A Taste of Puerto Rico in the FiDi That’s Brewed with Love

Oscar Signorile working at 787 Coffee on Pearl Street, NY | Photo by Myrian Garcia

A childhood dream to create the perfect cup of coffee became a reality for barista Oscar Signorile. Working long and hard hours at 787 Coffee in lower Manhattan does not stop this barista from greeting customers with smiling eyes and a friendly tone.

“Since high school, I really did enjoy the idea of making coffee for people,” Signorile said. “It really gave me the excitement of preparing drinks for others.”

Judging by the overflowing tip jar and number of regulars in the café, it is evident that Signorile puts his heart and soul into every cup.

Signorile, 36, was born and raised in Italy, where he discovered his passion for coffee.

“I have been fascinated by people working at café’s and how they make coffee and drinks since I was very little,” said Signorile. “The whole café environment has inspired me and eventually, I chose to make it my career,” he continued.

In Italy, there was no one available to properly teach Signorile the art of coffee-making. However, his desire to learn encouraged him to ask anyone with remote coffee-making skills to teach him as much as they could.

In 2018, after traveling to multiple countries around the world to improve his skills, he settled down in New York City. In March 2019, he landed a job at 787 Coffee located on Pearl Street. 

787 is no ordinary coffee shop. Founded in Maricao, Puerto Rico, 787 has produced organic coffee farmed by good people since 2014. They hope to create an environment for the Puerto Rican locals to have fair jobs and proper wages. From Puerto Rico, the company and its values spread to New York with seven locations across Manhattan. Walls decorated with Puerto Rican flags and characters while playing the catchy tunes of salsa music make these coffee shops worth visiting. 787 does not only focus on Puerto Rican culture but also aims to create lasting memories with each cup of coffee.

“It was an interesting match with the coffee background I have and the values of the company I work at,” Signorile explains. “As an individual, it is comforting to me to know that there is no exploitation behind the coffee that we are serving. It is a huge problem in the coffee industry where farmers in developing countries are literally being paid pennies for their work. The fact that I am fully aware of what is going on and we are actually improving the standards of living for the beautiful people working for us is amazing. The coffee we make comes from good people that work really hard and are paid as they should for their work.”

Currently, Signorile works at 787 Coffee as a barista trainer. His job includes passing down the knowledge he received from his 14-year experience of practicing his art.Regardless of experience, he chooses to inspire others by offering his employees the tools they need to create that perfect cup.

“I enjoy training people because I give them sort of like a piece of myself,” Signorile said. “I try to inspire them by encouraging them to be the best baristas they can be when working the machines while also sharing the love I have for making coffee with them,” he continued.

Signorile’s training method includes presenting coffee making as an art form that sparks passion. He shares the ideas he had as a child with others, to hopefully give his trainees a rooted love for making coffee.

This is the story 787 looks to communicate to every customer. The passion for good coffee and a love for Puerto Rican culture is represented in each cup made and sold.

“We try to communicate our story with every customer that visits. It is telling the story literally about coffee to someone who has not tried it before,” Signorile said. “What is really important to us is the human connection we establish. We aim to associate a good memory with a good cup of coffee through the connection that lies beyond the product and the service we provide as baristas,” he continued.

Even though masks and social distancing provide new challenges, Signorile and his team hope to reflect the spirit of happiness and friendliness for their visitors to remember.

“Obviously, there are days where I can be frustrated by the fact that there would be maybe a single customer showing up,” Signorile states. “But this downtime allows us to make the most of our situation and remain positive in hopes of brighter days.”