The Story
Nomad Coffee’s journey began in London in 2011, when Jordi Mestre, who had been working in the city’s best coffee shops for two years, decided to put his experience into practice by starting his own coffee cart. As a nomadic barista, he served coffee in some of London’s most legendary markets , laying the foundation for what would become one of Barcelona’s most influential specialty coffee roasters.
The following year, Jordi’s competitive spirit emerged when he won first place at Spain’s National Barista Championship in Madrid, before reaching 15th place at the World Barista Championship in Vienna. This achievement opened doors to his first roasting position at Nude Coffee Roasters in East London , where he honed the technical skills that would later define Nomad’s approach to coffee.
After winning the Spanish championship again in 2013, Jordi sold his London coffee cart and returned to Barcelona to open Nomad Coffee Lab in 2014 — the first specialty coffee shop in the city . The evolution continued rapidly: the Roaster’s Home opened in Poblenou in 2015, followed by Nomad Every Day in Raval in 2016 . Even the pandemic couldn’t slow their momentum, with the new Cal Nomad roastery and headquarters launching in 2020 , providing expanded production capacity and space for events and training.
Sourcing & Relationships
Nomad’s sourcing philosophy centers on building genuine, long-term partnerships with producers rather than transactional commodity purchases. They maintain a direct trade relationship with producer Diego Robelo in Costa Rica, marking their sixth consecutive year of collaboration . This commitment to sustained partnerships exemplifies their approach to ethical sourcing.
Francisco González, Nomad’s Head of Coffee, manages producer relationships, visiting farms, selecting green beans, developing experimental processes with producers, and overseeing the entire supply chain from import to roasting . They work with Sucafina as their primary importer, leveraging years of collaboration to gain early access to exceptional coffees, while maintaining relationships across multiple origins including El Salvador, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Burundi .
In 2018, Nomad demonstrated their commitment to transparency by presenting their first Transparency Report , offering customers insight into their sourcing practices and pricing. Their approach goes beyond simple direct trade labels, focusing on what Jordi calls their motto: “sharing is caring” — a philosophy that extends to their training programs and knowledge sharing with the broader coffee community.
Roasting Philosophy
Nomad’s roasting philosophy balances precision with accessibility, developing profiles that work for both specialized coffee enthusiasts and everyday consumers. The result is a brand recognized for offering specialty coffees roasted in-house, with well-developed profiles, maximum consistency and a very clear identity in both espresso and filter . Their systematic approach includes a unique coding system on their packaging where oversized letters indicate coffee type (E=Espresso, F=Filter, D=Decaf), country, and region , making technical information immediately accessible.
Their flagship coffee, Chambakú, exemplifies this philosophy. This Colombian coffee is exclusively prepared under Nomad standards, involving manual harvesting of ripe cherries, 24-hour anaerobic fermentation in cherries, pulping, and another 24-hour fermentation in water tanks . The drying process uses mechanical silos for five days, with careful temperature control ensuring the parchment mass doesn’t exceed 35°C .
Innovation remains central to their roasting approach. In 2023, Nomad launched Spain’s first instant specialty coffee, choosing high-quality Chambakú beans grown at 1,450-1,600 meters in Caldas, Colombia, by producer Juan Felipe Restrepo . This demonstrates their commitment to elevating even everyday coffee formats without compromising their quality standards.
What to Try
Chambakú stands as Nomad’s signature offering and essential starting point. Described as “our beloved coffee, awaited every season,” it features chocolatey fragrance, sugary notes and California nuts, with sweet, creamy, chocolate, raisin and date aftertaste . The Restrepo family delivers what’s possibly Nomad’s most fun house espresso year after year , making it ideal for both espresso and milk-based drinks.
For filter coffee enthusiasts, Peru Churupallana offers “clear, distinct and sweet” flavor profiles , providing an excellent contrast to Chambakú’s chocolatey richness. Hambela from Ethiopia presents “cocoa nibs, cherry, blueberries” notes, representing their African offerings with characteristic bright, fruit-forward characteristics.
For newcomers to specialty coffee, Nomad recommends their Balanced Session Espresso as “round and stable” — easy and creamy with notes of chocolate and hints of ripe fruit. For more adventurous palates, their filter offerings include “bolder options that are more edgy and diverse,” featuring experimental processes and even infused coffees that showcase playful, fruity and flowery profiles . Their seasonal specialties and competition coffees provide opportunities to explore cutting-edge processing techniques and rare varietals.