Best Coffee in Honolulu – The Curb Kaimuki

The Build-Outs of Summer are drawing to a close for 2018 (don’t worry, we’ve still got a few weeks), but we’re not phoning it in, far from it. Today’s entry takes us back to London, which has to be one of the most exciting scenes in Europe, nay nay the world. Workshop Coffee has been a staple in London coffee for seven years now, and with their newest location, they continue to solidify their place.

For their fifth cafe, Workshop has set up shop inside The Pilgrm, a boutique hotel in Central London. But the cafe is for more than just hotel guests; they are just a quick hop, skip, and a jump away from the Paddington Railway Station, so they are keeping their doors open to the public as well. No bookings necessary, so let’s go check it out, the new Workshop Coffee in London, England.

As told to Sprudge by Richard Frazier.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Workshop Coffee was established in 2011 and is dedicated to showcasing the best coffee possible.

To do this, we source, roast, and serve a rotating seasonal range of single origin coffees from the world’s best coffee producing countries, farmers, and producers.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

Workshop Coffee at The Pilgrm is our fifth central London coffeebar and is located less than 400 feet from Paddington Railway Station.

It’s nestled inside The Pilgrm, a 73-room boutique hotel, and we’ll be serving espresso and filter to locals, regulars, and hotel guests every day of the week. We’re also continuing our work with Postcard Teas—breakfast, green, and oolong teas will be available alongside viennoiserie from Yeast Bakery and baked goods from Fortitude Bakehouse, who we’ve just started working with.

The space itself has been lovingly and incredibly carefully restored and the details and features throughout the space—from the light fittings and radiators that have been reclaimed from old military gyms and psychiatric hospitals around the UK, to the North Atlantic stone marble and iron timber bar, and restored 300-year-old wooden staircase.

What’s your approach to coffee?

We start at the beginning, spending several months of each year at origin building ongoing relationships with the world’s best coffee farmers, producers, cooperatives, and importers.

Roasting the coffees we procure at our roastery in London’s Bethnal Green, we aim to unlock and highlight each coffee’s potential as best we can, employing a plethora of quality control stages to ensure everything that leaves us is up to the standards we set ourselves.

But the idea is that all of this hard work happens behind the scenes, away from the bar. When it comes to brewing and serving our coffee drinks, we do so carefully and consistently and are ready and willing to talk at length about a particular producer or processing method. But we’re equally happy, if not happier, to just make you a delicious cappuccino and hear what you’ve got planned for the day.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

Alongside our two-group La Marzocco Linea PB and Nuova Simonelli Mythos One grinders for espresso, we’re continuing to champion batch brew. In fact, the nature of the space and the local area means it’s going to be our only filter option, which we’re excited about. Whether you’re a guest staying at The Pilgrm and heading out for a day of exploration in the West End or a commuter that’s turned up five minutes early for your train to Bath to get a good cup of coffee, the idea of being able to grab a clean, sweet, delicious coffee to take with you in seconds is superb.

As in all of our coffeebars, it’ll always be freshly brewed, with fresh pots hitting the bar every 30-60 minutes.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

We’re opening on Monday 13th August at 07:00.

Thank you!

No, thank you.

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Workshop Coffee In London, England appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Yesterday, we ran on article on an Amerisleep survey about coffee consumption. Surveying over 1,000 people, the survey shed some light on Americans’ coffee drinking habits, including: number of cups consumed daily, yearly coffee expenditure, and even reason for drinking coffee. In short, it was a good survey. We liked it.

But it got us to thinking. Do these results represent the average American coffee consumer? What about those that really, really like coffee, those that would, oh I don’t know, read about specialty coffee news and culture online from the most trusted name in coffee journalism? We’re inclined to believe, dear readers, that a survey of coffee geeks—both those employed in the dark arts and home dabblers alike—would produce… different numbers.

So we’re putting that theory to the test. And we think we can get more than 1,000 responses. We’ve based this survey on that of Amerisleep’s but modified it a bit to better represent the Sprudge-reading, coffee-drinking public. If you would be so kind, please take the nine question survey below. You won’t be spammed with emails, your information won’t be sold to Cambridge Analytica (or shared with anyone for that matter), or any other nefarious thing that you could imagine as the result of answering a few questions online.

