From Costa Rica to Florida: The Farm-to-Cup Story of Carmela Coffee

There is something timeless about the ritual of coffee. It begins with the aroma, rich, earthy, and immediate, filling the air even before the first sip touches your lips. For many, a morning cup is less about caffeine and more about grounding, a small ceremony to mark the start of the day. Across cultures, coffee has always been more than a drink. It is a symbol of hospitality, a reason to gather, and in many ways, a bridge between people.
In South Florida, a growing community of coffee lovers has discovered a place that embodies this deeper meaning. Carmela Coffee is not just another café chain competing for attention in a crowded market. It is a space that blends craftsmanship with care, pairing farm-to-cup Costa Rican beans with a culture built around warmth, intentionality, and connection.
The roots of Carmela Coffee stretch far beyond Florida’s coastal cities. Founders Rainier Abreu and Rafael Baretta met as teenagers in Venezuela, bound first by friendship and later by a shared sense of possibility. Both pursued studies in chemical engineering at Simón Bolívar University, but life soon carried them in different directions, Baretta into Chile’s wine industry, and Abreu to Atlanta, where he pursued an MBA at Emory University. Yet even across continents, the two kept talking about building something of their own, something that fused their appreciation for science, culture, and community.
Those conversations circled back again and again to coffee. The idea was simple but ambitious: a coffee company that would be transparent about where its beans came from, respectful of the traditions behind them, and intentional about how people experienced them in the cup. By 2016, the seed of Carmela Coffee had been planted.
The pair began by sourcing beans directly from El Cuminate, a family farm nestled in Costa Rica’s West Valley region. Unlike the anonymous blends that fill supermarket shelves, Carmela’s beans had a traceable origin and a human story behind them. At first, the business took shape as an online subscription model. Customers could order fresh beans, roasted in Florida, and delivered straight to their homes. But the dream was always bigger: to create physical spaces where coffee could once again become a ritual shared among friends, neighbors, and strangers.
That dream came to life in January 2018, when Carmela Coffee opened its first café in Parkland, Florida. The concept was fresh for the region: farm-to-cup coffee roasted in-house, paired with a menu that leaned into Latin flavors. Customers found not just cappuccinos and americanos, but avocado toasts topped with burrata, empanadas filled with savory spices, and the indulgent Carmela Pancakes layered with fruit and seasonal toppings. The café quickly became a neighborhood favorite, known as much for its atmosphere as its menu.
Even its name carried a deeper resonance. “Carmela” was chosen as a tribute to the resilience of women, particularly those in agricultural communities. For Abreu and Baretta, the name embodied qualities they wanted the brand to stand for: perseverance, grace, and quiet strength. That identity still shapes Carmela Coffee’s culture today, from the way employees are trained to the tone of voice in its branding.
Walking into a Carmela café feels different from stepping into a typical chain. Interiors feature natural wood finishes, earthy tones inspired by espresso and caramel, and floral accents that nod to Costa Rica’s lush landscapes. The environment encourages people to slow down, settle in, and enjoy. Baristas are trained not only to craft drinks but to build relationships, learning names, remembering preferences, and making each interaction feel personal.
This philosophy has paid off. Since that first café in Parkland, Carmela Coffee has expanded steadily across South Florida, with locations in Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties. Today, the company operates 12 stores in total: 3 corporate locations and 9 franchises. Momentum continues to build, with 1 additional corporate store and 7 more franchises already signed and expected to open within the next year.
The menu, too, reflects intentional growth. Beyond coffee, guests can order fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, Latin-inspired pastries, and signature toasts that have become a hallmark of the brand. Retail products, whole bean coffee, ground blends, and soon-to-launch K-Cup-compatible capsules, extend Carmela’s reach into customers’ homes. But the heart of the business remains in-store, where the act of enjoying a crafted cup is treated as a shared experience rather than a transaction.
Recognition has followed. Carmela Coffee has been featured in regional lifestyle publications, praised for both its atmosphere and its unique offerings. It has earned spots on Yelp’s top-rated coffee lists and caught the attention of local universities, partnering with Florida Atlantic University marketing students on real-world branding projects.
And yet, at its core, Carmela Coffee remains grounded in the same philosophy that inspired its founders nearly a decade ago: coffee as a connector. For Abreu and Baretta, success is not just measured in sales or new locations, but in the moments created, friends catching up over breakfast, a student finding focus with a latte, a parent pausing in the middle of a busy day to savor a cappuccino.
And perhaps that is the real secret behind Carmela Coffee’s growth: it never set out simply to sell cups of coffee. It set out to brew community, memory, and meaning, one crafted moment at a time.