A Mission for Mexican Coffee

As a university student in Xalapa, Veracruz, he and his classmates once built a model of the Burj Al Arab for an academic project. They laughed while imagining what life in Dubai might be like, joking that perhaps one day they would see it with their own eyes. Years later, life quietly turned that joke into reality.

Today, José Manuel Hernández García is introducing Mexican coffee to the Middle East, a journey he never planned, yet one that has become the defining chapter of his life.

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Born and raised in Xalapa, Veracruz, the 29-year-old is a mechatronics engineer by profession and an entrepreneur by choice. While business has taken him across borders, he says his identity remains firmly rooted in family, faith, technology, and the place he calls home.

Away from meetings and coffee exports, José describes himself as an introvert with a small circle of close friends. Ironically, coffee has become the very thing that repeatedly pushes him beyond his comfort zone, opening doors to conversations, relationships, and opportunities he never imagined possible.

His engineering background also shapes the way he approaches coffee. Faced with a problem, his instinct is to analyze it, improve it, and simplify it. Even in an industry built on tradition, José constantly looks for ways to integrate technology and innovation without sacrificing the authenticity of the product. Yet logic is only one part of who he is.

He also values silence, spirituality, and nature. Walking through quiet places, reading philosophy before bed, or diving into the ocean along the coast of Veracruz are moments that help him find balance amid the demands of entrepreneurship. "Sometimes we want to create, solve, and move forward all the time," he reflects, "but we also need to know when to pause."

That balance extends to the way he treats others. Having experienced the uncertainty of starting a business himself, José now enjoys mentoring fellow entrepreneurs whenever he can, hoping to provide the guidance he once wished he had received. However, coffee isn't simply a career, it is the landscape of his childhood.

Growing up near Coatepec, one of Mexico's most celebrated coffee-growing regions, coffee was woven into everyday life. As a child, he accompanied family members who picked coffee cherries for farms and producers. At home, drinking coffee with cookies from an early age was completely ordinary.

Some of his strongest memories are filled with the scent of freshly roasted coffee drifting from neighbors' homes, where small batches were prepared for local sale. At the time, it felt routine. Only years later did he realize how much dedication, patience, and physical labor existed behind every cup.

One memory remains especially vivid: sharing coffee with his family before sunrise, just before heading into the coffee fields. It is a simple moment that still defines what coffee means to him today. Ironically, José never expected coffee to carry him beyond Mexico.

He once imagined a future working for a technology company somewhere in northern Mexico, or perhaps moving to the United States to pursue new opportunities. Dubai was never part of the plan. But coffee had other ideas.

When he decided that Mexican coffee deserved stronger representation in the Middle East, he knew someone had to take the first step. That decision eventually led him to board his very first international flight. The journey itself became an education.

At the time, José spoke little English. Before leaving Mexico, he meticulously researched airport procedures, immigration questions, travel adapters, internet access, power banks, and every practical detail he could think of. Preparation became his way of managing uncertainty.

Still, nothing fully prepared him for standing inside an international airport surrounded entirely by English. A layover in Frankfurt became an unforgettable lesson. Unsure where to go, he even approached an airport officer believing his passport needed another stamp, only to be told to move along. Looking back, he laughs at the memory. At the time, however, every unfamiliar moment felt overwhelming.

Even ordering food or navigating terminals became challenges. Yet each small obstacle slowly built confidence.

Arriving in Dubai introduced an entirely new set of hurdles. Beyond language barriers, José had to learn how to present Mexican coffee in an unfamiliar market, earn trust from international buyers, and navigate the complexities of Emirati business regulations, trade licenses, and commercial structures. Entrepreneurship became less about eliminating fear and more about moving despite it. "You truly learn by losing the fear," he says.

Perhaps the hardest challenge wasn't business at all, it was distance. Living thousands of kilometers from Veracruz means conversations with family often depend on time zones, with one side beginning the day while the other prepares for bed. Yet rather than seeing himself as caught between two places, José now embraces the reality of belonging to both.

The journey, however, has never been free from doubt. Like many entrepreneurs building something from the ground up, José has questioned his decisions more than once. There were moments when he wondered if his coffee was truly good enough for the international market. But with time, he realized the issue was never the quality of the product.

"The problem wasn't the coffee," he says. "The problem was that Mexico wasn't yet strongly positioned as a coffee origin in that region."

Experience also taught him an important lesson about international business. Some buyers deliberately undervalue products in an attempt to negotiate lower prices. Early on, those conversations made him question himself. Later, he understood that they were simply part of the commercial landscape. His confidence in Mexican coffee never disappeared.

Beyond market challenges, external events also tested his resolve. Regional conflicts in the Middle East raised difficult questions about whether he should continue building his business in Dubai. Later, plans to expand commercial routes through Armenia toward Russia were complicated by geopolitical tensions, creating new uncertainties that no entrepreneur could fully control..Yet José has learned that doubt itself is not the enemy.

