‘Taste the natural flavors.’ Fresno coffee shop serving up Latin America specialties
Ever wanted to try spicy coffee from Mexico?
Or enjoy the full-bodied, pleasant acidity of Guatemalan coffee?
How about the strong, sweet flavor of a cup of joe from Cuba?
For those who like or always wanted to try specialty coffee from Latin American countries, there’s a spot in Fresno serving it and more.
Mi Cafesito Fresno is a fairly new coffee shop located inside Manchester Mall, offering a variety of drinks that are meticulously made with coffee beans from various Latin American countries.
“We’re very excited to offer coffee that’s different compared to a Starbucks,” owner Evelyn Gutierrez said.
According to Gutierrez, her vision of opening a Latin America-inspired coffee shop was brought to life because of a couple of main reasons:
To prove so-called coffee elitists wrong after she was told Latin American coffee beans don’t produce high quality drinks.
And to provide a familiar taste of home for those who are originally from a Latin American country and now living in the Fresno area.
“Each country has their own natural tones and flavors within their beans,” Gutierrez said. “We can add a little bit of different syrups and flavors to the drink, but what we really want is you to still be able to taste the natural flavors of the Latin American coffee beans.
“Some are smoother; some are more acidic. Sometimes you can taste the walnut or white chocolate flavor of a coffee bean.”
On the menu
Currently, Mi Cafesito has coffee beans from Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua.
And with those beans, Mi Cafesito assembled a drink menu unique compared to other coffee shops in Fresno:
- Horchata Latte
- Mazapan Latte
- Duvalin Latte
- Paleta Payaso Latte
- Mexican Mocha
- Cajeta Latte
In addition, Mi Cafesito serves traditional drinks like espresso, macchiato, cappuccino and black coffee that’s made using the pour-over method.
For those who aren’t exactly in a coffee mood but wanting a pick-me-up, the coffee shop also makes plant-based energy drinks.
“You get the great taste without the bad ingredients,” Gutierrez said.
Coffee beans makes a difference in taste
Gutierrez can relate to those who view coffee simply as coffee and can’t really taste the difference in where the coffee beans come from.
Before opening her coffee shop, Gutierrez said she felt the same way.
But after attending a coffee school in Portland that teaches people how to become a barista, Gutierrez soon learned how to tell the difference.
And what she discovered was that how the coffee tasted often depended on where the beans were harvested.
As conversations grew deeper at the Portland coffee school about how some of the best coffee comes from countries in Asia or Africa, Gutierrez wondered aloud why weren’t coffee beans from the Latin American countries highly regarded.
“They said the conditions there aren’t optimal, so there’s no good coffee beans from Latin American countries for premium drinks,” Gutierrez said. “I doubted that.
“I told them, ‘I’m going to search Latin American coffee beans and prove you wrong.’ Good coffee can come from countries like Mexico.”
Coffee trend
Gutierrez’s desire to have her coffee shop specialize in Latin American beans is actually part of the latest evolution within the coffee industry. More and more customers are wanting to get educated about what they’re drinking and often feel a sense of pride as to where coffee beans are grown when tied to their own heritage.
“What you’re seeing now is more community culture and ethnicity being infused into coffee,” said Joan Obra, a former Fresno Bee food columnist who became a coffee bean farmer in Hawaii 11 years ago and has since learned much about the coffee industry.
“Leadership in the specialty-coffee industry (is) finally recognizing the extreme lack of diversity in our industry,” Obra added. “And the greater visibility of these newer coffee cultures just results in more folks creating them.”
Opening during a pandemic
Gutierrez had some reservations about starting a new business during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially with other stores and businesses having closed during this time for various reasons.
Opening inside a mall that doesn’t exactly have a strong flow of shoppers wasn’t exactly ideal, either.
But the opportunity to provide something different, if not completely new, in the Fresno area was enticing enough for Gutierrez to move forward.
“One thing we wanted to focus on was having a strong social media presence,” Gutierrez said. “If you have a good social media presence, people will find your store no matter where it’s at.”
In addition, the idea of opening up a coffee shop wasn’t exactly hers.
It was that of Gutierrez’s eldest son, Hassan Macedo, who was inspired by one of his high school teachers at Edison to start a business.
“I’ve always liked coffee since I was little,” said Macedo, who graduated from Edison in 2017. “I liked trying to make my drinks at home taste like the ones at Starbucks.
“My mom always asked me what I want to do after high school. I said, ‘How about we start a new business?’ She did the training in Oregon, learned the fundamentals of coffee in general. When she came back, she taught me everything.”
Added Gutierrez: “It’s was one of his dreams to open up a family business where we could all be working together. I loved that idea. It’s definitely a family-friendly, family-owned coffee shop.”
Macedo, who works as Mi Cafesito’s lead barista, encourages all coffee drinkers to give their coffee shop a try.
“For me, we’re really unique in our flavors,” Macedo said. “You’ll find the standard stuff; we have those options. But we have so much more.
“It’s just a fun and unique experience when you try our Latin American coffees.”
Mi Cafesito is open Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
