
Ilustre Specialty Coffees
Curator’s note
Ilustre names its growers, a dozen of them, down to Carlos Cadena and the two family farms behind his coffee, Finca Pocitos and the Finca Huehuetepan that belongs to his mother. A Gesha in the catalog carries his name, which is what honoring a grower looks like once it leaves the mission statement.
Espresso over lemonade from the Signature list, ordered cold, warm, or extra hot.
A bagel with strawberry jam and cream cheese.
The coffee
Roasting runs on Stronghold machines out of South Korea under a head roaster named Rudy, who has been on Taza de Excelencia México's official roasting team three years running. Escondido pours a full menu of specialty drinks plus pour-overs from coffees chosen in Mexico and further afield, and the bags print origin down to La Reserva's washed typica and bourbon at 1,250 to 1,600 meters.
- La Reserva Ganadora de Premio Sabor
- Medium
- Typica, Bourbon
- Washed
brown sugar · almond · chocolate
- Morning Blend
- Medium
caramel · malt · almond · dark chocolate
- Costa Rica Gesha Experimental
- Medium-light
- Gesha
- Johel Monge Naranjo
jasmine · hibiscus · tropical
The room
A single suite on North Broadway, the main commercial street through town, open eight to three and closed Mondays. Ilustre's camera stays on the coffee and almost never turns to its own rooms, so this one is left for whoever walks in to see first.
The vibe
Photos
People
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