Specialty coffee, to which it is not necessary to add sugar or saccharin, served by a barista, and not by a waiter, who explains to the customer the origin of the product, the treatment it has had and serves it, either to drink at the moment or to take away. This is the reason for being of East Crema Coffee, a company with Spanish capital that has decided to promote this type of business in the center of large cities.
The chain is about to disembark in Barcelona. It will do so next year and its premium cafes will be located in the city center. It already has premises in Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao and Seville, and is now moving forward with its commitment to Catalonia.
Alberto Velarte, founder of the company, explains that he hopes to close 2023 with around fifteen locations in operation. This year its turnover will be around 1.5 million euros and by 2024 it hopes to multiply it by four. “We are a careful and customer-focused cafeteria,” he says. It is a difference with competitors like Starbucks, he says. “We sell an experience that involves quality coffee.” First of all, “we buy coffee at origin, in Colombia, Brazil, Burundi or Ethiopia.” Next, “we toast it.” “And we serve it, interacting with the customer,” adds Velarte.
The idea for the company arose from a trip to Japan in 2016. These types of cafes are very widespread there. Also in the United States. And Velarde decided to import the idea to Spain. The firm has been operational for two years and it is now that the first investors have entered. This month they plan to close a financing round of one million euros.
The company’s motto is “to spread the culture of specialty coffee to all those people who seek and want to enjoy a good product.” For Velarte, the ideal would be to go to the chain’s cafes to enjoy the overall experience. However, the company also offers a subscription service to customers to get their product to them. There are three options: three months, six or one year.
On each bag of the company’s coffee there is a text that summarizes its spirit: “Enjoying a good cup of coffee is an experience. It is knowing the origins that we have selected. It is feeling the effort that coffee farmers dedicate to each harvest. It is discovering the emotion and the selection of the beans that we are going to roast. It is living the passion that moves us at East Crema Coffee to offer you the best specialty coffee we can serve. From the earth to our hands and now also to yours.”
