JP Salvat, Paco's Coffee
The first thing owner and roaster JP Salvat does upon entering Paco’s Coffee roastery is offer to prepare a cup of coffee. This is not a simple courtesy. Hospitality is important in his culture, and he learned at an early age to prepare coffee for guests at his childhood home.
Though Salvat’s parents lived an hour apart in Colombia, they didn’t meet until immigrating to Miami. That’s where Salvat grew up and where his love of coffee was born. Naturally, the city’s vibrant Cuban coffee scene was an important influence. Although too young to drink it himself, Salvat prepared the elixir for others and learned to listen to feedback and adapt his technique to family and friends’ preferences.
After college Salvat spent time traveling in Europe, seeking out other coffee traditions. He explored coffee shops throughout the U.S. while on tour with his salsa band LPT, and was inspired by visits to his family’s home at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Colombia where coffee farms abound.
When he and his wife Mariah opened Southern Roots Filling Station in Riverside in 2014, roasting the coffee they served at the cafe was a goal for Salvat. He finally secured a location on King Street for the roastery in 2018 and adapted the space to meet his needs. At Paco’s Coffee, named for his paternal grandfather, Salvat takes pride in sourcing beans from farmers in the Sierra Nevada region. He intentionally sources his beans from farmers “doing good things,” Salvat says, “specifically lifting up underrepresented communities and using responsible growing practices.” This motivates him to honor the beans and roast them with love in a way that brings out the terroir of the mountains.
Salvat is also intentional about the music he listens to while going through the three-step roasting process; drying, maillard and development may have different tunes as background accompaniment. Sometimes he even plays his congas to the rhythm of the six-pound San Franciscan drum roaster. Curating playlists ahead of time to accompany his coffee brewing at Southern Roots is a beloved ritual.
Bringing people together is a passion of Salvat’s that manifests in his love for creating and sharing both coffee and music. He wants to expose people to new flavors and drinking experiences, presenting a style of coffee he hasn’t seen anywhere else. “If I can show my culture and upbringing in a cup of coffee, that's my number one goal,” says Salvat.
Find Paco’s Coffee at Southern Roots, Grassroots Natural Market, Native Sun Natural Foods Market, Cultivate, Buena Onda and pacoscoffee.com.
