café passmar

passmar is a classic, the og of coffee here in cdmx. back when mexicans only drank instant coffee with a bunch of sugar, salvador introduced a new way to drink coffee. just the fact that his coffee shop is in a mercado (market), shows that he really had to cater to the peoples needs, and slowly introduce them to specialty coffee. his whole operation is in the mercado, espresso bar, roastery, and even restaurant (they serve the best chilaquiles i’ve tried in the city, so far). a funny story i read in drift magazine is that when salvador had his first stand, he wanted to expand but couldn’t because he had just bought a new car, so he offered to trade his newly purchased car to the owner of the stand next to him, and they agreed. this story was confirmed by joyce, a long time employee at passmar, and someone that has worked very closely with salvador for years.

originally, i was going to meet with salvador, which i was very surprised and excited and nervous about. this guy has been in the coffee game for sooooooo long, and for me, a rookie, to be able to meet and have a coffee with him was something i’d never thought about. well, i didn’t anyways haha. i mean, we could’ve, but he was just about to start roasting, and he doesn’t speak english well, and i don’t speak spanish. so i left him to do his thing while i chatted with joyce. joyce was pleasant to chat with, and he had alot of knowledge, not only about salvador and passmar, but about coffee too (he plans on opening his own shop and roasting his own beans).

we sat in the restaurant part and enjoyed a coffee together, i had a cappuccino. man, it was delicious. strong, bold, and the froth was just perfect. we talked about how salvador started out, roasting beans from his hometown guerrero, how he, and his wife, have won countless barista, latte, and roasting championships. how his wife trained him for the competitions, and then when she decided to compete, she won. there is just so much greatness within this coffee shop that even when their baristas compete, they also place high. but salvador doesn’t just keep all this knowledge to himself, he shares it. i love the connection between him and carlos de la torre from avellaneda. when carlos was just starting out and trying to bring third wave coffee to mexico, he worked closely with salvador, learning how to roast, and get the most out of every bean. and even until this day, they still work closely together. i like the kinds of people that want to share their knowledge to better a skill or trade, instead of keeping it all to themselves. the industry cant grow if only one person is only doing it, but salvador has shared his gift with many young baristas and coffee lovers to expand this beautiful industry, so that specialty coffee in mexico can grow.

honestly, i can go on and on and on about how much i love passmar, but all you have to do is go there, order chilaquiles rojas and a french press, and you’ll know exactly what i’m talking about.