The Pressure of Nine Bars

by PaperGhost

Esteban Caballero, 27 · Villa Morra and Barrio Obrero, Asunción, Paraguay

Esteban Caballero, a 27-year-old self-taught barista in Asunción, Paraguay, dreams of competing at the World Barista Championship while working split shifts to keep his sister in pre-med and his recovering mother in medicine. When a Brazilian coffee shortage forces his employer to abandon specialty beans, Esteban must build something of his own — a cart, a craft, a name — before the daily ritual that has shaped his life is priced out of his hands.