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We’ll post the results some time next week, so stay tuned. Thanks for participating!

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image © Steheap/Adobe Stock

The post How’s Your Coffee Doing: The Sprudge Survey appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

There is so much happening in Denver that it can’t all possibly be contained within Denver. That’s why Greg Pierce and Shelley Flood looked west to Arvada to find the home for their new roastery and cafe. There they found a perfect and truly unique space for their dream shop: a red grain silo. Well, kind of. The namesake for Red Silo Coffee Roasters isn’t technically the home for the operation but still stands on the 19th century farm upon which Pierce and Flood opened their cafe.

But the silo was inspiration for more than just a name. Pierce and Flood want Red Silo like a farmhouse, “a gathering place for friends and family,” as Flood says. And I have to say, it’s a pretty unique setting. I’d be hard pressed to not take my coffee to go and try to sneak in into the old grain tube. Red Silo in a red silo. I can’t think of anything more fitting.

As told to Sprudge by Shelley Flood.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Red Silo was founded by two long-time friends with a passion for great coffee and entrepreneurship. Greg Pierce and Shelley Flood have worked together on new construction and design projects for more than 20 years. Their latest project, a mixed use commercial campus, located just 20 minutes west of Denver, seemed to be the perfect location to launch their latest idea… a craft coffee shop… and Red Silo was born.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

Red Silo is located on what used to be a family farm plot back in the late 1800s. The red grain silo is all that is left of that legacy and became the namesake for the cafe and roastery. Aside from providing a fantastic craft coffee experience, our goal is to become a hub for our local community. Our space embodies the farmhouse—a gathering place for friends and family. We look forward to people connecting and conversing at Red Silo. Interestingly enough, we do not plan to offer wi-fi in our cafe. We really want to encourage a community connection, not just be another internet cafe.

In addition to this beautifully designed space, featuring both soft seating, an outdoor area (boasting a lovely view of our turn-of-the-century silo), and plenty of cafe seating, we have included a reservable “Community Room” which will be available for gatherings, meetings, parties, and the like. This space will feature a huge farm-table and will also host full audio/visual capabilities for state-of-the-art meetings etc. We have also replicated the Red Silo inside the cafe—it houses our roaster and will be a constant reminder to the family and community connection that the silo symbolizes for us.

Last but not least, Red Silo has a full coffee education lab, which will be utilized not only for quality control and employee training but for fun coffee education classes for our customers as well.

What’s your approach to coffee?

While we have always had a passion for a really great cup of coffee, we are relatively new to the craft coffee industry. We have spent the last two years visiting every craft coffee shop we can find, meeting baristas, roasters, other cafe owners, and gaining knowledge from the very best in the industry. What we have learned is this: coffee truly is a love language. People are passionate about their coffee, and so are we! We look to push the bar forward in everything we do. We like to try the new and interesting and put our own twist on it. We love the experimental (empirical??) side of craft coffee, just trying out new blends—or a different roast—or crafting a new specialty drink.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We have the gambit—Synesso MVP espresso machine, Mahlkönig EK43, Peak, Tanzania grinders, Marco Dual SP-9, BUNN Trifecta (for tea), Curtis GemX brewer and tea brewer, Kegerator for Nitro Coffee, Cold Brew, Nitro Tea, Kombucha, and other tasty bevs. 10kg Proaster roaster and sample roaster.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

September 15 (fingers crossed)

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

The space was designed by both owners, Greg Pierce and Shelley Flood.

Thank you!

Thanks for considering us. We are so excited to share our space with you!

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Red Silo Coffee Roasters In Arvada, CO appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

How much do you spend on coffee every year? It’s probably a number, while impressive, that you’d feel better not seeing represented as an “that can’t be right, can it” annual sum. It’s an understandable feeling. When you can track your yearly spending in terms of number of home espresso machines (plural) you could have purchased instead, the number gets a little depressing.

But have you ever wondered how your coffee spending stacks up to others? Well, you are about to find out. In a new study, Amerisleep polled 1,008 coffee drinkers about their habits and have chopped those numbers up in a ton of interesting ways.

