Written by Jordan Michelman.
Eighteen years in business is an achievement, a feat, an unlikely milestone for *any* brand or company. My website, Sprudge, just celebrated 16 years of publishing, which I assure you is mindboggling; La Marzocco, meanwhile, is a remarkable 98-years-old, with a truly epic centenary on the fast-approaching horizon. However, for Houston, Texas coffee shop Catalina Coffee, founder Max Gonzalez has overseen so much change and growth since opening his doors in 2007. Nearly everything about the city’s coffee scene—and Catalina Coffee itself—has undergone a series of quantum leaps over the last two decades.
Today, this earned perspective gives Catalina the well-deserved reputation as a leader and elder statesman for Houston’s coffee industry. But this is no museum; a brand new 3 Group La Marzocco Strada S anchors the cafe’s bar, which was recently redesigned in collaboration with a leading Houston design firm. In this interview, we learn more about Max Gonzalez’s journey, plus get a set of crucial recommendations for visitors gearing up to spend time in Houston for the 2025 SCA Expo.
Hi Max, thanks so much for speaking with us today! By way of introduction, how might you describe Catalina to someone unfamiliar?
Catalina Coffee is a no-frills commuter and neighborhood coffee bar near downtown Houston. It has become a meeting place for many Houstonians, including the Sixth Ward, the historic neighborhood in which it is located, and a place for downtown commuters and the nearby arts district. You can find the entire catalog of freshly roasted coffee from Amaya Coffee, which is roasted and delivered five days a week.
What’s Catalina’s relationship with Amaya Coffee? Tell me more about that connection.
I am the founder and operator of both Catalina Coffee and Amaya Coffee. Catalina Coffee, named after my mother’s first name, was a partnership between me and a silent investment partner (now solely owned). After being in business for about a year, I went to Coffee Fest in Seattle, where my understanding of the specialty coffee industry changed, as well as my perspective of what Catalina Coffee could be. I came back to Houston with the desire to add a roasting component, but my partner was not interested in funding an expansion. As such, I started Amaya Coffee (named after my mother’s maiden name) as a way to ensure newfound values for the product Catalina Coffee served. It has gone on to have a steady presence in our local coffee scene, as well as having a strong direct-to-consumer online business.
What is your current gear set-up like at Catalina? Tell us more about what you’re working with.
A few months ago, we upgraded our espresso machine from a three-group La Marzocco Strada MP to their recently released three-group Strada S. We paired that with two Fiorenzato F83 E Pro grinders for our bar setup. For filter coffee, we use a Malkonig EK43 grinder and a Curtis G4 ThermoPro twin brewer. While we offer an iced coffee option, we also have a dedicated clientele for slow drip from our Yama Cold Brew Towers.
18 years in business is pretty amazing. What has changed over the years for you in terms of service, drinks, and workflow?
I designed and built the shop in my early 20s, leaning on a work history of fast-casual food service. Though I hadn’t previously worked at coffee bars, I had a decent understanding of the workflow needed. A few things have shifted over the years, but they are more or less reflections of the original layout. An early but notable change happened when we moved the espresso machine off a back bar to a customer-facing setup that drastically improved our interaction with our clients. In 2019, we hired our tremendously talented friends at Rootlab to build us a new bar to more professionally replace the bar I had originally built.
We’ve changed gear over the years as needed. Our original setup was a three-group Faema E61 and Mazzer grinders. Our drink menu has remained surprisingly similar to that, with a drastic change (at least for Houston) when we stopped offering different beverage sizes over a decade ago.
How has the Houston coffee scene grown and changed during this time? What do you think is the biggest difference between coffee in Houston now and when you started back in 2007?
Everything about the Houston coffee scene has grown and changed throughout this time. Arguably, there wasn’t much of what we might know as a “specialty coffee scene” in 2007, including our own shop. By 2010, there was a noticeable culinary change in Houston that paved the way for many new forward-thinking restaurants, cocktail bars, craft breweries, and an expansion of new coffee bars and roasters. Fast forward to 2025, and Houston’s coffee scene has matured to a diverse and talented facet of the city’s culture.
Houston is going to be home for the 2025 SCA Expo — what are you excited about for this event? What stuff in Houston do you hope folks check out? Any coffee, food, or culture recommendations?
SCA is always a great opportunity to connect with industry peers, and I am excited to share our city with them. Personally, my favorite part of Expo is connecting with farmers and importers as well as scoping out new gear.
The Menil Collection is an amazing campus of art galleries in a beautiful setting that is great to wander around. If you need a coffee, Blacksmith is nearby! And don’t sleep on James Turrell’s Twilight Epiphany Skyspace at Rice University— a special sunrise or sunset based installation.
What’s something unique about Houston that you think gets overlooked?
While Houston’s international food scene is no secret, I believe the Mahatma Gandhi District is often overlooked or under-appreciated and is home to one of my favorite restaurants, Himalaya.
Visit Catalina Coffee’s website and follow them on Instagram.
