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Loyal customers of Hollister’s La Catrina Mexican Grill might be surprised to see former manager Gustavo Gonzalez Jr. at his own booth at the Downtown Association Farmers Market selling his line of Piel Canela coffee syrups.
But Gonzalez, who left the restaurant to focus on his new venture, remains closely connected to the family business. In fact, he developed the line while working at La Catrina and produces the syrups in the same commercial kitchen where La Jerezana cookies are baked, the first of the family’s several businesses.
During his time as a student in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Gonzalez was not planning to enter the food industry. Instead, he studied business and marketing. But when his father, Gustavo Sr., moved to Hollister 12 years ago to start his cookie business, Gonzalez came along to help “for a little while.”
“We found a kitchen,” he said, “which is now the restaurant kitchen at La Catrina. One business leads to another, so with the help of that kitchen, we decided to open the restaurant 10 years ago. And then that helped me start the syrup business.”
Initially, they baked cookies during the day and let in diners in the evenings. In the beginning, it was just him and his father, soon joined by his mother and sisters. On weekends, they would make the traditional Mexican coffee, café de olla, for breakfast.
“From scratch,” he said, “it took at least an hour and a half because we had to boil all the ingredients: the sugar, the cinnamon, the spices, and the coffee. Sometimes we would run out of coffee, but on slow days, we ended up with leftovers that we had to throw away.”
Recently, his sister suggested that they make a syrup they could simply add to the coffee to cut down on preparation time and waste.
“I thought it was a great idea,” Gonzalez said, “but I wanted the syrup to taste exactly like real café de olla. That idea stayed on my mind, so I started experimenting from January to March of last year. I made at least 50 different batches of syrup until I finally perfected the recipe.”
Realizing the product had potential beyond the restaurant, he decided to start marketing it. Deciding to focus on it full-time, he left the restaurant—“I still visit once in a while”—and now he’s completely dedicated to building his syrup business under the Piel Canela (“cinnamon skin”) brand.
“The first one that I started making is that café de olla,” Gonzalez said. “It is a family recipe, and I use those same all-natural ingredients: piloncillo, which is raw brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, vanilla, and a touch of orange.”
He then began researching a recipe for a Mexican chocolate for his second syrup, trying to emulate the flavors of Oaxaca.
“I wanted to use the traditional ingredients of southern Mexico,” Gonzalez said. “It has the same raw brown sugar, cinnamon, star anise and vanilla, but I make it using 100% natural cacao.”
The next is a seasonal one, ponche, which will return to production in November, just in time for Christmas.
“It is another traditional drink,” Gonzalez said, “that I make from real fruit we buy locally. We usually make small batches with guava, apple, tamarind, and then either piloncillo or cane sugar and cinnamon.”
His fourth product is a spin on marzipan, inspired by a social media trend of Mexican coffee shops adding candy to coffee.
“I thought that it would be easier to make the coffee with a syrup instead of actual candy,” he said. “So we started with mazapán candy: we just took the ingredients from the label of the candy and used them.”
Using peanuts as the main ingredient, the recipe is kept simple, with only sea salt and sugar, and no artificial flavors or preservatives.
Marziapán is the favorite of food blogger and Piel Canela fan Elena Salgado, who says that it is a welcome break from the now-common vanilla and hazelnut flavors.
“It has a peanut salty taste to it,” she said, “similar to Mazapán De la Rosa. They made their own version without using the actual candy, using their own ingredients, and it tastes really good. It is definitely something different.”
When it came to getting the syrups placed in markets, Gonzalez had an advantage, thanks again to La Jerezana cookies.
“We were already selling the cookies in some supermarkets,” he said, “I introduced the syrup as a new product at Los Cuates and Hollister Super. And then one day, I met with the owner of El Nopal because I thought it was a very good combo when people go and buy the sweet bread.”
Today, Piel Canela is available at independent markets throughout San Benito County and beyond. Gonzalez also maintains a five-day-a-week presence at farmers markets, including alternating weeks at the Hollister market from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Gonzalez plans to produce four stock versions of his syrups as standards, along with one or two seasonal variations. He is currently working on a summer flavor for iced coffees that will lean heavily on orange and cardamom. And for Thanksgiving, he has his own take on pumpkin spice using sweet potato.
Besides the excitement of having his own business, Gonzalez has been thriving in farmers’ market settings, where he can be outdoors.
“I like it,” he said, “because I can see what others are selling and be in touch with small business owners. And I get to talk to the customers, who are the ones guiding us on new flavor ideas. I really like that feedback.”
Piel Canela is available locally at these establishments:
Hollister
Bene Gifts – 615-B San Benito St
Bertuccio’s Market – 2410 Airline Hwy
Casa de Fruta – 10021 Pacheco Pass Hwy
El Nopal Bakery #1 – 216 3rd St
El Nopal Bakery #2 – 1290 San Juan Hollister Rd
Fairview County Market – 6509 Fairview Rd
Hollister Super #1 – 1280 4th St
Hollister Super #2 – 211 3rd St
La Catrina Mexican Grill – 449 San Benito St
Los Cuates Supermercado – 220 San Felipe Rd
Lupita’s Supermarket – 889 4th St
San Benito Bakery – 55b San Benito St
San Juan Bautista
Windmill Market – 301 The Alameda
Vertigo Coffee Roasters – 81 4th St
Tres Pinos
Tres Pinos Farmstand – 6980 Airline Hwy
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and for giving our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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