He is something of a young star amongst the entrepreneurs of Mallorca. Enrique Salar is someone whose whole life revolves around the little brown bean, i.e. coffee.
Before him, the grandfather and father of this 31-year-old carried on trade with this stimulant. However, Salar wanted to do something different, namely to produce a coffee without peer on Mallorca. And, to offer a service that the Island has not seen up to now into the bargain.
Thus it was that, two years ago, Salar established, together with his wife and her brothers, the ‘Mallorca Coffee Company’. He gave to the whole his family name and added a chic logo to be found on every packet of coffee and every Salar cup, in which his coffee is exclusively served. Salar is fully committed to the philosophy of service. He personally installs the coffee machines in hotels and restaurants and gives the staff instructions in the select art of coffee making (“Never use more than seven grams per cup!” “No contact with the water lasting longer than 20 to 30 seconds!” “Always grind the coffee freshly!”) In addition, he is also easily reached at any hour of the day or night.
Only “beans of exceptional quality” make it into the packet. “These should be roasted less so that the coffee tastes rounded and mild and shows no hint of bitterness,” he says. He buys Arabica beans in Honduras, Brazil, Guatemala and Columbia as well as Indian Sherry beans in India. He also has his broker act with products with the Fair Trade logo which guarantees that the growers in the land of origin receive a reasonable payment and take into account the ecological dimension.
To sum up: he is a genuine perfectionist. In fact, to begin with, Enrique Salar was much more interested in wine than coffee. As a sommelier he was able to travel in different countries, he lived in Paris for a few months and spent a year in Milan – and there discovered his great love for the little brown bean.
“In Italy coffee is not merely drunk,” he points out, “there drinking coffee is celebrated!” No restaurant with any self-respect would ever offer a poor coffee. When Salar understood this fact the idea was born: to create the very best, the most elegant coffee in Mallorca, which would only be offered in selected restaurants, hotels and businesses. The project began to take shape. At present he has three products in the range, amongst which is a caffeine-free one which tastes so good that one does not even notice that it lacks the stimulating substance.
His clientele now includes 60 different customers. And the number is constantly increasing. In many bars and cafés he has already been able to displace an Italian high-class brand.
He dreams of a coffee shop chain à la Starbucks with a range of different coffees. He thinks about his own plantations from which, some day, he will harvest his own coffee. And in winter he will bring out a CD, “since good music is also part of enjoying good coffee. After all, drinking coffee is also a feeling of being alive,” he asserts. Quite simply this is something for ‘bon viveurs’, for gourmets and all those who dream of so being.
Cafe Salar can be found at the Mardavall Hotel in Costa d´en Blanes, at the Maricel Hotel in Palma, Read´s Hotel in Santa Maria del Camí, at Purobeach on the Cala Estancia, at Foshfood, the Gourmet shop, in Palma among others.