From Huila to Las Vegas: Iwana Coffee Brings Family Farm to the Strip
Most coffee shops source their beans through importers, brokers, and roasters—each adding distance between the cup and the farm. At Iwana Coffee in Las Vegas, the journey from cherry to espresso stays almost entirely within one family.
Sisters Alexandra Rodriguez and Karol Rodriguez Borrero opened Iwana in the Las Vegas Arts District in mid-2024. The 2,100-square-foot cafe now roasts on-site with a Diedrich DR-3, pulling coffees from their family’s 80-hectare farm, Finca La Esmeralda, in Colombia’s Huila department.
A Family Operation Across Two Countries
The Rodriguez family has built something rare: a vertically integrated coffee business that spans from cultivation to cappuccino. At Finca La Esmeralda, roughly 70,000 trees grow across multiple elevations—Cenicafé 1, Pink Bourbon, and Caturra at the lower reaches around 1,700 metres, with prized Geisha and Pacamara plots climbing to 1,900 metres. Thirty hectares remain protected forest.
The farm’s coffees travel to FARO Coffee Hub in Neiva, where father Luis Andrés Rodriguez and brother Andrés Rodriguez Borrero handle processing. They work with natural, honey, and washed methods—including natural processing with anaerobic fermentation—treating coffees from La Esmeralda and neighbouring farms before shipping to Nevada.
“We came to the U.S. seven years ago,” Alexandra explained. The sisters worked in other industries while developing the Iwana concept, always planning to connect American specialty coffee drinkers directly to their family’s land.
Roasting with Colombian Guidance
Before installing the Diedrich last fall, Iwana air-shipped roasted coffee from Colombia. Now the sisters develop profiles in-house, collaborating remotely with a master roaster based near the farm. The Fiorenzato F83 E Pro grinder feeds a two-group Sanremo Racer, while Origami drippers handle pour-overs—highlighting the distinct character of each varietal and process.
The cafe itself features bold purple accents and commissioned work from Las Vegas agency Pretty Done. It’s designed as an introduction to Colombian terroir, not a generic coffeehouse.
Expansion Plans
The Rodriguez sisters have ambitions beyond a single cafe. They’re planning two more Las Vegas locations in 2026, with an online subscription service launching soon. The longer-term goal: 50 stores across the country over the next seven years, each connected to Finca La Esmeralda’s supply.
Why This Matters
Direct trade often means a roaster visiting farms, negotiating prices, and building relationships across languages and time zones. Iwana inverts that model entirely—the farmers are the roasters, the cafe owners, the supply chain. When you order a Pink Bourbon pour-over at Iwana, the people who grew it, processed it, and roasted it share a dinner table.
For specialty coffee drinkers tired of vague origin stories and indirect sourcing, the Rodriguez family offers something concrete: GPS coordinates, varietal names, processing methods, and a cafe where you can ask the grower’s daughters about their crop.
Iwana Coffee is located at 61 W Utah Ave. in the Las Vegas Arts District.