Note: We are beginning a semi-regular series where our posts will be curated interviews with people engaged in coffee across Milwaukee. Our goal is to highlight their stories and experiences, and share their love of coffee with you all. These interviews have been edited, but also run by those whose voice we are highlighting.
A bit south outside downtown Milwaukee lies a quaint house on the edge of a quiet park with the lake in the not-too-distant background. Entering La Finca Coffeehouse in St. Francis, one is immediately hit by the cozy vibes that resonate across the space. This feeling of warmth and authenticity only becomes truer as you look at the menu, get your cup of coffee in a clay mug, and take note of the music streaming overhead.
Quite simply, it is one of our favorite places - in many ways unique and welcoming beyond that of many of the wonderful places across the city.
With this in mind, we decided that it would be great to start off our MKE Coffee Stories series by highlighting this place and one of its Co-owners, Lizeth Zorrilla Sanchez. Just a few days ago, Saúl sat down with her to learn more about her background, her love of coffee, and what La Finca is all about. For more on what they are doing, check out their social media and events page.
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Saúl:I think we'll just straight up start with the first question, what's your favorite coffee from the menu of La Finca?
Lizeth: So it's gonna be ironic. Yeah, I didn't drink coffee before this. My thing with coffee is [that], caffeine makes me really jittery. And growing up, I remember, my dad was [in] AA. We would go with him to the meetings, and I always wanted to pour myself the self-serve coffee. It was mostly cream. It just felt like a bunch of sugar. So, I was like seven years old running around with a bunch of sugar. But yeah, it was always just too much caffeine for me. I get really jittery and I can’t go to sleep.
But since we're here, since having [La Finca], I always try everything. If I really need the caffeine that day, just because I've had so much on my plate, my go to is a Mocha. I love chocolate. I love experimenting with different mocha bases, whether it's like a syrup or a powder. Just kind of being able to play with that.
Saúl: I guess I was assuming you drink coffee, and that everyone that owns a coffee shop loves coffee. It's so cool. I was gonna ask, what's your preferred method of brewing, but…
Lizeth: I do have a preferred method for making coffee, pour overs. I love the aroma. I love the ambiance and the technicality with it. When Jeanette and I met and started thinking about opening a coffee shop. I really wanted to impress her and be like, I know exactly what I'm doing. Not having coffee before that--it was a big ask. But I started doing pour overs at home and experimenting with different spaces. I wanted to get coffee in a more commercial setting. And my favorite to date is still doing the Oaxaca spices that we do. The cinnamon, star anise and cloves, and a pourover. You get the aroma--you get that infusion, and it's always so cool to me. And I love it. So, anytime I can make one, I'm like I got it.
Saúl: I’ve heard that you now have a roaster. Are there initial ideas that you kind of want to try out when building like a profile? Like, is there anything you are thinking of adding?
Lizeth: Yes, there is a coffee bean that we can get from our farm called Peregrino (Pilgrim). And my dad talks about it as if it's the gold standard of coffee. We can't get it to roast because the beans are so small that a lot of times it will get caught in the machine and it could damage it. Or you won't get an even profile. We roast with Anodyne [and] they're always like, we can’t do it.
But because this is a smaller batch, I do want to attempt to roast and just kind of see what kind of profile we can get from it. I'm still thinking of sticking with the medium roast for that one just to kind of see it in its balanced state. We've never done a dark roast or lighter roast. We've had suggestions from the community that they want to see green coffee extract. So maybe playing around with that and seeing the lightest roast possible that we can get out of it and what that will do to our coffee.
Saúl: The next question I have is, what do you think about Milwaukee's coffee scene?
Lizeth: I think we're at a really amazing point that we're seeing coffee not only become more accessible and just more out there, but in a more different way than just like Starbucks or the quick grab and go. Some key players…I'm looking at what Discourse is doing. I think they're amazing with trying different infusions, different elements of it. I think it's also gaining back the mentality of I'm gonna go sit down for a cup of coffee to meet up with a friend to go over some business. You know, there's so many different ways to unite over coffee.
Saúl: It sounds like you really love this work and area. What would you say you like about working in the coffee business?
Lizeth: What I love about the coffee business is that you can choose any field and make it relate to coffee. I just went to the Specialty Coffee Association Expo this last weekend. If you haven't gone, I highly recommend it. Now they're introducing a world of coffee where you can travel to other countries and have a similar experience. I love that they really focus on the culture of that city to bring those practices forward.
