House of Coffee, Nicaragua

Jaime Coello Manuell

A good cup of your black liquor, well

prepared, contains so many problems and
so many poems as a bottle of ink.
RUBÉNDARÍO

Talking about Casa del Café and Ruth Elizondo Cabrera is referring to an indissoluble binomial.
Casa, a successful Nicaraguan company, is the holder of a rich tradition that dates back to the century
XIX and Ruth is a passionate and exciting woman capable of generating 10 thousand revolutions per
minute around you, even in the coffee sector.

Origin
The history of the Coffee House begins around the year 1864, in the estate La
Esperanza, located in the El Crucero mountains, just a few minutes from Managua. This
the farm belonged to Mr. Rafael Cabrera, one of the oldest coffee growers of
Nicaragua. This historic pioneer transmitted to his descendants the passion for
café. Today, the fourth generation is very much involved.
in the coffee sector of that nation. During the celebration of the 4th Meeting
International Coffee Grower Ramacafé 2004, on September 9, 2004, I had
opportunity, thanks to Eddy Salgado (from Tecnoserve) and to Erick Baca (from
Chemonics Regional Quality Coffee Program) to meet and talk with
Ruth Elizondo Cabrera, majority partner, president and general manager of Casa
from Café, a company composed of coffee shop, bakery services and
roasting, with several branches. An extraordinary coffee with networks of
distribution in Spain and on the eve of starting in the United States.
I was inspired by everything I was seeing, by the movement of the coffee that is generated
with Starbucks in Seattle, while I was getting my master's in Special Education...
nothing more than, initially, I had thought of it as a coffee shop: with the
toaster and with a small bar service; but when we opened the place [the
the original building is located half a block from the current location] we started to
to see that the coffee shop business was much bigger than we thought;
On one hand, there was a high demand for the service, and on the other hand, I also...
they inspired my own shortcomings, from a place of encounters, where to be able
getting together with my friends, and I realized that these same shortcomings were valid
for other women. Thus, the Coffee House was born. We were the first to
to offer cappuccinos; our espresso machine was the first in the country (it was a
I bought it from an Italian who had opened a restaurant and failed.
Nowadays, restaurants and some bakeries offer cappuccinos; these along
With the espresso, the frappuccino, and the percolated americano, there are four drinks.

leaders. In 1995 we built the premises where we are currently located.

we continue - and when we inaugurated it, we also opened the pastry section and the
restaurant
In express questions, Ruth points out that the sale of coffee has not been separated in

thick portion of the restaurant industry and states that at least in the
Current Nicaragua, no business would survive by selling exclusively coffee.
"It's simply not possible - he accepts -; starting from the Sandinista Revolution in
By 1979, private investments in Nicaragua had practically come to a standstill.
We were the first food service company to build our location.
Before us, everyone else only rented the houses. We were the
first to buy and make an investment of this size for this type of
services, even in designing the place. Everyone thought we were crazy. What you see
now it is not the same Nicaragua as eight years ago, you can now find McDonald's,
Burger King and many more with their beautiful, well-designed, own locations.
someone intending to make an investment similar to the one we made
five or six years ago, it is essential to have yields... and even so, if you do
numbers, it won't give you the same. Currently, this land is worth almost a hundred thousand.

dollars, plus the building, you're already talking about almost a million dollars. In 1997
we got a space in the Metrocentro shopping mall and then one more
at the airport.
Nowadays, they are focused on the launch of another point of sale, also in
a shopping mall and, by the time this is published, they must
finalizing the last details to complete their franchise system and expand in
2005.
For Elizondo Cabrera, things have been unfolding: in 1990, he started as
coffee plantation; in 1992 it launches its first coffee brand Las Nubes into the market;
In 1993, the first Casa del Café location is opened and the first brand is discontinued.
In order to avoid confusion; in 1995 he builds the cafeteria, inspired by the
old house of the family farm. "In the period from 1991 to 1992, I went to study at
foreigner and I started working on the farm. It was a period of crisis like the
from now on, the prices were very low. I was financially suffocated, no
I could maintain the farm. Thus, I decided to start with the coffee distribution line.
Las Nubes, a small thing, but there I learned the entire process: cultivation,
benefited, toasted. I got into the whole process when I became a businesswoman. I
I have relied a lot on the SCAA for all my work. Casa del Café and Ruth also.
They are part of the Association of Specialty Coffees of Nicaragua (ACEN).

Business
A fundamental part of business success is interaction with consumers.
Therefore, at Casa del Café, they conduct frequent surveys among the clientele.
99% of customers -Ruth reveals- know me or a family member
coffee grower and that allows me to keep a close watch on the quality, there is
a lot of feedback with clients; I consider it fundamental.
Interestingly, when we do surveys, people say we are expensive,
we are conceived as an expensive place; but if you see our prices and the
you compare with similar Nicaraguan or Central American companies we
we found below average. At the airport in El Salvador they are much more
high prices compared to our store at the International Airport
from Managua. Even so, the people treat us like an exclusive local. I believe it has to
see with the purchasing power of the population.
In Managua - he warns - any place for food or drink is competition that
it opens up, because it takes away your regular customer. The segment of the population that
it can consume is very limited and when they open a new restaurant, everyone
others suffer losses in sales for a period, as the entire market
focus on the new place, fever for the new. For example, if there is an activity
very important, let's say in the theater, that's where people go and everything else
it remains empty. Nicaragua is not Costa Rica, where they have a very middle class.
strong, that contributes to strengthening the market niche of coffee shops and the
coffee bars. I believe that the rise of coffee shops has to do with the
take off from the economy. If you review what services there are now
nutritional with what we had when we started, has multiplied by it
less than five times.
The four people I started with are still with me and I hope they continue to be.
part of the growth towards the future - longs Ruth - It's been just over ten.
For years, among them is Ana Isabel, my barista. In general, I try to take care of my people.
and this results in not having much staff turnover, it occurs more in the
waiters. As for the operation, the functionality of the business, perhaps the most
It has been difficult to take care of the petty theft, but anyway, we are already 80 workers.

