Collection: Gigante 🇪🇸

Interview with Eva Bourseau of Gigante, our latest discovery in Spain.

How would you describe Gigante in one sentence?

Where "authentic" coffee culture meets lifestyle.

Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you and what is your role at Gigante?

Hi, I'm Eva, a food lover first and foremost. I love connecting people and cultures, probably because I've lived in more than 7 different countries. I started out in chocolate and wine, then moved into food and ag-tech startups, specialising in business development and partnerships. I'm a co-founder of Gigante, where I develop the distribution and brand strategies while looking for the best collabs, both local and international.

Can you tell us about the Gigante team?

Our founding recipe: a Colombian coffee producer based at origin (Mateo), a Spanish economist who masters and runs all the operations (Hajar), and me, Eva, in charge of sales and branding. We merged our dreams into a project that works for all of us.

Can you tell us about "Gigante", the name of your roastery? What is the story behind it?

Gigante is the name of the village in Colombia where Mateo grows our very first coffee. We decided to keep the name to celebrate the coffee's origin. And GIGANTE sounds good in every language.

What are you proudest of at Gigante?

I'm really proud of the fun we put into creating a colourful, modern brand identity, deliberately stepping away from the minimalist trend you see everywhere. We secured exceptional coffee quality first, which gave us the freedom to let loose on the branding.

What are your sourcing principles, and how do you approach your relationships with producers?

We're lucky to have Mateo, a Colombian based in Gigante, who leads our projects at origin. For other countries, we work with a local Spanish importer who guarantees quality and ethics.

What is your system for building your selection each season or year?

We focus on one origin country at a time and partner with an elite cooperative that best embodies the country's coffee profile. Then we add up to two local heroes (such as award-winning coffees or unique processes) and a funky treasure in a metal tin. That gives us three distinct coffee lines that show what the country has to offer. We've done it for Colombia and Costa Rica so far, and more countries are coming along the same lines.

If you could only drink one coffee recipe for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A cold brew with a drop of orange blossom, a tribute to my grandmother, who always added a floral touch to her "kawa". I can't wait to share it this summer!

If you had to recommend just one coffee from this season's range to our customers, which would it be and why?

I'd recommend "El Morado", because it's amazing as both espresso and filter. It's a collaboration between two of Colombia's best coffee producers, Jhoan Vergara and Adrian Lasso. The process is unique, with 36 hours of oxidation and submerged fermentation. People's verdict? A "real gem". Even if we can debate coffee freezing later!

What does the future hold for Gigante?

Personally, I'm really excited about the endless possibilities coffee offers and the community we're building around Gigante. We've launched a series of Coffee Raves in Barcelona and we're working on very cool collabs with brands, artists and lifestyle initiatives for 2025. There's always room to create, so feel free to get in touch, it might just be the start of a great story!