Brought to our attention by Brit + Co, the study takes a look at the coffee consumption habits of Americans across industries and age ranges and finds that, unsurprisingly, we drink a lot of coffee. 79% of coffee drinkers polled stated they consume at least one cup on a daily basis, even though 12% of those daily drinkers believing that caffeine is “damaging to their bodies” (contrary to pretty much every scientific study we have written about here on Sprudge). What is perhaps more surprising is that almost as many people stated their primary reason for drinking coffee was the taste as there were who stated it was for energy/to stay awake/to stay focused, 42.9% to 46.4% (the study considers these three reasons to be separate, but they are all basically saying the same thing).

And as all these Baby Boomer-penned articles suggest (you know the ones, where avocado toast and coffee are keeping kids these days from saving money and buying houses), Millennials spend more on coffee than other age groups. According to the study, people ages 25-34 spend on average $2,008 a year whereas the next closest age group, those 35-44, only spend $1,410. As someone on the cusp of switching between these two groups, I can at least look forward to an extra $600 in my pocket. Do I get it in a lump sump on my birthday? That would be sweet.

Image via Amerisleep

Based on industry, the study finds that wholesale and retail and hotel, food services, and hospitality top the list of most cups consumed daily with an average of 3.5. Interestingly enough though, these two industries aren’t the biggest spenders on coffee. That designation goes to finance and insurance, spending $709 a year on coffee—$117 more than wholesale and retail in second—even though they rank as the sixth-highest coffee-drinking industry with 3.0 cups daily. All that extra whip and drizzle adds up. Hotel, food services, and hospitality spends an ostensibly low amount of coffee, $278 a year, until you realize that group is comprised of baristas and servers who have access to free coffee as part of their job and just make it for themselves.

Do you feel better about your coffee habits after seeing the survey? Yes? No? Want to feel better/worse? Then check out the full survey results here. And grab another coffee. What’s one more cup gonna do?

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image © Alena Ozerova/Adobe Stock.

The post How Much Do You Spend On Coffee Each Year? appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Santa Fe, New Mexico is a truly magical place, and not just because they put chiles on everything, though honestly that would be enough. A unique mix of artists, cowboys, mountains, and Pueblo architecture, Santa Fe is unlike anywhere else in the world. And in recent years, a thriving coffee scene has begun to blossom in the New Mexican desert, a place whose claim to coffee fame up to that point was putting butter in an otherwise good cup and calling it healthy.

In the center of this newfound, non-bulletproof coffee resurgence is Iconik Coffee Roasters. When we profiled Iconik a few years back, we were taken by their ability to straddle the divide between third wave sensibilities and old school coffeehouse charm. And this new location—their third—continues to find that balance, feeling like a modern cafe (replete with some serious gear) but also completely like a Santa Fe coffeehouse. But there’s no bulletproof coffee at this new Iconik; you’ll just have to go to one of their other two locations to get that part of you Santa Fe experience.

As told to Sprudge by Sean Ham.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Founded in 2013, Iconik is a third wave coffee roaster based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We operate three cafes in town and provide coffee to hotels and restaurants throughout the state. We roast on a 1927 Otto Swadlo that we’ve modified to roast to modern standards—variable drive fans, drum, and other modifications to roast tasty coffee. We believe that from seed to cup, everything matters. In each of our cafes we strive to brew the perfect cup, integrating new techniques and technologies and teaching methods to bring our customers the very best. We serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, bake our own bagels and pastries, and anything we can do ourselves, we do.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

We were in search of a new location close to downtown Santa Fe that was truly unique. When we came upon an abandoned building from 1926, we knew we’d found it. Located next to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, ICONIK LUPE represents a variation on a theme for Iconik. Whereas the main Iconik’s aesthetic is Mid-century Modern meets Industrial Revolution, ICONIK LUPE is Art Nouveau/Art Deco meets Industrial Revolution. We incorporated found items and architectural design from the original building and added fixtures and furniture from the 1920s to the 1940s from an employee antiquing trip through Texas in late 2017. As much as we were able reuse and repurpose, we did, down to the 2×4 studs saved from demolition to be used for any new framing. Our barflow was designed to remove walking time for our baristas, allowing them to spend more time connecting with our customers. Our espresso machine was built on a cart for easy roll out repairs when needed. For our by-the-cup coffee, we incorporated the new Modbar AV, programing it to brew 320 gram full cups of coffee in 2-3 minutes at equal to or better cup quality than our pour-over method (which would take 5-7 minutes per cup). We have two filtration systems, one for brewed coffee, the other for espresso service, allowing us to dial in our water to our brew method. In short, ICONIK LUPE represents the sum of all of our learning from the past five years.

