We recently connected with Maria Esther Lopez-Thome and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Maria Esther thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
In 2013 I was invited to an international event in Milan, Italy, in which there were a series of readings and lectures by influential people in the specialty coffee industry. One of those talks was given by Dr. Timothy Schilling, founder of World Coffee Research. This was the first time I heard scientific reports on how climate change was affecting coffee production worldwide and the impact it would cause in the future, to the point that all reports established that by the year 2050 coffee production would be reduced. to more than 50%, especially impacting those origins that are best known from a consumer point of view, for example Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Ethiopia, etc.
10 years later, these statistics have increased exponentially, reducing the spectrum in 10 years, that is, it is considered that by the year 2040 coffee production may be reduced by more than 50% due to the effects of climate change.
You don’t need to be a scientific expert to realize how climate change has affected our lives. But perhaps, many people do not know how this has affected the lives of millions of people who work tirelessly to produce that fruit that after many processes we can enjoy in our homes every morning.
That lecture, that year, in a country that was not my own, my perspective on coffee changed completely. And from that moment, I decided to research more, open my mind and try to be part of the solution instead of the problem.
And so, this is the reason that inspires our professional lives, our mission, what we do but especially, what we deeply believe in.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m María Esther López-Thome, born in Venezuela, reborn as an USA citizen. Lawyer. And dedicated 1000% to coffee and tea. In the last 20 years, Venezuelans have had to forcibly reinvent ourselves. For some of us, looking for new horizons, paths and professions, abandoning what we had but without ceasing to be who we were.
My reinvention started in 2005 in a shape of a cup. After years of informal studies in my spare time (via internet) while still working as a lawyer, in 2008 I decided to travel and study on my vacation time. I was really curious about the term Specialty Coffee, fascinated with a world and environment so different than the one I lived in. There were a lot of sacrifices to endure, especially in terms of money. It was not easy for me and my daughter, but the more I learned the more I wanted to know.
For many years I lived two lives, lawyer from 8 am to 5 pm, coffee lover in my nights. Many people made fun of me, how I was going to start doing “cafecito” and stopped being a “lawyer”. I did not have a plan, I would lie if I say that I knew what I was doing at that time. I just knew I wanted to learn more. I had a dream to open a small coffee with my cousin, we both wanted to serve small pastries and quit our jobs. We even looked for some location in our hometown. We both were super happy with the idea, but we did not put the ideas to work.
Back to today, when I see back, even when I think I did not have a plan, I indeed did. I fell in love. I let myself to believe, to dream again with a world of new possibilities. Coffee helped me to keep going. This is one of my great achievements, at a time when there was desolation and stress in my daily work, coffee allowed me to find a new path where nobody asked me what my idiosyncrasy was, my political beliefs, not even my age or preferences. After more than 15 years dedicated to teaching coffee around the world, multiple traveling, volunteering in world coffee events, helping others to open coffee shops providing consulting services I can without any trace of hesitation, say that I’m grateful I found my passion in coffee & tea.
I live now in Miami with my husband and daughter. We created Coffea Company in 2018, where we teach about Specialty Coffee & Tea for the 3 different international organizations dedicated to formal education programs, Specialty Coffee Association, European Speciality Tea Association of Europe and Coffee Quality Institute. We are also dedicated to source green coffee from different origins, import and then roast in our facility for wholesale clients (coffee shops) or retail.
My husband and I came from different backgrounds and countries, and we found each other through coffee. A world we share. A passion that became a job. Integrity and knowledge at the service of all those to whom we teach and dedicate our time as a consultants.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
After opening 6 successful coffee shops in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where my husband and I were living (7 years my daughter and I) and 5 years (my husband) in 2018 we decided It was time to open something in the United States that was ours and that was founded on the principles of honesty and work ethic in which my husband and I deeply believe. In november 2019 we finally opened the doors of Coffea Company, after months of hard and intense work. My husband and I did almost everything, except electricity and plumbing, Floors, bathroom, painting, and even our simple decoration was done by the two of us. Our money resource was extremely limited, so we had to make the most of it.
