Coffee Insurrection Heroes
Chapter #50Jordi Mestre
Jordi Mestre Founder of Nomad Coffee in Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi MestreThe Interview · 12 Questions
Key Insights from Jordi Mestre
- Founded Nomad Coffee in London serving espresso from a street food cart before bringing the brand to Barcelona.
- Discovered specialty coffee at Giddy-up Coffee Cart by Old Street, London — a creamy, floral espresso that "did not taste like coffee at all."
- Favorite brewing method: batch brew on a Sage Precision Brewer, the most-used machine at the Nomad roastery.
- Best cup he has tasted: Burundi Gahahe — a long-standing "Nomad" coffee that gets better every year.
- Favourite origin: Kenya, especially the Faith State farm run by Celia (Nomad bought her entire production for two consecutive years).
- Recommends: Orbita Coffee (a Barcelona project by Claudia and Jorge, also of El Magnifico).
- Core philosophy: "Business can be done differently" — Nomad began as an "anti-business business" that barely made money but let him do what he loved.
- On COVID: small size and flexibility let Nomad pivot to online sales; the post-pandemic customer is now more demanding of quality and service.
- 10-year vision for specialty coffee: much more transparent, fair — and for specialty to become the default "coffee" standard, not a parallel scene.
- 10-year vision for himself: exploring the wine industry, given Catalonia's strong wine-producing culture.
Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.
My name is Jordi Mestre, I am from Barcelona, I work at Nomad Coffee, company I founded a few years ago back in London, when I was serving coffee on street food markets
When and why did coffee become important to you?
When living in London, I was amazed by the coffee shops that were opening in my area. They were super cozy, with plenty of creative cool people and the coffees where actually well-presented and tasted pretty good too!
Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?
Of course, I do, I’ll always remember. It was on really shitty rainy day; I got my bike and before work I headed to Giddy-up coffee cart by Old Street. I remember they used to discard one or two coffees before they got the recipe right. When I finally got my espresso it blew my mind, that cup of creamy floral drink did not taste like coffee at all.
What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?
I like riding my bike to work and sometimes I ride with my girlfriend too. Once I get to the roastery I like that our offices have massive windows and that my desk is so pretty, clear and empty of stuff. And I love seeing the Nomads at work a lot.
5- What’s your favorite brewing method and why?
Batch brew, we have a sage Precision Brewer at the roastery and it is the most used machine of all times, it makes such good coffee…
Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?
Difficult question, but I can tell you which coffee has been amazing for 5 years on a row, Burundi Gahahe, it’s a very NOMAD coffee, and each year is just gets better, is the juiciest Burundi coffee we’ve ever had and I ever tasted.
Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from? Why?
Kenya, I probably fall in love with Kenyan coffees and my early days in the coffee industry, they are something very special, that it obvious. 4 years ago, I finally made it to Kenya, fall in love even more with one farm, Faith State. That year we couldn’t get any coffee from Celia the owner, but since then we’ve been able to get her coffee and the last two years, we bought all her production, she does a fantastic job.
Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).
Orbita Coffee, it’s a great project run by Claudia and Jorge, they both work at El Magnifico and started their own roastery brand featuring very very special lots.
What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?
That business can be done differently, always. Business is a consequence of doing what we like. When I first started Nomad coffee as a cart and even when I opened the first shop in Barcelona, they were the anti-business business, I did not make any money at all, but I was doing the things I wanted to do, and I could afford to get myself some food and rent a room.
How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality?
We are a small business; hence we are flexible and easy to redirect our focus. During the strong Covid days we were focused on the online experience and sales. The new challenges of hospitality? I do believe that the specialty coffee shops were a few steps ahead the standard hospitality anyway. We are now back to what we used to do, but now the consumer seems to be more up for a good cup of coffee and some good service.
How do you see the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?
Much for transparent and fair. Also, I would like the specialty coffee shop not to be a parallel coffee scene but something we call coffee, because it becomes the quality standard of the local cafes.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Getting my nose into the wine industry, we are a wine producer country and region, I would so like to know more about it.
Any last word? Any tips or suggestions you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?
Best Cup
"Burundi Gahahe — "the juiciest Burundi coffee we've ever had and I ever tasted" (consistently exceptional for 5 years running)"
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Author
Tanya Nanetti is a specialty coffee journalist, writer, and coffee educator dedicated to documenting the people, places, and stories behind the global specialty coffee movement.She writes about specialty coffee shops, roasters, coffee origins, brewing techniques, sensory experiences, and the professionals shaping the future of coffee culture.As a certified coffee trainer and contributor to international coffee publications, including Barista Magazine and Standart Magazine, Tanya combines journalistic research with hands-on coffee knowledge to explore the evolution of third wave coffee worldwide.Through interviews, guides, and coffee stories, she helps connect coffee professionals and enthusiasts with the communities, craftsmanship, and innovation behind every cup.
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