What’s your approach to coffee?

To connect our customers to their coffee, community, and each other. For sourcing: selecting the finest coffees available and creating direct relationships with our partner farms. For roasting: roasting with enthusiastic detail to ensure that each bean’s varietal, soil condition, altitude, and harvesting method come through in each cup. Brewing: forever refining and improving our methods to offer an extraordinary experience and extraordinary cup quality to our customers.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

Slayer Steam X two-group. Modbar AV. Marco MIX PB3. Two EVERPURE CONSERV 75E RO systems.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

Already opened Jun 15th!

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

Yes! We tried to use as many customer craftspeople as possible. Michael May with Traveler Fine Furniture for all finish woodwork and cabinetry, Alex Barrett and John Stump for welding. For much of the buildout, painting, and fit and finish, we involved our staff to help put the finishing touches on the space to make it their own, down to plasma cutting and rolling the waterfall edge on the front of our steel counter top.

Thank you!

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Iconik Coffee Roasters In Santa Fe, NM appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Never underestimate humans’ fundamental desire to take something simple and completely overcomplicate it. Granted the overcomplication is often impressive in its design, it is still wholly unnecessary. Take for instance IBM’s newest patent for a coffee drone, a creation that not only takes the act of transferring a cup of coffee from one person’s hand to another person’s and adds flying machines to it but is also said to predict which random strangers it sees need a coffee.

According to CNBC, IBM has secured the patent for a coffee drone that can deliver a pre-ordered coffee to an “office, cafe or event setting” using “facial- or voice-recognition software, an electronic ID tag or Bluetooth from a person’s smartphone ensures the coffee gets to the right person.” Calling out the name of the person who ordered the coffee is so 2002.

More than just delivering coffee, the drone will also “predict” who needs a caffeine boost in rather terrifying ways:

Yeah sure, I’ll give over my entire medical history to a bot controlled by a mega corporation just so it can tell me if I need coffee, something I’m completely unable to figure out myself. What’s the worst that could happen? And PS: IBM, you don’t need all those fancy widgets to know if I’ll drink another coffee. The answer is always yes. Just ask the nice people at my local grocery store handing out really terrible coffee. I’m always game.

For what it’s worth, this drone technology is also being considered for use in bars to keep from serving alcohol to already drunk individuals or minors, so that’s cool I guess. Again, things a responsible and attentive bartender can easily do without lasers or biometrics or medical histories, but kinda cool maybe.

Don’t expect to see this technology buzzing overhead, spilling hot liquid on passersby thanks to an untimely gust of wind any time soon, though. According to Ryan Calo, a University of Washington School of Law drone expert, “It’s a combination of technology that is ready for prime time and technology that clearly is not ready for prime time.”

For the time being, we’re going to have to decide for ourselves is we want a coffee and use our own stupid legs to go get one like a bunch of saps.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

The post IBM Wants To Use A Drone To Predict When You Need Coffee appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The 2018 Build-Outs of Summer has been all about repeat appearances. We’ve seen roasters, cafes, and individuals all making their second appearances in our little summer series, and we are here for it. Today’s entry falls right in line thematically, with Share Coffee Roasters in Amherst, Massachusetts. Back after a three-year hiatus, Share is here to show off their brand new space in Amherst Center, and it somehow both elegant and cozy. But don’t just take my word for it, have a look for yourself.

As told to Sprudge by Lucas Smith.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Share started with the mission of bringing the best coffee to the hands of our costumers in an accessible and easy way. In the Pioneer Valley everyone knows their farmer and has farm shares, we wanted to create a way to have that same experience but in coffee. We work super hard and have a lot of fun sourcing, roasting, and brewing really tasty, clean, sweet coffees! Values that mean a lot to us are have fun, be nice, and always be learning.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

It’s super sick! We are so excited to share this space with the world. We feel it’s finally an accurate representation of what we are doing in coffee. We moved from our old location in Amherst that before was Rao’s (formerly Scott Rao’s roastery/cafe) and left a space that had over 25 years of history. Ken, our owner worked under Scott as his roaster and had personally been in there for the last decade so leaving the old shop was a bit bittersweet, but our new home is a beautiful, light, welcoming space that we just want to hang out in.

