José Luis Garcia is a coffee-lover and entrepreneur trying to make his mark in the city of Medellín — the birthplace of Colombia’s modern coffee industry.
Since the October launch of his start-up Lightning Koffee, Garcia has two goals in mind: Make a decent cup of joe and spread the word about Bitcoin (BTC).
His coffee beans — which he’s called “The Bitcoiners Coffee” — are sourced and processed locally and are known for having a sweet after-taste.
Garcia believes his Colombian coffee can serve as a bridge for his fellow Paisas (Medellín locals) to lessen their reliance on the unpredictable Colombian peso and lean more toward adopting Bitcoin.
“We have the best coffee in the world and I want my coffee brand to spread the word about Bitcoin so that other businesses will begin to receive it too,” Garcia said in an interview with Cointelegraph.
He added it would “help drive the Bitcoin circular economy” — where only Bitcoin is traded in exchange for goods and services.
@LightningKoffee ⚡️☕️ #LightningNetwork #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/VP6nb235RE
— José⚡️☕️ (@josebitcoiner) October 30, 2022
Lightning Koffee currently doesn’t accept fiat but does accept other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. However, Garcia said he’s a self-confessed maxi and wastes no time converting other tokens to Bitcoin.
“If a person is going to pay me in shitcoins I will accept it because, at the end of the day, it is money. Then I convert it immediately into Bitcoin which is what I’m interested in.”
Garcia said he’ll soon start taking fiat payments through the likes of Mastercard and Visa at which time he plans to stop taking cryptocurrencies that aren’t Bitcoin.
Lightning Koffee joins other Medellín businesses bringing together crypto and consumables. In June 2022, Mind Cafe, or “Crypto Cafe,” was one of the first cryptocurrency-focused restaurants in El Poblado, the tourist area of Medellín.
In addition to accepting Bitcoin and Lightning payments, the cafe offers its customers the opportunity to immerse themselves in a metaverse-themed environment where they can build their own avatars and buy a coffee or some traditional Colombian food with Bitcoin.
You walk in and they have a BTC machine to purchase and sell #BTC
They also have some merch, shoes, tshirts, hoodies, etc.
Yes probably not great for OPSEC, but man are we EARLY.
We got there and were basically the ONLY table . 3/9 pic.twitter.com/IboBfVQMwv
— Camila Campton …
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