I’ve always said before that I’m a collector of interesting people. Alejandra Jaimes is certainly one of them.

We’ve been friends for years, and through that friendship I’ve had a front-row seat to the way she thinks about coffee, not simply as a beverage, but as culture, ritual and hospitality. Through Estellar Coffee, she’s brought that perspective into our world at On The Pass, too. We’ve hosted brunches together, poured coffee for friends and clients, and had more conversations about what’s happening in coffee than I can count.

I also have a deep love for coffee culture that I probably don’t talk about enough.

As I move through the world—from Mexico and Colombia to Italy and beyond—coffee is so often part of how I experience a place. It’s a morning ritual, yes, but it’s also an invitation to sit, talk, observe and connect. There are few things I enjoy more than a slow morning, a fresh cup of coffee, and watching a city come to life around me. And for someone with more than enough energy already, coffee has never really been something I need. It’s something I want. I love the smell, the taste, the ritual and, most importantly, the community that surrounds it.

That’s also why I’m fascinated by where coffee is going. We’re seeing better sourcing and extraordinary varietals, but also new rituals and new occasions for drinking it. Coffee is moving beyond the morning cup and into restaurants, cocktails, low-caffeine drinks and more considered hospitality experiences.

Few people I know have a better pulse on that evolution than Alejandra. She’s the founder of Estellar Coffee, a certified Q Grader, and someone who has built her career around understanding coffee through the lenses of sensory experience, culture and connection.

So I asked her a simple question: Where is coffee culture going and why is Los Angeles such an interesting place to watch it happen?