What’s your approach to coffee?

We do coffee the best way we know how to right now. We are really big on education for our staff. We want our baristas to have the skill to artfully and comfortably slay the coffee game! A big thing for us is being truly accessible, not just saying we are, so we work really hard to make sure we have the knowledge and the skills needed to create the most accommodating guest experience. On the backend of things we are huge on data logging. We do same day QC on every batch we roast before we send it out, to us its the only way that makes sense. But in the end of the day we just love coffee and want to enjoy it with our friends.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We have a Kees van der Westen Mirage Bastone. We are pretty stoked on our Rhinoware pitcher rinser. We use Mazzer grinders for our espresso and Mahlkönig EK43s for our FETCO batch brew. The new space also has a full kitchen that we are super excited about!

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

July 3rd

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

John LaValley: Master of all trades, builder of amazing furniture.

Sarah Ettelmen Interiors: Interior design, materials, paint selection, lighting and plants. Makes everything look beautiful.

Jason Tuthill: Tracksaw wizard

Pete Clark: Captain polyurethane

Ron Sheppard: Electrical

Jeff Pickering & Sons: Plumbing

Thank you!

We made it!!

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Share Coffee Roasters In Amherst, MA appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

If you were to ask me right now to pick my favorites to win the 2024 Brewers Cup, I would Aaron Bossett and Jamaica Myres. The two 13-year-old Seattle residents are the creators and sole proprietors of StayWoke Coffee, a coffee stand in the Columbia City area that is garnering some major attention.

As reported by Seattle’s Child, the project began as a “home-schooling summer project to make some extra spending cash,” but thanks to the teens’ dedication, StayWoke may just be here to stay. Their offer sheet is simple—pour-overs are $4—but their setup is serious. A brief perusal through their Instagram finds the duo brewing single origins from Empire Roasters using Baratza Fortés, Fellow Stagg kettles, and Kalita Waves (and a very smart denim apron). StayWoke even has a digital loyalty program where regulars can earn rewards.

The response thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. Thanks to their hard work, Bosset and Myres have been able to meet celebrities like Guy Fieri and former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, per the article. The response from the community has been equally enthusiastic, and the duo says they have long-term plans of securing funding to turn their stand into a full-blown cafe.

Ex Seahawks legend came down and supported stay woke coffee and had our delicious tea. Thank you for stoping by @marcus_trufant !

A post shared by StayWoke Coffee Stand (@staywokestand) on Aug 9, 2018 at 12:35pm PDT

But for now, you can find StayWoke Coffee at the corner of South Alaska Street and 31st Avenue South near the Columbia City light rail station between 6:30am and 11:00am every weekday. Or follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see where they may be popping up next. I’m telling you, the 2024 Brewers Cup is a wrap.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via Seattle’s Child

The post Two 13 Year Olds Are Seattle’s Newest Coffee Entrepreneurs appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

If there had been a really good coffee shop in the office building where I used to work, I may have never left the corporate world to come back to coffee. Well, that’s not true; office jobs are a slow death. But having good coffee at my every beck and call would perhaps have made me forget my soul was leaving my body at an uncomfortable rate. In Burlington, Vermont, Kestrel Coffee Roasters is helping weary office workers fight the good fight with the opening of their brand new space in 1,200 employee office park.

Their full-time cafe is still in the works, but for the time being, Kestrel has being the white collar crowd caffeinated via a pop-up shop shop in the lobby of their future home. But soon enough, they will have a space all to themselves. Better get those timesheets approved early, that way you can spend a few extra but very necessary moments at the all new Kestrel Coffee Roasters in Burlington, Vermont.

As told to Sprudge by Charlotte Steverson.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Kestrel Coffee Roasters just opened this year as a roaster, wholesaler, and retailer in South Burlington, Vermont.

