MICHAEL DE ANDA

My name is Michael de Anda, I was born in 1991, I like to go for a walk, usually in the downtown area or in the countryside. I enjoy having a cup of coffee, a beer, being with my girlfriend and my dogs, something quiet; like reading a magazine, the newspaper, listening to the radio and being informed of what’s going on in the world.

I entered the world of coffee in a natural way, I was born in a sack haha. I am a 6th generation coffee grower, my father, my grandmother, my great-grandfather, his father, my great- grandfather’s grandfather, all of them have been dedicated to coffee. I came into this family and as much as I had the opportunity not to be in the coffee world, I decided to be. I did not dedicate myself to coffee since I was a child, I started to work with my parents in their coffee shops when I was in junior high and high school, from there I left Coatepec to study in Mexico City, and while I was there, I had nothing to do with coffee. I studied economics, maybe on some vacations I did come here to support the Beneficio or Mill, but not fully. While I was in Mexico City I had other jobs; I worked in a consulting company, but I didn’t like it at all, after that, I went to a media company; I worked in how to invest money in advertising, whether in television, radio, magazines, billboards, and why, all with statistical support. I finished college and I said to myself; “I prefer coffee in Veracruz”. And here I am, working with coffee.

I like to foster a more human relationship. We are in the industrial sector and everything is already numbers, kilos and times. People become very dehumanized. I believe that from there comes the traceability that can be given to the coffee.

When we receive the coffee I like to ask a lot of questions; why did they decide to bring it here, where does it come from? to know the history of the producer, backwards as well as forwards. This coffee that has arrived, what can be done to it given its quality? where can this coffee be moved to? It goes green, it goes roasted, it goes to a coffee shop, it goes to the super market, it goes to some external client that we have, so both backwards and forwards. I like it a lot, the best thing is to involve everyone, that is what I like to do here. What I like most in the world of coffee is specialty coffee, however, I think that if all the coffee that is produced becomes Specialty coffee and the one that is not specialty coffee, is not to be consumed, that means taking coffee away from the people. I believe that everyone should have access to coffee, always, everyone should be able to have access to a cup of coffee, that is why “long live the coffee”, so it does not disappear and it does not become an extremely luxurious good and that it tends to be consumed only by the elites.