The new coffee shop “KAFFE’i“, in downtown Asunción, has proved to be a massive hit with people from all over the world! The Asunción Times sat down with the owners to find out more about the inspiration for the new venue, and the story behind KAFFE’i Cafe.
The name ‘KAFFE’i is a well thought out name and has different meanings. One of them is that the letter ‘i’ is small. What is the significance of this ‘small’ difference in Paraguay? “Coffee is expensive, particular filtered coffee from fresh beans, so our filtered coffee is small and still affordable for the people. Also my name in Chinese is Guan-Jun, which means ‘the champion’ or ‘number one’. The ‘i’ also stands for the number 1. So KAFFE’i is a combination between me and Paraguay”.
The owner goes on to explain the reason why he opened this beautiful coffee place. “I went to high school in Taiwan, and in that country coffee is a big part of the culture. I got introduced by filtered coffee and just got the idea that the coffee industry in Paraguay could be improved. Until now, the coffee of Paraguay is commercial and it is very difficult to find good quality, filtered coffee. With my cafeteria I hope to introduce good quality filtered coffee to the people and change the culture”
While the world was dealing with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, he went back to Taiwan – one of the countries that was affected least by Covid. He was able to do many courses and become a specialist in coffee. “In that period I studied and followed courses. Now I have more then 5 certifications. For example I have the certification SA, which stands for Specialist coffee Association and with the CQI, the Coffee Quality Institute, I got the certification for the grader. I am the first and only person in Paraguay with that certification”.
It took him and his wife 8 months to renovate the building where KAFFE’i Cafe is located. The architecture is a mix between Paraguay and Asia, and that will instantly be noticed when you enter the cafeteria. It’s not just the big first impression of the cafeteria that will delight you, it’s also the little details and the atmosphere makes you feel relaxed as soon as you enter. For everybody that feels stressed: a soon as you enter this cafeteria, you will feel totally unstressed!
But the intention is not to simply out-do other local cafeterias – the owners want to influence others to improve the coffee scene in Asunción. “It is not my intention to compete with other places where they sell coffee, I would like to work with them together to introduce and improve the coffee culture in this country”.
One of the most expensive investments was the coffee machine itself. He says his wife initially didn’t understand why he was so insistent on having this expensive machine. But this machine has the highest quality – and you can taste that. After trying the coffee from the machine, his wife was also insistent that they absolutely needed it!
“My cafetaria isn’t a restaurant where breakfast or a regular lunch is served. It is a cafeteria where people will come to really enjoy there coffee in a relaxing atmosphere. I did a lot of research and tried many different filtered coffees. From the two that I served now, I try to adjust to the people here and serve a filtered coffee that is similar to the coffee they are use to drink but with a better quality. Doing this I hope to inspire the people and got them introduced to filtered coffee and the understanding that the process of making coffee and drinking coffee can be a ritual”.
“Coffee is just more than coffee. It brings people together and can been seen as something social. One of the most important thing is the preparation of the coffee. I do that with passion. I drink more or less five cups of coffee a day but I prefer to make a coffee for others”.
At the age of 32 he has opened KAFFE’i Cafe as his first cafeteria, but in the future he would love to open more. “Also in the future I will give courses to others that would like to have a certificate for the coffee branch, and sell more different coffee beans from all over the world.” And hopefully I can bring a different coffee culture in Paraguay”.
