while others admitted to growing up on Nescafé.  “I didn’t even like coffee before I came here,” said one young woman. “Now I’m really passionate about it.”
Most coffee consumed in the US comes from Latin America, and no ethnic group drinks more of it than Latinos. For several businesses, it’s a recipe for success