Co-Owners Charlotte and Johnny Steverson each have years of experience in the coffee and hospitality industries. Johnny, a licensed Q Grader, has been roasting for over five years. Charlotte is an experienced event planner and has accompanied Johnny on various cuppings, events, and classes.

Kestrels are the smallest of the falcons; they are small but mighty, which is the trait we love most about Kestrel Coffee Roasters.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

We are located inside a six-acre building at a large office complex called “Tech Park.” There are about 15 businesses and over 1,200 employees as well as walking trails (with the well-known “Whales Tails” sculpture) and a gorgeous view of the Green Mountains.

The entrance to our space will be right off a large atrium with skylights and communal seating. Our roaster (Loring S15) will be featured near the cafe behind a glass wall. We’ll bring in fun colors and a mix of wood and metal finishes to create a warm, welcoming vibe.

In the meantime, we have been open since July 2 in the form of a coffee kiosk located in a high traffic hallway of the same building. We also have our roaster temporarily set up. It’s been really amazing to get to know our neighbors and customers before the cafe even opens!

What’s your approach to coffee?

People have come to know us for sourcing really excellent coffees. It’s easy to talk at length about water temperature, extraction rates, and grind size, but at the end of the day it’s about drinking a great cup of coffee made by someone who cares.

Our job is to get that across to our customers.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

Our roaster is a Loring S15 Falcon. As far as brewing and grinding goes: La Marzocco Linea two-group, FETCO XTS, Mahlkönig EK-43 and Peak grinders… and great people!

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

December 2018/January 2019.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

Our branding and design firm (Solidarity of Unbridled Labour, Burlington, VT) was unbelievably creative and, among other things, came up with an incredible color palette that we can’t wait to showcase in the final space.

The architects (Scott + Partners, Essex, VT) have understood our vision from the start, and we’re just putting the finishing touches on the plans so construction can begin in September.

The counter/bar for our kiosk was designed and built by Construct Custom VT out of Montpelier, VT. Benjamin was so excited about this project and we couldn’t be happier with the result!

Finally, our landlord and contractor, ReArch. They have been an amazing partner, and we are so excited to be joining the Tech Park community.

Thank you!

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to share our story!

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Kestrel Coffee Roasters In Burlington, VT appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Cuties is in trouble. The Los Angeles-based coffee shop that serves as an all-ages alternative to the bar scene for the queer community is in danger of having to shutter. With a focus on serving the LA queer community—not just those with the money to afford to buy a coffee (which as RJ Joseph’s article for Sprudge elucidates, queer community members “face higher rates of unemployment, homelessness, and poverty than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts”)—Cuties has always relied on the financial backing of supporters. But that backing is running out.

In a recent Facebook post, Cuties entreated their followers to give to their Patreon account in order to keep the doors open. As the post explains, there is a big need for all-ages safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ peoples, not just in LA but world wide. “Every week I get messages from our queer & trans kin all over the world asking us to open a Cuties in their hometown,” the post explains. The need is there but the funding isn’t always. From a Medium post by Cuties co-founder Iris Bainum-Houle:

With programs like the suspended coffee—where patrons can buy two coffees, one for themselves and one to be redeemed by a future customer in need—and the community tab—where non-Angelinos can donate to make sure everyone is able to get a beverage and feel comfortable in the space—Cuties focus is on anything but the bottom line. But nonetheless, bills need to be paid and staff compensated in order to keep this truly necessary space accessible.

There are a lot of ways you can help. You can sign up for their newsletter and pledge $5 a month to Cuties’ Patreon or you can give a one-time donation, both of which can be done here. Anything helps. And if you don’t have the expendable income to help financially, you can share their Patreon “on all of your social accounts, on your newsletter, on your event pages, send it via text or email to people you know in the community & allies! Call your family members who say they have ‘nothing against gay people.’ Ask them to put their $ where their mouth is.”

To read more about Cuties current situation and the important role they play in the community, Iris Bainum-Houle, fellow co-founder Virginia Bauman, and social media coordinator Leslie Foster have all put their thoughts to paper via Medium posts, which can be found here, here, and here, respectively.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via In Los Angeles, Cuties Coffee Serves The Queer Community by RJ Joseph

The post Cuties Coffee, Los Angeles’ Queer Community Space, Needs Your Help appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News