Exploradores de Café
Exploradores de Café was founded in 2016 with a small coffeeshop by the name Kumo. Aseconomists we looked for the most efficient place to sell coffee and decided that a coffeeshop in acorporate building was optimal. Office workers would come every day with the need for caffeinebecoming regulars and wouldn’t need space to sit and work. After opening Kumo we startedroasting coffee and got more involved with the farming aspect of coffee. We travelled around Mexico looking for the best coffee and discovering that most of what we tasted was created in thecoffee farm and not the coffeeshop.
Coffee farmers have the highest risk, do the most work, and receive the least. We wanted to contribute more to the farms and find strategies to help our customers value not just the flavor of the coffee but the environmental responsibility, positive social impact, and the stories behind each cup. We slowly became not just baristas and roasters but ambassadors of coffee farmers and their entire communities. With these goals, we decided to venture into a totally different space where we could create a bridge between coffee farmers and end consumers. A place where you could experience the whole supply chain in a cohesive and simple way. We designed the space as a coffee shop but aimed for it to be a mini representation of the whole coffee chain. We wanted a space where you could see the coffee plants that help teach about the importance of genetics and visualize the flowering, ripening, and processing with your own eyes.
We have another room where you can roast coffee, see the color change, and smell the cloud of aromas that fill the room. Cupping is the next step and for that we have a specific cupping room where we give free classes on weekends. We believe cupping is the best way to hear the coffee’s story. Finally, you can enjoy the coffee from a pour-over made with equipment that has been chosen to remove repetitive tasks from baristas to let them become ambassadors and narrate what is behind each cup. When we envisioned the design, we wanted a space that could become an oasis within the chaos of Mexico City, a place where materials and colors could convey tranquility and reminisce of the colors on a farm. Green for coffee trees, red for coffee cherries, blue for clear skies, and beige for the land. Being close to coffee farms (120km) we have become a hub for farmers, they bring the coffee bags themselves, help us roast, and serve it to clients. Their passion has become the core of the place.
