Max Pruna had never tasted specialty coffee.But one day at Northeastern University in the mid 2010s, craft coffee pioneer George Howell poured Max the cup of coffee that would change his life.Inspired by this one sip, Max then dedicated his life to learning everything about craft coffee, eventually leading him to open La Mulita Coffee in Rye, N.H., now one of the most beloved shops on the Seacoast.From La Mulita, Colombian native Max Pruna joins ⁠⁠host Troy Farkas⁠⁠ to discuss growing up in Colombia when drug lord Pablo Escobar was terrorizing the streets, the immigration process that brought him and his wife to the U.S. in the early 2000s, when he first discovered specialty coffee, why he opened La Mulita in 2019, the Portsmouth politics that nearly prevented him from opening the shop at all, the creative ways La Mulita survived the pandemic, how to make better coffee at home, lessons he's learned from a lifetime of entrepreneurship, and so much more.CHAPTERS:Growing up in dangerous Colombia

Max's emigration to New Hampshire

Max's career prior to La Mulita

Learning about specialty coffee from George Howell

SPONSOR: Sage

SPONSOR: Kim Vargo

The fight to open La Mulita in 2019

Surviving the pandemic

What makes La Mulita special

Problems in the coffee industry

How to brew better coffee at home

Advice to younger self