Hola Cafe

The name 'Hola Coffee' is currently used by two separate, geographically distinct specialty coffee operations. The first, Hola Coffee Roasters, is a Madrid-based company established in 2017 by Spanish Barista Champion Pablo Caballero and roaster Nolo Botana. Originally conceived as a coffee blog in 2015, the project evolved into a multi-location café and roasting business. Their roastery, located on Sepúlveda street in Madrid, supplies both their own retail locations and wholesale partners. The company is recognized for its commitment to transparency, sustainability, and education, operating the 'Hola Academy' to provide SCA-certified training. Their Lagasca location was notably ranked 12th in The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops 2025.

The second entity, Hola Coffee, is a woman and Latina-owned roastery and café located in the Saint Anthony Main neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This business focuses specifically on celebrating Latin American coffee origins, sourcing beans directly from family-run cooperatives and micro-farmers in countries such as Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru. Their operational philosophy centers on community connection, with a product range that includes signature blends like the dark-roasted 'Qué Chimba' and the light-roasted 'Machu Magic.'

While the Madrid-based Hola Coffee emphasizes a broad approach to specialty coffee—rotating through various washed, natural, and experimental processes to highlight global terroir—the Minneapolis-based Hola Coffee maintains a niche focus on the cultural and flavor profiles of Latin American regions. Both companies operate their own in-house roasting programs, ensuring that their respective customer bases receive fresh, small-batch coffee.

In terms of business structure, the Madrid operation has grown into a significant benchmark for the Spanish specialty coffee scene, integrating a podcast, professional training, and a high-volume wholesale business into their model. They emphasize a 'from origin to cup' approach, aiming to highlight the unique characteristics of each farm and cultivation method through precise roasting profiles.

The Minneapolis-based Hola Coffee distinguishes itself through its specific mission of community-driven, ethically sourced coffee from Latin American micro-farmers. Their business model includes a subscription service and a retail café space that serves as a hub for local engagement, emphasizing the social impact of their direct-trade relationships with producers.

It is important for consumers and industry researchers to distinguish between these two entities, as they share no common ownership or operational history. The Madrid-based Hola Coffee is a fixture of the European specialty market, while the Minneapolis-based Hola Coffee serves as a distinct, independent representative of the specialty coffee movement in the United States. Both brands utilize the 'Hola' moniker to signify a welcoming, accessible approach to high-quality coffee, though their market presence and supply chains remain entirely separate.