I am Enio A. Suasnávar Torres, Co-Founder of Cuela and the instructor of the Home Barista classes . I entered into the coffee industry in 2017 after pursuing a career in advertising and marketing for three years. I’ve been passionate about coffee from a very young age, since it has had a very great socioeconomic and cultural impact in Puerto Rico.
The cultural element makes me embrace the Industry with great passion since 2017 when at the Coffee Museum in Ciales, after having taken a basic barista class, they told me that they were looking for a Barista even if it had no experience. I wanted to take on that challenge, since I had not had any luck getting a job in Coffee Shops in San Juan. In Ciales I learned a lot about coffee and real quick. From barista practices, roasting to commercializing a coffee brand. Later on, I worked in several shops in the metro area and also with a coffee farmer from Yauco with whom I began to learn the impact that several practices in coffee production make in the cup.
The curiosity in learning did not end there and that is why in 2019 I began to travel to different coffee producing countries such as Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador to learn more about the attributes of coffee according to its origins. It should be noted that in Guatemala I was able to benefit from the research of the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE) in its roasting and cupping courses. I met wonderful people who I keep as friends and today we still share a lot of knowledge.
In 2021 I wanted to develop myself in cupping, roasting, quality control and sensory, so I traveled to Banyoles, Spain to take courses with Kim Ossenblok, the author of the the book Al Grano and third place in the world cupping championship. Here I begin recognizing flaws, defects, comparing objectively and rating specialty coffees in SCAA paramaters. My last education trip was in August where I travel to Guatemala. Here I continue in ehancing my cupping skills, roasting and espresso techniques with Salomé Puentes, José Miguel Echeverría and Felix Basir. This experience was one of the most beautiful in my career, since they were very practical and intensive courses, which helps your sensory skills be at the highest level all times. Besides, Guatemala is a beautiful country. You must visit!
And you'll wonder, why am I telling you all this?
For me it is a no brainer to pass on all this information that I have learned throughout my 6 years of career to the Cuela community. You will be learning all this knowledge in a simple and practical way in the Home Barista classes and also in the Basic Cupping classes.
I am a faithful believer that the more educated the consumer is and the further back they go in the chain, the more awareness they generate about the challenges of the coffee industry at a local and global level. In this way the entire chain improves while we enjoy an exquisite cup of coffee.
I invite you to be part of our workshops. Your cup and sensory perception will improve 100%.
Thanks for your support.
Check out our courses: Home Barista Class & Basic Cupping
