The short story
Passionate about adventure, Vanessa and Patrice, accompanied by their faithful dog Darko, left Quebec in 2022 for a long journey on the roads of Mexico aboard a four-wheel drive casita.
A detail that will quickly become essential when their friend Andrés invites them to visit his coffee finca, perched at the end of a three-hour bumpy road in the mountains of Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico.
This immersion in the heart of the mountains and agriculture proved to be a true revelation. Lifelong coffee lovers, they discovered the reality of farmers living in isolation with their families, their deep attachment to coffee trees, and the hard work of the pickers.
Their gaze upon that morning cup, filled with the precious oro verde, was forever changed. Swept up in their enthusiasm, Vanessa and Patrice decided to buy two tons of Andrés's coffee, hoping to soon import it to Quebec. But nothing went as planned: the man in charge of the warehouse seized their shipment—they would later learn—to finance his election campaign and bolster his rise to a government position.
Discouraged, they thought their import dream was shattered. But then Marco, a seasoned entrepreneur from Sherbrooke, came along, and his energy, optimism, and experience convinced them not to give up. He even joined the Naked Dog Café team.
Thanks to this invaluable support, the couple set off to explore another region of Chiapas: the El Triunfo de Quetzalcoatl Biosphere Reserve . Another 3 hours of unpaved road, a drug trafficker's roadblock, and significant damage to the camper's structure...
Despite this, they met Mauricio, a passionate small-scale producer, who was able to offer them 4 tons of exceptional coffee, grown without any pesticides. He even used sheep, which took care of the weeds even more effectively while fertilizing the coffee trees.
After having driven over 60 000km on mexicain road, many administrative and bureaucratic twists and turns, their coffee finally arrives on the Canadian market in the fall of 2025.
Why “Naked Dog”?
Darko, their dog, often arouses the curiosity of Mexicans, because he strangely resembles an emblematic breed of Mexico: the xoloitzcuintle, the Mexican hairless dog was used in Aztec and Mayan funeral rites as a guide for the deceased to the world of the dead, this dog with dark and warm skin embodies for them everything that makes them feel alive in Mexico.
The name Naked Dog is therefore an affectionate nod to this traveling companion and to this country that has transformed their lives.
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NAKED DOG CAFE
Vanessa, Patrice and Marco