We were happy and excited, to say the least. We had full classes in november and half of december. January was really good and my husband and I were feeling confident in our jobs and plans.
Then in february 2020, we closed our doors. While giving classes to international students, many airlines started closing their traveling plans and students had to depart abruptly. There was no clear ideas of what was happening but everybody was talking about Covid and the risks of it. All our courses were cancelled. Money had to be refunded. People that was interested in buying our roasted coffee and tea offerings cancelled orders.
Because the international education program was originally created for these organizations to be instructed in person, there was not precedent in teaching these courses in an online format. So in just days we found ourselves in our houses, scared and without any prospect or solution to our situation. Suddenly, no income. My husband started doing Uber, but in just months Uber as well stopped operations. We did not know what to do. Our landlords (house and business) never approached us to discuss if we were able to keep paying. We started considering the ideas of going back to Venezuela where we have our house in the beautiful Margarita Island or going to Seattle were my husband’s family lives, The business lawyer advised us that if we wanted to leave we needed to pay the full amount equivalent to 3 years of rent, term of our lease. So, this was not at option.
We started thinking in how we could start giving online classes. Short programs that kept people educating themselves while in their houses. We reached to all the students we had through the years and offered them different options. We reduced the expenses to the minimum and kept paying our compromises. One of our wholesale clients started to plan their opening and that help us with cash flow. And slowly-slowly we kept going. We started selling roasted coffee and tea in an online farmers market, and that helped us as well.
Covid transformed every plan we had. Stopped our growth. And somehow almost destroyed our dreams. But, 2 years later, here we are. Still. We moved to the nextdoor space, bigger than our original one. We have a bigger roaster capacity. More equipment that help us to keep our quality control procedures. And this is just starting!
How’d you meet your business partner?
My business partner is my life partner, as well.
In June 2014 I was in a world coffee event in Rimini, Italy, as a Lead Barista in one brew station. In this coffee events you have to serve coffee during the day to more than 10.000 visitors. Dylan, who I did not know, was in the station in front of me, serving coffee as well. This was his first time in an international event. At some point that I was cleaning my station, this person in front of me looked really serious and almost to the point that it seemed that he was not having any fun doing it. I was intrigued because I was having a lot of fun, talking to people from many different parts of the world.
I immediately forgot about him and kept working. We did not talk or were introduced at all.
I had an incredible time in Rimini with my daughter and friends, and after the event we took vacation time and visited some regions in Italy. Went to Greece and France and then comeback to Venezuela.
Then in December 2014, a friend of mine tagged me to a post on facebook where somebody was asking for help from spanish speakers to translate a coffee flavor wheel from english to spanish and she thought I was the right person to do it. When I saw who was the person, I wrote on the post: “Oh, I know you, you were in Rimini in the brew bar station, I was in front of you.” It was Dylan. He added me as a friend. And from time to time he wrote to me asking me coffee questions, specifically about roasting. But we never talked more than that.
I saw him back in april 2015 on Seattle in a coffee event, but just talked for 5 minutes.
In 2016, I was already living in Buenos Aires and I visited Seattle for coffee training purposes and the friend that introduced us on facebook, Tia, was visiting Seattle as well and was sharing some coffee time with Dylan, who told her that he saw I posted on facebook my arrival to the Emerald city. They wrote to me and we decided to spend some time together “touring’ coffee shops.
After my time on Seattle, and 5 days sharing time with Dylan in his city, we agreed that he would come and visit me on “La Ciudad de la Furia” as they call Buenos Aires. And he did for a month and a half. He came. He visited. He left. And then, he came back. And never left again.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coffeaschool.com/
- Instagram: coffeacompany
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melopezc
Image Credits
María Esther López-Thome