La Taza Negra

My husband and I love exploring so upon arrival in Melaque we walked around some of the area to see what had changed, what has remained the same and of course, what is new.

The first new discovery has been La Taza Negra (The Black Cup).  It is a delightful coffee shop owned by Ben and Alex Boynt and run with help from their friends Kyle and Rae.  They roast the coffee beans at their shop. The customers are always assured of getting freshly roasted coffee and of course, they can buy the beans.

Not only do they have incredible coffee, but also Alexa and Rae make mouth-watering desserts; sticky buns, berry coffee cakes and assorted pies like key lime, just to name a few.  I have only succumbed to the biscotti and key lime pie. The chi apple coffee cake this morning just about got me. The smell was heavenly and the customers who did order it were obviously enjoying the cake immensely.

I asked Ben how he got started with the coffee business and he responded by saying, “It all began with an idea for a coffee shop in their home as a gathering place for students. We bought roasted coffee beans until our friend Kyle, who has experience in roasting, suggested we try roasting our own beans. Therefore, we did, with an air popcorn popper.  We could only roast 3 ounces at a time and mainly made the coffee for family and friends.  We gradually worked up to the roaster we have now which we purchased in Guanajuato and refurbished it. “

“Why Melaque?” I asked

“My wife’s family were missionaries in Guanajuato and vacationed in Melaque. When I married Alexa, I fell into the family vacation. Once our son, Ayden was born, we wanted to be near family, found this place to rent and it all fell into place.”

Going to La Taza Negra each morning is like going to a friend’s home for coffee, comfortable and inviting with the added bonus of incredible coffee and desserts.