But the SCA does a lot with sustainability efforts, and something that's important to me is having that farmer representation in all of the areas of coffee, especially because we get our coffee from our grandfather's farm in Mexico. So for us, it was simply representing him and what we do. But as we grow, we definitely want to do the same thing and so the question is, how can we? I've made a lot of connections with farmers and the over the weekend, I found a woman farmer in Colombia and women farmers in the Dominican Republic, and they're like, we will send you a copy directly. Beautiful. That's how I want it to work. I know there's no middleman. They're getting exactly what they're asking for, for their pricing and making it fair and making it accessible. And I think that's important.
My experience over the last six years, it also has shown me about hiring. I have a staff of 12. Now, what are they asking for? What do they need? So also learning about my community's desires for a work ethic and their sustainable futures. For me, a huge priority is also my community. What do they want from a little coffee shop that they can come and enjoy here, or that they can get from us. And that's why we do things like the Mercadito. We have a really great partnership with the suicide prevention organization. And we've been able to make meaningful connections that way. So things like that, they might not always be at the forefront of coffee. But all of these connections are what helps us grow and helps us really grow more roots in this community. I love that.
Saúl: It's great. Because it makes me think like, the coffee shop is not only a place where you go to study or meet up with a friend. It's a space where you can connect with a nonprofit or organization. Or like its local businesses in Milwaukee. So I think that's really remarkable, and you don't see that in a lot of different coffee shops. It's usually that you come in, you get a coffee, and then you either stay and study or leave. It goes back to that sustainability aspect of it. That makes me think about that. Farm to the cup of coffee, and everything that's involved.
Lizeth: I think there's a lot of value behind that too. I was born in Mexico, but living in the United States. It's a lot of demand and a lot of I need this and I need to get going about my day. But what was underlying the idea of La Finca was my sister, Janeth, and I. We had DACA and we were granted Advance Parole to travel back to Mexico. We took three weeks to visit my father's family in Oaxaca. From the plane arriving, I already had tears in my eyes. I felt a deep connection and I was like, I'm missing this. We stayed with my great aunt in her house, and every evening she would bring up a cup of tea. And it was like, tell me what you saw today. Tell me what you experienced. It was so relaxing. There was a way to step back and really appreciate things.
And that's what we were hoping to accomplish. So we bring clay pots, and we want people to just take a deep breath and be like, I am appreciative of today because of whatever. And I see it sometimes when I'm at the register, or if I'm sitting out here, I can see people connecting and like just that sigh of relief. That's what I wanted to accomplish and I see it, and I'm very thankful for that. But it's my grandfather's cup of coffee, you know? So how can I further promote him? Yes, you know, and then it's going to change when we bring other coffees from other farms. I want to know their story. Why are they doing what they do? How can we sustain this farm? How does it sustain them as a family or as an individual or their communities, and then being able to bridge those gaps and further that communication?
Saúl: Thank you for sharing. That's a really powerful story that speaks volumes of the shop because it reflects that love when you went back to Mexico. I've experienced it in a similar way. When I go back from Mexico, it's like your body knows. It's such a--I don't know, there's something about like the reconnection to your birthplace or to that home. So I think that's a really powerful method.
Lizeth: I think that should be the priority. Where you shop has a huge impact. The more we support our local economy at the base level. I think that should be a priority for our communities. But taking it a step further is like, where are those local people getting their products from? We only use coffee from Oaxaca right now. So you know exactly where it's coming from. We pay anywhere between like four to five dollars a pound for a coffee and that's considered pretty high. But I don't mess around with what they're asking of us. They know their farm. They know what it takes us. That's their price. I'm not going to negotiate with them on that. Shipping can be expensive. Shipping can be tricky, especially because we're in the Midwest. We don't have a port where we can ship a whole container of it. And if we did, we'd still have to send out a truck to go pick it up. So that's complicated. But I'm trying to figure that out because I'd love to be able to do retail now with the machine.
But yeah, I think everybody should always question, what am I drinking? Where's this coming from? Is it a clean source? Here, you know you're supporting our family, you're supporting people that live in your community with their wages. I think all of that plays a role into what I can offer them as well. I'm not money driven. I don't do this to put more money in my pocket. I give wage wage increases every year. My lowest paid employee, just from wages alone, is like 16 or 17 an hour. With tips they make about 21 an hour. That's not really common for a barista, you know. But that's important because they're trying to go to school, they're trying to better their community, and I just want to be a stepping stone for them. I know they're not gonna want to be a barista the rest of their life.
