Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Lopez.
Zachary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started off my journey into the coffee industry like many other people, as a side job during college. I had been going to school for neuroscience at the time and as you can imagine, I had plenty of studying to do, most of which I found myself doing at various coffee shops around Los Angeles. There were so many intriguing aspects about the coffee industry to me but by far the most exciting was the ability to support and uplift farmers in producing countries. Highlighting the hard work that farmers do and creating an equitable supply chain was very important to me, so when the opportunity arose for me to work for a coffee shop like Groundwork Coffee, which had these values in mind, I jumped at the opportunity.
It really wasn’t long before I realized that I wanted to leave school for a career in coffee. The work brought me so much joy in so many different ways, from interacting with friendly guests to the scientific feel of trying to understand how different variables affect flavor, but most importantly striving to make a positive change towards a more fair trade between coffee producers and coffee consumers. I found myself immersed in my passion for coffee. I would work 40+ hours a week and on my days off I’d come into work and ask my more experienced peers coffee questions all day long, go home and study everything I could find pertaining to coffee. I always had a love for learning but this was a new level of obsession for me. And the more I learned about the industry, the more I felt that Groundwork’s mission no longer aligned as clearly with my own. So, I expanded my horizons by joining Blue Bottle Coffee’s team, with their focus on quality, hospitality and innovative spirit. Most of what I learned going forward was through my own research and testing that I did at home. Blue Bottle definitely helped me become more focused on creating a quality experience for our guests but I felt as though it didn’t focus enough on the aspects of coffee that I found truly compelling: the people that grew it.
A few years after leaving school and working in the industry, I started contemplating the idea of opening up a small mobile coffee project, to teach consumers more about the coffee they’re drinking and striving to improve the pitfalls of an industry rooted in a long history of inequality, colonialism, and greed. The appeal of building a business up from scratch with the sole idea of creating a model that supports an ethical and sustainable journey for coffee from the farm to the cup, brought me to where I am now.
Has it been a smooth road?
Saving up enough money to get the project started was definitely hard and took many long hours over the course of my career. I worked as hard as I could to be as knowledgeable about my craft as possible and my dedication led me into more positions of leadership within the companies I worked for. It was in these positions that I learned more about how a coffee company operates and allowed me to save up the money that I’d later use to start my business. I feel extremely privileged that I was able to do any of this at all.
Besides figuring out the awfully tricky permitting for street vending and the long hours of planning, my business fell together smoothly. It took some ambition, a hefty jeep and a little time to figure out how to equip a car with an espresso machine and clean water system, but it came together quicker than I imagined it would. I think the roughest part of the transition into being a business owner has been the constant vulnerability that I face as I put myself and my values out there day after day. I care so much for these coffees that I serve, the producers that grew them, and the industry I hope to make a positive impact in that seeing people not respond with the same enthusiasm can be disheartening. It can make me second guess myself, but the doubt doesn’t keep me from pushing forward so that I can make a positive impact in the coffee industry, however small it may be.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Amarante Coffee is a mobile coffee shop focusing on highlighting really special coffees and the really special people that grew those coffees. I work with a few roasters around the country that focus on curating a range of unique coffees as well as creating an equitable supply network with coffee producers.
There is an undercurrent of sustainability in every aspect of the business, because its so important to me. I serve all the drinks in reusable glass jars, and incentivize bringing your own cup with a discount. I use a house-made oat milk exclusively to reduce carbon emissions from livestock farming, and compost all the spent coffee grounds from service. I not only want to change consumer relationships with coffee, but also how they can incorporate sustainability into their everyday lives.
I chose the name Amarante because in Latin it means “unfading”, which was later used to name the resilient weed known as Amaranth. To me, Amaranth is more than just a weed, but a beautiful flower. It persists, it thrives, it is unfading. It evokes the same feeling that I love so much about coffee: it’s unfading brightness. I wanted my menu to showcase bright coffees and the stories behind them in a way that clearly illuminates just how special each coffee is.
The menu rotates every two weeks to showcase a coffee of a particular origin, often by a single producer, and always bursting with nuanced flavors. I set up the menu this way to give people a fully traceable coffee experience, one where the flavors of a particular coffee come across clearly and can be completely attributed to the people who grew it and the place from which it came.
I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to start a business that I have not had to compromise my values for the sake of staying afloat. I’ve been extremely lucky.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I honestly believe that my business is a byproduct of growing up and living in Los Angeles. I think as a city, street vending is engrained in our culture. For as long as I can remember I’ve been buying food from people on the streets here and often times it is some of the best food you can find around! For me, I feel as though LA is the perfect place to bring adventurous culinary endeavors to the streets.
Contact Info:
- Email: d008548@gmail.com
- Instagram: @amarante.coffee
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
