Lone Star State grocery giant H-E-B has unveiled its picks for this year’s Quest for Texas Best contest, and Puro Nitro Coffee is the sole San Antonio business in the running.
San Antonio-based H-E-B’s contest pits 10 small food producers against each other in an entrepreneurship battle judged by a panel that samples theirs goods. In addition to prize money, the winner gets marketing assistance, supplemental support, mentoring and coveted shelf space with the grocery chain.
This year’s judging will take place Aug. 24 at Dallas’ Fair Park, and the grand prize rings in at $25,000.
Inspired by creator Daniel Mezza’s grandmother’s Mexican coffee, Puro Nitro is his alternative to ready-to-drink cold coffee he found bitter and too strong. Mezza employed a technique similar to Japanese flash brewing — hot brewing, then flash chilling the coffee — to create what he thinks is a better-tasting cold coffee.
Since launching Quest for Texas Best in 2014, H-E-B has awarded nearly $1 million in prize money to Lone Star State businesses. Previous San Antonio winners include Grain4Grain’s low-carb flour, Mi Tierra’s salsa verde and Humble House Foods’ smoky tamarind sauce.
Puro Nitro’s 11-ounce coffee cans are available at Schilo’s Deli, Whiskey Cake, Jefferson Bodega, DAB House of Hemp, Cafe Cultura, Alley Cat Coffee and My Juice Life. The company also sells packs of six to 24-packs on its website.
So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.
Related Stories
All-you-can-eat Korean barbecue and hot pot chain KPOT eyes San Antonio as part of major expansion
San Antonio named as the city with the best barbecue in the nation, beating out Austin, Dallas and KC
San Antonio’s Chamoy City Limits reduces hours temporarily, now open only on weekends
This article appears in Aug 10-23, 2022.
