Xochitl Coffee
Hola, welcome!
The Name
Xochitl (Pronounced “Soh-cheel” or ~ “So chill”) translates to “flower” in Nahuatl, the primary language of the native people of Mexico and parts of Central America, namely, the Aztecs. My grandma was the last person in our immediate family that was fluent in Nahuatl, which is now considered an endangered language. Despite its disappearance, a number of common words are derived from Nahuatl, including chocolate, avocado, and chipotle. In addition to being a beautiful name (Xochitl is a common girls name in Mexico and Central America), I hope this platform can do its part to introduce another piece of Nahuatl into the English vernacular, while also serving as an educational resource for anyone looking to learn more about the cup of coffee in their hand from my perspective as a Chicano American.
So it’s a blog?
Eh, kind of – it’s a blog with many intentions: to document my learning experience of making a decent cup of coffee at home, to share things that excite me about coffee (shops, events, sustainability trends, drinks, recipes, people!), and to pay homage to the people and places, from farming communities to importers to baristas, that make coffee beautiful.
Why Coffee?
Coffee is pretty awesome – it’s a morning pick me up, it’s probably fueled some of your life/work achievements, and it represents an opportunity to connect with people old and new. The vibes at coffee shops are second to none, and every shop is a unique representation of the community that surrounds it. There’s also something special about the number of hands that contribute to the cup of coffee that eventually lands in your hands that makes it such a communally uplifting product: farmers have the opportunity to impact taste through soil maintenance and washing process, roasters can bring out different flavors and aromas by controlling heat and airflow, and baristas can control which flavors and textures to highlight by tweaking water, pressure, and time while making your coffee.
Coffee was also my sense of community and connection when I needed it most. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, I was quarantined in a tiny studio, only rolling out of my bed to my desk chair for work, and periodically the kitchen for food. Like many, I became a hermit, avoiding people for fear of catching or spreading sickness and only venturing outside for the weekly grocery store and the coffee shop stops. Pre-pandemic, the grocery store wasn’t the most enjoyable (no matter how friendly the TJ’s employees were that day), and during the pandemic, it was filled with nervous energy as people raced to get out as fast as possible. Comparatively, my local coffee shop was completely different. Although indoor seating wasn’t permitted (initially), the baristas and setting of the local coffee shops created spaces of comfort. The big windows allowing natural light to radiate inside coupled with casual conversations and a reliably perfect cup of coffee were a reprieve from the anxiousness of the times. Even if it was only a 10 minute stop, a coffee shop visit never failed to lift my spirits (and energy, thanks caffeine!). As restrictions eased, I found myself spending more time at the coffee shops than before as I got to know the baristas, owners, and roasters and their stories. I even joined a few coffee run clubs to continue embracing the local coffee community vibe. Collectively, those experiences are what inspired my interest in learning more about coffee and the community it creates – hope to see you around!