"What matters," he believes, "is whether you allow doubt to stop you, or whether you keep moving forward despite it."

It is a philosophy that echoes his very first international trip. Back then, he didn't have all the answers either. He prepared carefully, took every precaution he could, and boarded the plane anyway. Looking back, he sees entrepreneurship much the same way. That mindset is also reflected in the way he talks about Mexican coffee.

Its reputation is built on far more than national pride. Mexican coffees have earned recognition in international competitions, particularly across Europe, proving that the country has the quality to compete among the world's finest coffee origins.

Mexico's geography also gives it extraordinary diversity. Coffee is cultivated across producing regions such as Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero, with elevations ranging from around 600 to 1,800 meters above sea level. Each region offers its own distinct expression, from balanced cups with chocolate and caramel notes to vibrant citrus acidity, fruit-forward sweetness, and increasingly complex flavor profiles.

Yet despite that diversity, Mexican coffee remains relatively uncommon in the Middle East. Changing that reality has become one of José's missions.

Building a market, however, requires much more than producing exceptional coffee. It means understanding shipping routes, logistics, costs, and how to preserve quality throughout the journey. While air freight helped introduce Mexican coffee to new customers, José knows it cannot be the long-term solution because of its high costs.

Instead, he believes success will come through consistency. In his experience, business culture in the Middle East places enormous value on trust, personal relationships, and long-term commitment. Simply showing up, and continuing to show up, matters. Coffee has always represented something much deeper than business.

He was born into it. He grew up surrounded by coffee farms, family gatherings, and producers whose livelihoods depended on every harvest. Coffee wasn't something he discovered later in life; it had always been there.

As he grew older, he began to understand what a single cup truly represents: countless hands, years of experience, patience, hard work, and entire communities whose stories often remain unseen.

Today, coffee has become the bridge between his roots and the wider world. It has taken him farther than he ever imagined, introduced him to new cultures, and given him a way to tell the story of Mexico beyond its borders.

Living between two coffee cultures has also changed the way José understands coffee itself.

What surprised him most is not how different Latin America and the Middle East are, but how deeply both cultures value coffee, each in its own way.

In Mexico, coffee is closely tied to its origin. It begins with the land, the harvest, and the producers who dedicate their lives to growing it. It is part of everyday routines, shared over breakfast, family conversations, or quiet moments at home.

Traditional Mexican coffee culture also reflects these roots. Medium and medium-dark roasts remain the most common, while specialty coffee drinkers tend to appreciate lighter profiles. One of the country's most iconic preparations is café de olla, often brewed with cinnamon, piloncillo, and spices, creating a sweet and comforting cup that generations of Mexicans have grown up with.

The Middle East, however, offered José an entirely different perspective. There, he encountered Arabic coffee and Turkish coffee, prepared with much finer grinds and often infused with cardamom. Many cups carry lighter, sweeter, and more aromatic characteristics, sometimes reminding him of fruit infusions rather than the coffee profiles he knew growing up.

More importantly, he discovered that coffee in the Middle East is far more than a beverage. Serving coffee is a gesture of hospitality, respect, and friendship. It opens conversations, welcomes guests, and carries a ceremonial significance that immediately caught his attention.

Experiencing both worlds has revealed how coffee can tell completely different cultural stories for him. In Mexico, it speaks about family, producers, and the countryside. In the Middle East, it speaks about hospitality, trust, and human connection.

Living in Dubai has also reshaped the way he sees his own country. Distance has made him appreciate Mexico in ways he never did while living there. Products that once felt ordinary suddenly became difficult to find abroad, reminding him of the country's richness, not only in coffee, but also in its landscapes, food, traditions, and culture.

"Sometimes," he reflects, "you only realize what your country has when you are far away from it."

Dubai has transformed him personally as well. He describes the city as a place that encourages people to think bigger and execute faster. Ideas that might be considered unrealistic elsewhere are often treated as genuine possibilities. That environment has given him what he calls a "mindset of possibility", the belief that with enough preparation, commitment, and execution, ambitious ideas can become reality.

Among the many experiences that shaped that mindset, one journey remains especially unforgettable. Early in his mission to promote Mexican coffee, José received a message from coffee producers in the Córdoba region of Veracruz. They wanted to meet and discuss their farms, their coffee, and the challenges they faced. The destination was nearly five hours from Xalapa, deep in the mountains where phone signals were scarce.

Without knowing exactly what awaited them, José and his team left before sunrise, carrying nothing more than determination, and a thermos of coffee.

Heavy rain followed them almost the entire drive. At one point, the car briefly lost stability on the wet roads, reminding everyone just how difficult the journey had become. But they continued.

When they finally arrived, they were met by something they never expected. Around 158 coffee producer leaders were waiting.

