Photo courtesy of Emily Hernandez

Emily and Julio run Nona Coffee Roasting Co. They are also Nonahood residents. 

Nonahood News: What are your jobs? 

Emily Hernandez: I’m a pediatric nurse practitioner. 

Julio Hernandez: I’m a physician assistant in orthopedic surgery. We also started our small-batch micro roasting business last fall. 

EH: It’s a coffee roasting company where we roast coffee beans, and we deliver them to people all over the U.S. 

NHN: What do your day-to-day schedules look like? 

EH: We have two kids, so we make sure that they get to where they need to be. We each go individually into our primary professions and then we’re either roasting any orders that come in or delivering any orders. We work on any marketing materials after the kids are put to bed. 

JH: We also reach out to our importer in Tampa to see what they have that’s coming out. We profile new coffee beans from different countries to see if we have any potential beans that we like that we can offer to the community. 

NHN: What are the most challenging aspects of your jobs? 

EH: We have a lot to balance being parents, having our professions, and then having this startup business that we really want to thrive and grow. I think it’s having a balance and making sure we don’t become overburdened, and we have time to dedicate to each of those areas. 

We divide and conquer a lot. Whenever something is a priority, it depends on who has the most availability. In the division of the company, Julio does all the roasting. I do social media, marketing, anything techie. We use our strengths and our weaknesses. 

NHN: What are the most rewarding aspects of your jobs? 

JH: For me, it’s ultimately providing a great cup of coffee to somebody. I have a huge passion for coffee that goes as far back as when I was 5 years old drinking coffee with my grandpa. And then in my professional job, I did a lot of traveling and reached out to a lot of coffee shops. The whole process of getting a bean into the cup. … A lot of people don’t realize that the whole process takes about 7-10 years. It’s not that we take it for granted, but we don’t think about all the steps.

EH: For me, it’s the connections we make with every new person we meet. I really like having our children see us delve into this and making it a family business and us being able to put our all into one thing that we find we have in common. 

NHN: What got you interested in doing your jobs in this area? 

EH: We like the growth of Lake Nona. We appreciate that people are diverse and they’re looking for different things. And we like to be able to bring something that is not so commonly seen around here.

NHN: What other hobbies do you have? 

EH: I say that I like to decorate and redecorate a lot. We like to travel a lot with the kids. We like to give them different experiences. 

JH: I like to run, read and always learn new things, researching new things. 

NHN: Where do you see yourselves in the next five years? 

EH: We like to go with God’s plans and God’s guidance in our life. I think that’s first and foremost, but I’m not gonna say that we haven’t toyed with the idea of having a place where we can roast coffee and have a coffee lounge vibe where people could work.

NHN: What brought you to Lake Nona and when did you move here? 

EH: We lived here initially 2010-2015. Then we moved to Atlanta and then we came back in 2018. And we’ve been here since. 

JH: We just liked the area, especially Laureate Park. It’s not the typical Florida home, and we liked the active lifestyle in this area. 

EH: Also, our families are here. We really wanted to come back. 

NHN: Where are you from? 

EH: I was born in Puerto Rico but raised in Central Florida. Julio was born in the States. We’re both of Puerto Rican parents, but he’s a military child. 

JH: I was born in Virginia, and we moved around every 2-3 years, but my dad retired in Orlando, so I was here from 10th grade on. 

NHN: What is your favorite part about Lake Nona? 

EH: We love Canvas and the Town Center. We enjoy riding our bikes to like the Wave Garden area, and we love our community. 

NHN: What would you say to anybody who’s considering a move to Lake Nona? 

JH: Just do it. It’s an amazing community. 

EH: With all the up-and-coming things around here, it’s just an exciting time to be in this area.