One San Antonio man’s business is among the finalists in H-E-B’s massive Quest for Texas Best contest. More than 550 different Texas-based products were entered into the 2022 contest, where the winners gets their item placed on the shelves of more than 400 stores across the Lone Star State. Puro Nitro is the only business in the Alamo City to make the top 10 list.
One can of Puro Nitro packs the punch of three cups of coffee without all of the sugar, according to owner Daniel Mezza. Additionally, the specialty coffee blend flavored with Mexican vanilla, cacao, cinnamon, and natural sweetener comes in at three calories.
Puro Nitro is the lone San Antonio product in H-E-B Quest for Texas finals. A winner will be crowed on Aug. 24.
Courtesy of Puro Nitro Coffee“I went back to my roots. I go back to when my grandmother used to make coffee,” Mezza said of the blend in an interview with MySA. His grandmother used a basic coffee like Folgers, but what stuck with him is the way she flavored it: with cinnamon.
Mezza, who is from South Texas but has lived in San Antonio longer than anywhere else, attended college at Texas A&M for his undergraduate degree and UTSA for a masters in public administration. After nearly 15 years in public service working with Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Will Hurd, he said he was burned out on politics and needed a change.
“And I was like, now what?” Mezza said. “What else can we do? How can I impact this community? One thing that I kept going back to is I love cooking. I’m a foodie. I love tasting food, I love eating different kinds of food and that includes coffee. I like coffee.”
From there, Mezza started exploring the industry. In 2017, at the time he began cooking up his coffee idea, he found he did not care for the coffee trend at the time: cold brew.
But on his journey to understand the cold arm of the coffee world, he learned about another technique that that utilizes nitrogen infusion in a more flavorful way known as flash brewing.
“It’s flash chilled. We’re preserving a hot cup of coffee,” Mezza explained. “That’s what makes us different. We’re not making it with any cold water. We’re making the coffee with hot water and then we’re cooling it really, really fast. Then we add nitrogen to preserve it. So I basically made you a cup of coffee with the best things and you can drink it where ever you want and however you want.”
Mezza went on to say you could even pour it in a cup and heat it up if you would still like a hot cup of joe in the morning.
Puro Nitro is the lone San Antonio product in the H-E-B ‘Quest for Texas Best’ contest. A winner will be crowed on August 24.
Photo courtesy of Puro NitroMezza said there was not a known method for mass production in 2017 like what you see with cold brew. Despite the roadblock, he first worked from his garage and eventually upgraded to a partnership with Alamo Beer Company to manufacture a mass production method that has been successful.
Puro Nitro also partners with an artisanal coffee bean blend roasted by San Antonio-based What’s Brewing. Mezza said there are currently only two other companies canning and selling flash brewed coffee in the country, one in Arizona and another in Tennessee.
“We want to be the next Dr. Pepper of coffee,” Mezza said.
Puro Nitro is the lone San Antonio product in the H-E-B ‘Quest for Texas Best’ contest. A winner will be crowed on August 24.
Photo courtesy of Puro NitroWhile Puro Nitro waits to learn whether they will be selected to be added to H-E-B shelves, the canned coffee can be found around town at a number of businesses, such as Alamo Beer Company, Olmos Perk, My Juice Life, Shilo’s, Dab house of Hemp, Cultura Coffee House, and Alley Cats Coffee trailer.
Outside of San Antonio, the coffee can be purchased at Royal Blue Grocers in Austin, and Kelani Yogurt in Boerne and Fredericksburg.
Winners of the Quest for Texas Best contest will be crowned on August 24. Four products will be selected as victors, with grand prize winners receiving $25,000 and the title of Texas Best; first place with a $20,000 prize; $15,000 for second place; and $10,000 for third place.
The Quest for Texas Best competition started in 2014 and has put more than 860 products on shelves at H-E-B stores.
“At H-E-B, we are always seeking exceptional products to offer our customers and what better place to source them than from our fellow Texans,” James Harris, senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity for H-E-B, said in a press release. “Through the Quest for Texas Best competition, we have the opportunity to witness, taste, and ultimately share amazing Texan-made products with our customers. This innovative program not only lets us offer new and unique products in-store, but it also allows us to support local, small, and diverse businesses.”
Other finalists include Four Sixes Ranch Chuck Wage Chili Mix by Brandie Blodgett Mustian and Dr. Nick Nickelson from Guthrie; I love Chamoy by Annie Leal from McAllen; Lapeyreaux’s Crawfish Hand Cleaner by James Lapeyrouse and Chris English from Magnolia; Love & Cookies Gourmet Frozen Cookie Dough by Ashley Cameron from Lakeway; Patria Energía Pura by Guillermo Amtmann, Patricio Garcia Cano, and Derek Amtmann from Houston; Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que Rub by Brent Reaves and Juan Reaves from Dallas; Texas Iberico Artisan Cured Meats by Ashly Martin, Sondra Crawford, and Tim Harris from Menard; The Sweet Blvd Japanese Cotton Cheesecake by Nadia Escalante and Manual Alvarez from Brownsville; Zwïta Traditional Harissa and Zucchini + Potato Shakshuka by Karim Arem and Mansour Arem from Houston.