They welcomed the visitors with coffee from their own harvests and homemade cookies before everyone sat down to talk. Instead of giving lectures or presenting solutions, José spent the day listening, to their concerns, their needs, and the realities they faced every season.

That conversation became the beginning of an ongoing relationship. Together with collaborators and professionals, José later helped organize mentorships aimed at improving coffee quality and creating new opportunities for producers. Years later, those connections remain strong.

Looking back, he believes that journey taught him one of the most important lessons of his career. Mexican coffee, he says, cannot be understood from behind a desk.

It can only be understood by visiting the farms, listening to producers, walking the land, and witnessing firsthand the people whose work gives every cup its meaning. Looking ahead, José's ambitions extend far beyond exporting coffee.

Through Casa Tostadora Briones, he hopes to build something that represents Mexico itself, a brand that proudly carries the country's coffee-growing heritage while placing producers at the center of the story.

Too often, he believes, coffee companies celebrate their brands while the people who grow the coffee remain invisible. Casa Tostadora Briones was created with a different philosophy: to highlight producers, understand their realities, and contribute to the communities behind every harvest. More importantly, José wants the work to endure.

"I don't want this to be just a beautiful idea," he says. "It has to evolve, adapt, and continue opening a path for Mexican coffee."

That vision has gradually grown beyond national borders. After working with coffee producers across the region, José realized the challenges facing Mexico are often shared by the rest of Latin America. That realization inspired Latam Coffee Hub, a platform based in Dubai that aims to help more Latin American producers access the Middle Eastern market and create meaningful commercial opportunities.

The legacy is clear: not only to represent Mexico with pride, but to help open doors for future generations of producers across Latin America. The journey has also transformed his understanding of entrepreneurship.

José believes resilience, discipline, and emotional intelligence cannot truly be learned from classrooms or business books. They are developed through experience, through uncertainty, difficult decisions, setbacks, and moments when giving up feels easier than continuing.

"You don't always feel ready," he says. "But you have to keep moving forward anyway."

Entrepreneurship has taught him to be more patient, to manage fear instead of reacting to it, and to accept that meaningful results rarely happen overnight. Those lessons continue to shape his vision for Mexican coffee on the global stage.

He hopes the industry will eventually move beyond being seen as a secondary origin. Mexico already possesses exceptional quality, remarkable diversity, and generations of experienced producers. The challenge, he believes, is no longer the coffee itself but how the country presents it to the world.

That means investing not only in production, but also in branding, communication, logistics, roasting, packaging, traceability, and long-term commercial relationships. José also believes Latin American producers must work together more closely.

"We have extraordinary products," he says, "but we can achieve much more if we support one another."

While the United States and Europe will remain important destinations, he sees enormous opportunities in emerging markets such as the Middle East, where Mexican coffee still has plenty of room to grow. Ultimately, he hopes that when people speak about the world's great coffee origins, Mexico will stand confidently alongside the very best—not only because of its coffee, but because of the people and stories behind it.

When asked what message he would leave for coffee lovers, producers, and aspiring entrepreneurs, José returns to the same values that have guided his own journey. To coffee drinkers, he encourages curiosity. Explore different origins, different processing methods, and different brewing traditions. Whether it's discovering specialty coffees in Mexico, experiencing café de olla, or appreciating Arabica's diverse flavor profiles, every cup offers an opportunity to learn something new. To producers, his message is equally heartfelt.

Never underestimate the value of your work. Believe in what you grow, continue improving your craft, and never stop learning about your land, your varieties, and your coffee. For entrepreneurs, his advice is simple. Don't wait for the perfect moment.

Preparation matters, but perfection can become an excuse for never beginning. Progress belongs to those willing to take the first step, even before every answer is clear. Above all, José believes in treating people with humility and respect.

"You never know," he says, "when someone you helped today may become part of your journey tomorrow."

If given the chance to introduce someone to Mexico's coffee culture, José wouldn't begin with a café. He would begin in Veracruz.

First, he would walk visitors through the streets of his hometown, Xalapa, introducing its museums, artistic heritage, and cultural life before making the short journey to nearby Coatepec, where the aroma of freshly roasted coffee fills the air throughout the day.

From there, he would head into the coffee farms themselves, allowing visitors to witness the work behind every harvest and meet the producers whose dedication makes each cup possible.

The experience, naturally, would begin with a homemade café de olla prepared by his grandmother, a cup filled with cinnamon, tradition, and family memories. It would continue with the iconic Veracruz café lechero, before ending with one of his personal favorites: a citrus-forward coffee from Xico, Veracruz, brewed as a V60.

That journey captures everything Mexican coffee represents. Family. Tradition. Origin. Craft. And perhaps, one day, it won't remain just an idea.

Perhaps coffee lovers from around the world will travel to Veracruz, walk those same farms, meet those same producers, and experience firsthand the story he has spent years sharing with the world. (Hudes Magazine)