Luis Sanchez didn’t come out of nowhere. He had a life before coffee. He got a degree. He had a career in sports. He wanted to travel so he went to get a graduate degree in Australia. He was expanding his horizons, and moving up in the world.
Then he made a mistake. It’s the mistake that every will they, won’t they romantic comedy is based on. He fell in love. Not with a person, but with coffee, with espresso, with the coffee community. The trajectory of his life was forever changed.
Just like in the movies, coffee didn’t immediately love him back, but he worked at it. First, as a barista, then as cafe manager, then as regional manager. Along the way he got the bug to become a roaster, and he started over again. He heard about an opportunity at Global Coffee Traders as their sample roaster. He didn’t just apply, he went and took the job.
Once there, it was like going through a coffee roasting boot camp, but with generals willing to answer his questions. Generals who have the rank of Q-grader.* Knowing Luis, I’m sure he had a lot of them. He took advantage of his time by asking questions, learning, meeting people, and asking more questions until he was ready to make the leap if an opportunity presented itself.
Luis loves coffee, and he loves people. Before he had his own roastery he was out making the rounds like the mayor of Coffeetown. Check out the Acento Instagram, and it is filled with photos of him getting coffee everywhere else! There he is at Seven Seas in Chula Vista. The next snap is in front the new Storymakers in Barrio Logan, and always one from Coffee Cycle in Pacific Beach.
Coffee isn’t just coffee for Luis.
I’m a rider. I’m surfer. I’m a futball’er, but above all, I’m a coffee lover.
-Luis Sanchez, Accento Coffee Roasters
I’ve known Luis for several years, but in this episode of the Roast! West Coast podcast I learned so much more about who he is, and what drives him. I realize now that our interactions were almost always coffee-related, or involved him getting me to open up by asking me questions. I’m glad I got the opportunity to be on the other side learning about him, because it is a heckuva story. I hope you enjoy the show.
In some coffee + environmental news, I want to shout out Café Virtuoso. The cafe and roastery in Barrio Logan has partnered with Clear Blue Sea to create a sustainable coffee cup program. A lot of coffee drinkers don’t realize this sad reality, but the waxed coffee cups you receive when buying a takeaway cup of coffee are not recyclable. They go right into the trash. That is actually true for a lot of cardboard and plastic most of us commonly throw in the trash.
What Café Virtuoso is doing with their reusable cup program isn’t revolutionary, but due to some antiquated local health ordinances, and insurance companies aversions to risk this is a program that has been shot down in many cafes and restaurants. I’m glad to see they’ve pushed passed their concerns to, at least, get it off the ground. I hope more cafe’s follow suit.
*A Q-Grader is a trained coffee tasting expert. Like a wine sommelier, but for coffee. There are various levels of Q-Graders, but all designations are applied by the Coffee Quality Institute to applicants who pass a week long series of difficult exams.
The goal of the CQI is to promote a worldwide common coffee language, in particular at the industry level. There are more than 7000 Q-Graders worldwide. Don’t let that number fool you. The passing rate of applicants is pegged at about 50%, with only a small percentage of those who pass doing so without having to re-test some or all of the course.
POPULAR AUSSIE COFFEE DRINKS
Short Black - Espresso. Single shot.
Long Black - What we commonly refer to as an Americano. A shot of espresso with four ounces of hot water added to the shot in a pre-warmed rocks glass.
Flat White - Shot of espresso. Four ounces of steamed milk. Thin layer of micro-foam. Similar to our latte.
Cappucino (Aussie version) - Shot of espresso. Four ounces of steamed milk. Thicker foam than a flat white. Sprinkle of cocoa powder across the top.
Piccolo - Shot of espresso. Two ounces of steamed milk. Minimal foam. Similar to a cortado.
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INDUSTRY LEGACY PARTNERS
CAFÉ LaTERRE is serving up Crossing Coffee Roasters, and rumor is they’ll soon have enough to sell bags to go. What are we waiting for Alden!
Coffee Cycle is now serving vegan pastries from Split Bakehouse. So good we should just call them pastries.
Steady State Roasting is serving their first Ecudorian coffee called, “Servio González.” It has tasting notes of apple juice, peach, floral and clean. I’m a big fan of Ecuador. Funny story, I was once detained and strip searched at the airport in Quito for having a beard.
The Roast! podcast is supported by some local coffee industry (or industry adjacent) partners. These companies not only support Roast! efforts to share more coffee content they are the foundation I lean on when I need some coffee expertise.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle •
IN CLOSING
Need to get caught up? Don’t forget to listen to the last Coffee Smarter episode where Siri and I explore how the materials our coffee mugs and brewing vessels are made out of impact the flavor of our coffee.
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Roast! - Luis Sanchez, Acento Coffee Roasters.