Materials - Cantera café rock

Piece of the Cantera café stone - David Pompa - Les Vrais

Pieces of the rock - David Pompa - Les Vrais

Also known as Toba volcánica stone, Cantera Café is a volcanic rock. It was globally made up of numerous elements found and mined in Mexico and Central America. Those components namely rocks, minerals, gases and a large amount of amorphous material create the particular texture of the stone.

Its sudden cooling and solidification, reveal significant traces of flow, deformation and empty vesicles that have trapped gases (volatile elements).

The durability, softness and colour of Cantera Café allow detailed carving and cutting in the stone. It absorbs air and humidity without suffering from expansion, this is what makes it so special. The rock is thus, easy to sculpt. This stone creates a new kind of aesthetic and design.

The Toba volcánica was not only use for the latter art, it became also the stone of choice for colonial architecture. The “Café” type is one of the various shade of the stone and comes from the surroundings of the city of Querétaro. The other shades are Cantera blanca and Cantera rosa.

The process of shaping the volcanic stone to its end state, starts when the deposit is drilled, and the pieces are taken out in a square or rectangular shape. Then the rock goes to different workshops. There, the different pieces will be sculpted into several shapes and sizes.

The traditional chisel and hammer techniques are typical of craft workshops. The aesthetics of Cantera coffee, its characteristic textures and stains make it an attractive material for a specific design or even an entire collection.