in the company. The farm is owned and Casa del Café is a family business, my
Sister, my dad, a nephew, and I are partners, I have been in charge of
business and I am the president. The interests of the café are not necessarily
the same interests as those of the estate. The estate wants to sell at the highest price
possible and Casa del Café wants to buy at more competitive prices.

Coffee
The farm's coffee is produced in a low-altitude area. It is considered good.
Washy is included in some of the blends of the Coffee House. The café
it has four different blends, the organic grain and everything is available in
medium roast, dark, and espresso. They also offer four varieties of
flavored grains (vanilla, hazelnut, Irish cream, and amaretto), in addition to the
different types of grinding.
An inevitable question was the following: Where do you drink coffee in Nicaragua? And
Ruth told us about the cup consumption habits of her
compatriots. "The problem is that in Nicaragua they drink instant coffee, in the
offices, in homes. It is a culture of instant coffee. It is only just now starting to
starting to develop the coffee culture, we are just beginning to talk about coffee
of quality; although we have always done educational work in
our cafeteria. Programs like the Cup of Excellence have come to
help us awaken people's curiosity for coffee. It's about to start
a campaign to promote domestic consumption as is happening in
other countries and that will help people find better coffee.
Regarding the characteristics of her food offer, Ruth specifies: "The menu
what I have developed is a lightweight menu that takes care of health. We emphasize
salads and dishes with low fat; even in the nacatamales we have
reduced fat to a minimum. Now that I just went to take a pastry course
I have realized that ours has many fewer calories in comparison.
with the pastry of other countries.
Back to the conditions of his farm, due to its low productivity, he
they also work with basil and some other things. In fact, by 2005, the farm
it will be enabled as a tourist destination; largely due to its wealth of
vegetation. In that regard, Ruth told us: "That farm belonged to my great-grandfather and to
I spent time receiving it without knowing anything about coffee. The technicians told me that it had

a lot of shade and we had to cut down the trees to produce coffee. Thank God for them
I said they were crazy. Thanks to the trees, shade has been preserved and the
richness of the ecosystem and since I live on the farm, I consider them my gardens; it is
full of birds. Today a bird tour is taking place and the idea is to make the
Coffee Tour. This will start at the café, at the Coffee House; from the cup to the
seed. The idea is to take advantage of the farm's proximity to Managua.

X-ray of a woman who fights

Ruth Elizondo Cabrera is a tall woman, with fine features, chestnut hair and
strong personality, full-time businesswoman, dedicated to carrying out the
excellence to the Coffee House. From this current perspective, it is difficult to imagine it.

caught up in one of those endless discussions tinged with Marxism-

Leninism that almost always led to nothing, however, their Sandinista affiliation
It was true. 'In reality, I collaborated with Sandinismo holding public office.
related to special education, with the education of disabled children.
I have training as a psychologist and educator, but yes, at one point I believed that
through my revolutionary participation I would contribute to creating a better life for
Nicaragua, so much so that I even donated my farm, only that, you
You know, the scandal involving prominent figures came to light.
revolutionary government appeared, inexplicably, as holders of
large tracts of land. It was a great disgrace. I requested the
return of the farm and, as I say, I have a star that protects me, because
I was able to recover it thanks to the fact that the original delivery had not been formalized.

there was nothing official yet and with a more or less simple procedure it was reversed
cession and I recovered it... This was in 1990, after the victory of Mrs. Violeta
Chamorro. I took back the farm and immediately put it to work. I had a feeling that...
rise in international prices, that's what I bet on, until in 94 the increase came
and from there, with a lot of work, a lot of effort, we find ourselves where we are now

we are. Nothing has been easy. Entering the revolutionary movement has
it cost the support of my family, who were traditional coffee growers, well-off,
they simply withdrew their support from me, so everything you see I have built with
my effort. Difficult? Yes, but it has also earned me the respect of the people.
Returning to politics? No, what I did, I did well, at that time. I helped to
change the lives of the disabled in this country. I was a founder of the Association
from Parents of Disabled Children. Two of my children, with syndrome of
Down were the first children to be integrated into secondary schools
regulars... A revolution. The very act of being a woman, a business owner, having
achievements in a machista society like the Nicaraguan one, is another
revolution. I have the spirit to change things. I have been married four times,
Another revolution! How fun, I hadn't thought of that, total revolutionary,
although it's complicated in a country like Nicaragua. As they say in Mexico
"small town, big hell", but I have survived.