Saúl: From these different experiences and in your work, do you have a favorite story related to coffee that you want to share?
Lizeth: So I'm a pretty political person. I grew up going to Voces de la Frontera, marching [and] trying to fight for what I thought was just a simple way of life. One of my first experiences here was that we did get a lot of pushback. Like, why are you opening something kind of far away from the community. I grew up in the south side. I wanted to be on the south side. But I also went to high school at Thomas Moore and I saw a need for more diversity in this area.
One of my experiences was before we even opened up. My dad gets so excited when we talk about La Finca. And he loves--if you ever see him walking around here, he usually has a bag of green beans because he loves talking about the farm he grew up in. And there was a guy that had come here wondering about the space when it was going to open. My dad went up to him and was like, this is coffee from my grandfather or from my father's farm. We're very excited. We should be opening up in October. After he heard my dad, that guy asks about his passport. He's like, can I see your passport? And I overheard him. I was doing some work over here, and I went up to the door. And my dad was like, well show me your passport. Where are you from? I looked at the guy, and I'm like, that's really disrespectful. We're trying to do something great for the community here. Why don't you come back when we're open? That was my first instance of feeling like this might not be so easy.
I've heard other comments, but that just comes with the territory, unfortunately. I feel like we've made a significant amount of impact that those stories were for like less than a year. I'm excited to get to a point where it's accepted, or, you know, it's not an issue. I think that relates to coffee. My background has been in organizing. I started with Voces De La Frontera, and I went to work with United. We Dream at the national level, and it was part of their National Coordinating Committee. I had the Midwest and I went to educate and provide resources. I remember the day that DACA was announced. We had done a shutdown of some streets in L.A. and I was sitting on the ground, linking arms with people, and then everybody was like, it passed. And I had to excuse myself. I was like, Dad, it passed, we did it, you know, and he couldn't believe it. He's like, what does that mean? What are we going to do now? Then it slowly started to roll out. But that was such a huge accomplishment to be a part of, and to be where I was at that moment that made it more meaningful for me. Of course, he was at home drinking his coffee.
Saúl: I think it just highlights how we show up as individuals in this space when it comes to the coffee business. I think that's really important to highlight that our identities and sometimes our hopes and desires are a part of it. Like, having a coffee shop that is a real Mexican space, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it will sometimes create some tension. It's going back to that root for that right stuff, like your grandpa, your dad, and taking all of that. The bad, but also the good. I think you're a big testament to that struggle that a lot of--I work in education--a lot of students and a lot of young people are going through every day. I think all of this also kind of goes back to the next question I had, how, how has the community responded to your coffee shop?
Lizeth: I think we've had a really positive result. There are a couple of examples I can give you. There was an older lady who would come walking. She would walk with her husband, and stop here for a hot chocolate or lemonade, depending on how warm the weather was. Maybe three weeks ago, she stopped by, and she brought us some flowers. She's like, my husband passed away, but I wanted you to have these flowers from the service, because this was his favorite place to stop after a walk. And of course, I'm crying in the back, like, thank you for sharing that with me. But it's powerful to be a memorable place in things like a walk.
During COVID, we had to close down. We were closed for two months. But during that time, I was still able to pay my employees that were on staff with me at the time. After that, we decided to open drive thru only and we did that for a year. The community showed up. They were coming to grab their coffee, they brought their lawn chairs, and went to sit in the park in the front. Just watching them from inside, I was like, what a beautiful thing to still come out here. To keep yourself like distant but protected within your own circle, but still support something. That to me was a moment of recognizing we're doing something right.
Saúl: Really powerful stories. I think my last question is, what does coffee mean to you?
Lizeth: For me now, coffee is my lifestyle. Ironic, right? I still don't drink much. But it's such a vehicle to me. It lets me connect. It lets me build a secure place. It lets me see future generations’ progress and growth. It's everything. The industry is so huge, but I still feel so small anytime I step into those bigger places. And I love that. I always want to feel that. I always want to feel like, what more can I absorb? And coffee drives me there.
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La Finca hosts community events on weekends. They offer great pastries and food selection. But more importantly, they offer Latinx folk in the Milwaukee area a place to chat and be themselves. Lizeth and Janeth have built a coffee shop that is full of love for their family and their community. It is evident that when you find La Finca, you will find a bit of this yourself.
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