Poki Café

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
Poki Café was born as an evolution of Poki Cookies, a project by Clau and Josh selling cookies at their university. It always carried a fun, cool, uncomplicated identity. The “pokis” were the ones accompanying students through their good and bad moments.

The business grew and the need for a physical space became inevitable, one thing led to another. Poki Cookies didn’t die; it transformed into the union of our passions: a poki-bit of cookies, coffee, and music.

What part of the day, space, or creative process do those who work here enjoy the most?
Josh (partner): Poki is my safe place; the bar reflects my passion and love for coffee. For me, Poki is a dream I live every day; it’s sharing a coffee with our community while we listen to one of the records from our collection. My favorite moment of the day is putting on my favorite vinyl and getting lost while making coffee.

Clau (partner): My favorite moment at Poki is locking myself in the kitchen to bake cookies and create new recipes; it’s being at the bar making myself a matcha and listening to the buzz of people in the café. Poki is a space where I can be myself and share my cookies with others.

Vale (barista): My favorite moment at Poki is chatting with customers about the place, the drinks, or the music. It’s calibrating espresso with music I like or making latte art and seeing how people appreciate it.

Cris (barista apprentice): My favorite moment is opening a new bag of coffee and discovering a new process, varietal, or flavor profile. I love that with a small adjustment or by changing the brewing method, you get a completely different cup. Sharing all of this with our customers is unmatched.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
They shouldn’t miss the chance to try a Poki and snoop around our record collection a poki-bit.

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
Our biggest challenge was evolving from a cookie brand into a café. It didn’t just change our business model, it also made us reflect on the path we’d taken and lose the fear of sharing our passion without worrying about what people might think. At the end of the day, Poki is a reflection of us as a team, and you notice it the moment you walk in.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
The idea that motivates us every day is being many people’s favorite place: the place you go with friends to laugh for a while, the place where you can discover your new favorite artist and your taste for coffee or matcha; the place where you know you can find the best cookies.

What place, project, or person has inspired you recently and why?
We feel that being in a growing city like Mérida gives us the advantage of seeing what worked in bigger cities, and we’re strongly influenced by café projects, cookie shops, record stores, and creative photography and music projects.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
We’d invite Brooki Bakehouse to make cookies, and behind the bar we’d have Lance Hedrick brewing filters.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
Yes, the CD collection we have mostly came from Clau’s parents. She says those are the discs they used to play on road trips, and now they soundtrack everyday life in our café.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
We’ve always said Poki moves to the rhythm of Sueños líquidos from Maná (specifically “Tú tienes lo que quiero”) and Dónde jugarán los niños (especially “Me vale”). We feel they perfectly capture Poki’s good vibes, joy, and free spirit.

Answers by Claudia Hernández Luna partner and baker; and José Luis Pulido Olguín partner and barista of Poki Café

Photographs by Pedro Castro