Engrano

More About Engrano

Engrano is a coffee roastery with roots in the Netherlands and a current base in Nyons, located in the Drôme region of Southern France. The company was founded in the spring of 2010 by Guadalupe Sierra. In its initial phase, according to the company’s own history, the business existed primarily on paper. The ideas behind Engrano first took shape in 2008 and 2009, centered around a marriage process and a trip to Ecuador, where Sierra became acquainted with coffee-growing regions and local coffees.

The Dutch branch was linked to Numansdorp. In 2018, Engrano was described in a Dutch coffee profile as a roastery based in that location, with Guadalupe Sierra as the founder. At the beginning of 2023, the company decided to relocate to France. Subsequently, a French company with the same name was established, and Engrano in the Netherlands was closed. Roasting now takes place in Nyons. French business records list SIERRA BELTRAN MERCEDES as the entrepreneur since September 1, 2023.

Founder’s Background

Guadalupe Sierra was born in Mexico City and spent a large part of her life in Ecuador. Her career combines engineering, research, and coffee. She studied civil engineering at the Catholic University of Guayaquil, earned a master’s degree from UNAM, and conducted doctoral research at TU Delft. She completed her PhD in December 2022. Until mid-2023, she continued to work one day a week in concrete research alongside her work for the roastery.

Roasting Style and Methodology

Engrano describes its roasting process as roast-to-order. The company states that it does not maintain a stock of pre-roasted coffee. The website indicates that the coffee is roasted slightly lighter than dark roasting styles, with the goal of better preserving the coffee’s flavor characteristics. No public data was found regarding the brand, model, batch size, or software of the current production equipment.

Early development began on a small scale. Sierra first used a Quickmill espresso machine and grinder. This was followed by experiments with an i-Roast 2 home roaster. During this phase, roast profiles were refined. Tastings of less than ten minutes were extended to twelve to fifteen minutes, with the temperature increased more gradually.

Coffee Assortment and Origins

The current webshop category lists nine coffees: Chiapas, Chinchipe, Chito, Guerrero, Huehuetenango, Loja Natural, Oaxaca, Serra Negra, and Tres Pontas. The available packaging sizes are 250 grams, 500 grams, and 1000 grams. Customers can choose between whole beans and grind options for espresso, filter, cafetière, moka pot, and Turkish coffee. The documented origins are Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Brazil.

In the viewed category, the offering consists of named single-origin coffees. No current blends have been identified. The gifts category showed no products. Some product pages provide very specific origin data. Chiapas comes from Tenejapa in Chiapas, Mexico, at an altitude of 1300 to 1500 meters. The mentioned varieties are Typica, Garnica, and Bourbon. Chito comes from Loja in Ecuador, at an altitude of 1900 meters, and consists of 100% Tipica.

Other coffees also have a described origin. Guerrero comes from Colombia de Guadalupe in the Mexican state of Guerrero, at an altitude of 1200 to 1400 meters. The varieties are Mundo Novo and Bourbon, using a natural processing method. Loja Natural comes from Cariamanga in Loja, Ecuador. This coffee is also grown at an altitude of 1900 meters and is attributed to a cooperative of small farmers.

Sourcing, Certification, and Sustainability

Engrano states that it works with direct trade. The company says it pays the price requested by the farmer, sent directly to the producer’s bank account. At the same time, Engrano reports that the coffees are not officially organic certified. The company explains that certification imposes additional requirements on transport, customs storage, container handling, storage, separate roasting, cleaning, and paid inspections.

According to company information, the emphasis is on cultivation with a low environmental impact and a fair price for the farmer. The Oaxaca page mentions ecological cultivation, manual harvesting on steep slopes, drying on tables after washing, and packaging in jute instead of plastic. French business records mention no label or certificate for the company.

Sales, Hospitality, and Location

Engrano sells directly to consumers via their own webshop and also supplies the hospitality sector and corporate clients. The company ships coffee to both businesses and consumers within the European Union. For shipments outside the EU, the focus is primarily on B2B due to VAT complexities. Orders are bundled for efficiency. Roasting typically takes place on Mondays, while the shop remains closed. Orders placed by Sunday midnight are generally roasted the following day, unless volume or batch scheduling prevents this.

The page for resellers and restaurants includes a locator, though it showed no results on the public page viewed. The business page notes that Engrano no longer supplies, repairs, or maintains espresso machines. Their focus has shifted toward coffee supply and offering tastings prior to selection.

The physical location is listed at 9 Rue de la Resistance, 26110 Nyons. A European coffee guide lists services there such as espresso, filter coffee, and plant-based milks. Opening hours are listed from Wednesday through Saturday, with closures from Sunday through Tuesday. A French events page lists no upcoming events. Previous posts mainly concern temporary closures and breaks, rather than scheduled workshops or public cuppings.

Public documentation

In the Netherlands, Engrano was previously listed in an overview of roasters as “Engrano – Numansdorp”. No formal pricing, competition results, or award mentions were found in the researched information. Additionally, there are no publicly documented recurring workshops, collaborations, or cuppings. This creates the impression of a small-scale roastery with a documented shift from the Netherlands to France, an assortment of single-origin coffees, and a clear emphasis on direct contact with producers.

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