Contagem is a heavily industrial city in the midst of the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. There isn’tย much to be seen or to visit here that any other big city does not possess. Unless, of course, you plan to visit Will Santosโs version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryโfor coffee.
Santosย and his wife, Michele Miranda, have been married for 10 years and live in aย house in a commercial neighborhood of Contagem. Santosย worked with thermal equipment maintenance (rendering services to McDonaldโs) and was always eager to learn more, about anything. He would open machines so that he could build them again from scratch, always wondering what he could learn next.
Then came coffee. He had always liked it, and eventually he started to dig deep into books and articles and the internet, and suddenly he was collecting material for what would be his coffee shop. Santos and Miranda started small and decided they would make their living room a coffee shop. Santosย would go out in the street and grab people by their arms to bring themย inside. But people from Minas GeraisโMineirosโare known for being suspicious, so not many would buy into Santosโs idea. It was all a little strange, after all: you enter someoneโs house, pass through a narrow alleyway, then end at their living room to pay for coffee? Basically, that was the idea.
Despite the not-encouraging results, the couple persevered. They officially openedย Cafeteria Will Coffeeย in 2012, with an automatic espresso machine, and sourcingย the roasted beans from a nearby supermarket. It was just the two of them, trying to show the concept of slow coffee to anyone who would venture inside. After a time, their living room was not enough, so the coffee shop took over their bedroom next to it, and they moved their living quarters to the basementโwhere they have been living ever since. โDownstairs we only have a studio-like space,โ says Santos. โBut, we are happy to live so close to work,โ he addsย with a laugh.
Access to Cafeteria Willย was not easyโcustomers needed to ring a bell in order to enter. Rumors spread rapidly in the neighborhood. Was it a brothel? An undercover casino? Miranda still laughs at those comments, and in fact there remainย some people who donโt believe it is indeed a coffee shop. The fact that Santos addedย a London telephone booth door out front didnโt help much. โWe still want people to ring a bell when they come in,โ says Miranda. โItโs like we are having guests, and we want them to be welcomed in that manner. After all, this is still our house.โ
As they show me their โhouse,โ Miranda and Santos are psyched to tell me about the decoration: everythingโI mean, everythingโis about coffee. There is a story behind each piece of furniture, and Santosย is proud to say he built most of it himself, from the lamps, which are basically V60ย filters upside down, to some of the coffee gear. Santos invented, for example, the “Aeroprensa,” which is basically a tool to help you easily handle the pressing when extracting a cup of coffee from an AeroPress.
In 2013, as Santosย learned more about specialty coffee, the couple stepped up their game with higher-quality beans and many methods of extraction, and in 2015 Santosย started roasting. Thatโs when they surrenderedย the last room of that floor of the house, which now containsย the roaster. They have also startedย working closely with a farmโFazenda Barinas, in the Cerrado area of Minas Geraisโwhere they produce their own lot, so they have 100 percent control of the chain from crop to cup.
There are numerous extraction methods available at Cafeteria Will, plus espresso drinks. The cold drinks are Mirandaโs specialty, the Forest Coffee being the best-selling: a sort of frappuccino, it’s made with espresso, ground coffee beans, cocoa powder, cream, and a cherry.
In the Willy Wonka movies, you hadย to find a golden ticket in order to getย a tour of his candy factory. At Cafeteria Will Coffee, you just haveย to be willing to travel some 40 minutes from downtown Belo Horizonte, ring the bell at the oddly placed London telephone booth door, and wait to be greeted by one of the cafe’sย founders. Get ready to seeย the world of coffee through Santosโs eyes. None of the neighbors have dared toย yet.
Juliana Ganan is a Brazilian coffee professional and journalist. Read more Juliana Ganan on Sprudge.
Photos courtesy of Kellsens Willamos.
