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With the mission of “making Puerto Rican coffee accessible” and exposing the island’s superior quality brands, a group of young entrepreneurs shaped a promotional and selling concept around coffee that is grown by dozens of farmers from all over the island.

This is Cuela Coffee Shop, located on Carazo Street in Guaynabo. There, Enio Andrés Suasnávar-Torres, Carlos Sánchez-Nieves, and Gustavo Andrés Fadhel-Carballo united their wills and knowledge to a specific client’s benefit. A client who seeks to learn about the origin and preparation of this precious bean, in addition to enjoying a frothy and delicious experience.

But it all started as a digital platform selling gourmet coffee for customers abroad. It evolved into a meeting center for dozens of lovers of the aromatic drink, a must for many to start their day.

“It’s an evolution of what started in 2020 as cuela.coffee. It’s an online platform that offers quality products that didn’t have much publicity exposure. We knew from that moment that there was a client looking for that product. So, we made that link between the coffee grower and the client, both here on the Island and in the diaspora,” explained Suasnávar-Torres, who has studies in advertising and public relations.

“We have over 23 producers and roasters with about 40 different brands of Puerto Rican coffee. We also offer other brands from abroad, but only in small batches,” he added.

In fact, this entrepreneurial group’s idea came was based on their own experience. “We were San José students since ninth grade. We saw the need to purchase coffee from Puerto Rico because that product wasn’t available while we were studying abroad,” explained Sánchez-Nieves, an agronomy and business administration graduate.

“Customers became interested in what we were offering. They asked us if there was a physical place they could go visit to see the samples and enjoy the coffee. (Coffee) is part of our culture and we wanted to provide that experience to our customers who should know that quality has a price. And if they want to know more about the origin of the product, they can ask and it’ll be explained to them,” Suasnávar-Torres highlighted, for his part.

Within the same subject of educating, Suasnávar-Torres said that they recently began to offer talks, the so-called “Barista 101.” Here they explain basic coffee preparation and what are characteristics of quality beans.

“These workshops are offered every Saturday. You have to purchase your tickets through the website to be able to participate in them (...) we have a limited capacity of 6 people for these talks,” he said.

When expanding on the group’s plans, the need to again supply Puerto Ricans abroad with coffee made in the Island came up through comments, as well as internationally promoting the good product that is made here.

“Medium and long-term goals are marketing expansion so that people know about our facility and digital platform. We have other plans of expanding to key locations in the United States, so that people know about the quality of Puerto Rican coffee,” added Fadhel-Carballo, who has a Certified Public Accountant degree.

Another of the group’s plans is to expand to South American countries and even explore creating franchises.

“There is a need for a platform that can provide exposure to many quality coffee growers in South American countries. And we would like to be that tool through which people know what is available in their own lands and thus facilitate that market. Another idea that we have to develop is to bring Cuela Coffee to other places, both on the island and in the United States, or create franchises,” said Sánchez-Nieves.

In addition to coffee, natural juices and chocolate, Cuela Coffee Shop has a creative cuisine: salmon with pasta, pork loin with mashed root vegetables, chicken breast with cilantro rice and the Mallorca Mac and Cheese, among other dishes. “Breakfasts can be had at any time between our hours of 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. from Saturday to Sunday, and Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,” informed Fadhel-Carballo.

“We have the capacity to seat 30 people. The space is available for private activities, whether corporate or family events. Everything is done with prior reservation, either through our website, visiting our facilities or calling the number 787-957-5727,” he concluded.