Even as Mexico City quickly becomes the Third Wave coffee capital of Latin America, the city continues to surprise. The neighborhood of Cuauhtémoc is one of them. In the middle of this mix of office buildings, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and residences, is a brand new Cucurucho roastery and café.
Cucurucho was founded as a grocery store in 1977. But when David Birruete, the owner’s son, took an interest in coffee, they began to sell it. The quality improved day by day, and now, four coffee shops later, their roastery, Casa del Fuego, is open for business.
“As the coffee scene in Mexico City is growing there’s a whole new generation of baristas, cuppers, roasters, and producers, alongside training centers, coffee shops, and roasteries,” Birruete says. “Absolutely everyone is looking forward to preparing amazing Mexican coffee.”
Casa del Fuego needed to be a space where baristas could experiment with different types of roasts and brewing methods, and could cup and test espresso drinks. This would give them the opportunity to practice for competition while improving their hospitality, technical, and competition skills.
The company roasts on a Probat and has relationships with farms throughout Mexico, including in the regions of New Germany in Chiapas, Pluma Hidalgo in Oaxaca, Atoyac in Guerrero and Coatepec in Veracruz. They are looking forward to working with producers in Nayarit and with other farmers who produce sustainable, ecological, and high-quality Mexican coffee.
While impressive, Casa Del Fuego is as serious about its coffee preparation as it is about its sourcing.
“The use of alternative manual [brewing] methods in Mexico City has almost reached a peak,” Birruete says. “This has made other people really curious about the preparation.”
Casa del Fuego offers unusual drip methods like the Japanese syphon and Nel dripper, which Birruete says lend coffee a unique sweetness, intensity, and concentration. For espresso, they use a La Marzocco Linea PB, and if the coffee isn’t enough of a draw, Casa del Fuego serves a variety of brunch items as well as afternoon waffles.
“Our inspiration is to make something as normal as [drinking] coffee a unique experience, and comforting day-to-day,” Birruete says. At Casa del Fuego, they do just that.
Ximena Rubio is a coffee professional based in Mexico City. Read more Ximena Rubio on Sprudge.
