Three Questions with Sergio Hernandez of Gratitude Specialty Coffee in La Paz, Mexico

Not all coffee stories begin with a traveling circus, but that’s precisely how the married owners of Gratitude Specialty Coffee Roasters (Instagram) in La Paz, Mexico, first met.

Gloria Olivera Bassi, who hails from Argentina, was working at a resort in Cancún when the circus came to town, featuring an adventurous trapeze artist from Mexico City named Sergio Hernandez.

The two developed a bond, eventually moving to Buenos Aires, where Hernandez first got into coffee roasting, working for Arabicca Coffee (Instagram). As the pandemic unfolded, the couple decided to move back to Mexico, choosing La Paz for its good quality of life. It was in La Paz that they decided to open a roastery of their own.

While initially intending to sell wholesale, the couple noticed a lack of awareness about specialty coffee, with dark roasts and sugary drinks dominating the local landscape. Thus, they decided to open a retail coffee shop with the roastery inside, to showcase high-quality specialty coffees in their pure form.

Growing up in a family that valued fresh fruits, natural ingredients and home-cooked meals, Hernandez took a culinary approach to the roasting craft, which he views as a process of exploration and refinement in order to highlight the best flavors of each coffee.

That process remains outlined in Hernandez’s detailed roasting notes, which often appear on windows next to the roaster at the single Gratitude cafe and roastery in La Paz. With dry-erase scribblings here and there, the roastery itself has a bit of a mad science vibe, although the method to the madness is apparent in the cup.

Gratitude’s coffee menu features washed coffees from Chiapas and Veracruz, alongside an exquisite natural coffee from Nayarit, which Hernandez sources directly from the producers.

“When I started roasting coffee, I started taking notes,” Hernandez said. “I realized that every five to 10 seconds affects the coffee flavors. Timing is everything.”

Sergio compares roasting to his past as a trapeze artist, emphasizing the importance of precision movement and on the fly adjustments.

“I was the catcher the guy upside down, grabbing. Timing was everything. You had to make adjustments according to the flyer. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t make the catch or you’d hit the bar. It was dangerous,” he said. “Coffee is the same. Everything is timing. You have to understand how the coffee is acting during the roast to know when to stop and when to let it be.”

Here’s more from DCN’s recent talk with Sergio…

What about coffee excites you the most?

Acknowledging the whole process   where coffee comes from, how the families are living, why we choose a specific coffee and how we’re presenting it. I’m amazed at how coffee is evolving in climate changes. It’s being forced to modify itself. It’s changing physically and biologically, so that will bring a different experience to coffee drinkers. Coffee consumption is getting more conscious, and that’s exciting. If we stay curious, we can take coffee to a different level.

What about coffee troubles you the most?

Climate change and the economic system. We need to be more conscious about producers and their families and pay fairly because what we’re doing isn’t enough.

It’s important to me that we take coffee to restaurants and high end hotels. This will help people understand the importance of coffee and how it affects the global economy, not just the local one.

What would you be doing if it weren’t for coffee?

The circus, though I knew when I was doing the circus that my career as a performer and as a coach wouldn’t last long because it’s super physically demanding. I would keep teaching.

I also like craft things, so perhaps making beer.