After 17 years as a chef in Madrid's grand hotels, Agustin Fernandez fell in love with coffee shop culture and never looked back. He founded 1000 Cups in 2019, roasting on a Giesen W15 visible through a large glass window at the roastery in Madrid's Tetuan neighborhood. The project was born from frustration: years of working with roasters who produced overly dark, underdeveloped coffee left Agustin and his wife Laura determined to roast their own. Trained by Joaquin Parra of Right Side Coffee and Willem Boot, among others, he favors light and medium light profiles that preserve the character of each origin. Every batch is tracked through Cropster software, and labels include Agtron color values to give customers full transparency. 1000 Cups sources from across Central America, East Africa, and Brazil, with a stated goal of reaching 50% direct trade purchasing.