Honolulu Coffee Archives - Page 41 of 74 - The Curb Kaimuki

“This is not a coffee shop,” says the sign written on the counter wall where the coffees are prepared at Café Magrí in Belo Horizonte, a Brazilian city that boasts a deep tradition in coffee—Minas Gerais, where the city is located, is one of the biggest Arabica-producing states in the nation.

The message on the wall is not arbitrary. Café Magrí has taken this name in homage to the surrealist artist René Magritte, known for his juxtaposition of textual and visual signs. The cafe’s owners—a couple consisting of a barista and a chef—decided to open the doors of this venue to question their own business model, which they have been running since February: is this more a coffee shop or more a restaurant?

Marília Balzani and Rafael Brito found a gap in Belo Horizonte’s food scene when they were thinking about what their business would look like. “When there is great coffee, the food is never good enough and vice versa,” says Balzani. “It has always been a hard task to find a place with really good food and also great coffee, so we decided to open a business that could have the best of both worlds.”

Balzani and Brito. Photo by Ton Nettos.

The couple joined their skills to create a new concept—indeed a missing one—in the city. From the union of their specialties, Magrí was born as a mixture of cafe and coffee shop, as she explains, serving from a variety of coffee methods (such as V60, AeroPress, and many others) and a broad diversity of food. Balzani used to work at coffee farms and also in some of the city’s coffee shops while Brito was part of the kitchen staff of some of the best restaurants in Minas Gerais’ capital.

At his small kitchen, Brito prepares some dishes that run away from the snack foods usually served in coffee shops. More than pão de queijo (cheese bread made from cassava) or pieces of cake, he has created sandwiches, salads, and other dishes with a chef’s approach so the customer can “go beyond in their choices,” as he says. In addition to brunch on weekends, Magrí offers lighter lunch options as well as bites that can be consumed all day.

Photo by Juliana Felix

It took the couple a year to open Magrí: during that time, Brito dedicated himself to creating and testing recipes, while Balzani went in search of their coffee. Drawing on her background, she zeroed in on the region of Mata de Minas, the home of coffees she’d fallen in love with when she participated in the Brazilian AeroPress Championship there last year and visited farms and producers. In partnership with a local roaster, Roast, she oversees the entire roasting process to ensure the best coffee comes to Magrí.

“At first I had thought of doing the roasting myself, but I didn’t think I could devote so much time to it with the opening—and also we would not have room for a roasting machine. So I’ve partnered with Roast and they’ve been great partners, since they let me follow up the whole roasting process, helping to create roast profiles, etc,” she explains.

In addition to the convenience of sourcing coffee from Mata de Minas, Balzani was drawn to the diversity of flavor profiles coming out of the region, allowing them to offer variety to their clientele. “We are serving beans from four completely different producers, which range from those with higher acidity to more balanced ones,” she explains.

What’s more, Magrí is close enough to its source farms that occasionally the producers come visit the coffee shop.

“They are near, so it’s been a great exchange when they come. Our goal is not only to work closely with our customers, but also with our producers. Everything we serve here is either homemade or bought from small local producers,” Balzani points out. “So we can transform a little what is around us, our environment,” she concludes. A coffee shop is never just a coffee shop, as Magritte would say.

Rafael Tonon is a freelance journalist based in Brazil. Read more Rafael Tonon on Sprudge.

Photos by Cadu Passos unless otherwise noted.

The post This Is Not A Coffee Shop: Belo Horizonte’s Café Magrí Is So Much More appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Some truths are self-evident: if you’re visiting Paris, you’d do well to choose a spot within walking distance of La Fontaine de Belleville. And I don’t mean Parisian walking distance, I mean “I live in Texas and drive anywhere that is over a half-mile away” walking distance. It’s where I start my morning and, time permitting, where I start my night before I’m off gallivanting hither and yon to whatever other natural wine spot I can find in a city full of them.

And now thanks to Belleville Brûlerie—the cafe’s roasting arm—I’ll be able to expand my list of chill zones, as the brand has announced the acquisition of Cafés Cuillier and its four outposts.

Cafés Cuillier and Belleville Brûlerie already have a long-established relationship; Belleville has been the primary roaster for Cuillier for many years now. But now with this acquisition, Belleville is looking to “radically change the image of coffee in France by [changing] the way France drinks coffee,” as per a press release.

David Flynn, Belleville’s President, Director of Marketing, and Director of Coffee tells Sprudge:

Coffee is, above all, about people and we’re very pleased to welcome 19 new members to our team. Beyond that, we’re excited to be able to participate in the life of some of Paris’ most iconic neighbourhoods, and share our vision for great coffee.

According to the press release, all Cafés Cuillier locations will operate under their same moniker until 2019, when they will begin being rebranded as Belleville shops, with Foundation Café in the Marais being the first to undergo the change. But unlike the original Fontaine de Belleville, these new locations won’t offer up the brand’s succinct but thoughtful natural wine list due to them lacking the appropriate licensing. However, this is Paris, so you can just go to the one of, what, maybe a million other fantastic natural wine bars within walking distance of wherever you currently are.

Go drink coffee in Paris. It’s one of the most fun scenes in the world, and it just got a littler funner.

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 Belleville Brûlerie Acquires Cafés Cuillier, Adding Four Paris Cafes appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Welcome to the 2018 Sprudgie Awards season! This marks our tenth fabulous year awarding the most coveted honor in coffee: The Sprudgie. This year we’ve teamed up with our partners at Oatly to make the awards bigger and better than ever, while maintaining our commitment to a free nominations process for folks around the world. Oatly’s got your back—thank you Oatly!

Nominations are now open! Following the open nominations process, we’ll whittle down to a final list of finalists, and open that up again to a popular vote. Open nominations close Sunday, December 9th at 11:59 PM. Finalists will be announced on Monday, December 1oth.

View all past Sprudgie Award winners here. 

To protect our awards process from bots, we ask that you submit your email address with your nomination ballot. We will not use your e-mail for anything beyond verification. We won’t sell your email, spam you with membership requests, or demand that you sign you up for our weekly Sprudge Letter (although you really should).

Cast your ballot! Tell your friends! Nominate your heroes! A lot of really good stuff happened this year in coffee and it’s time to tell the world. Best of luck!

Loading…

Can’t see the form? Access it here.

Oatly is the presenting sponsor of the 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards. 

The post Nominate The Best In Coffee For The 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards—Presented By Oatly appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Life wouldn’t be as sweet without the bitter. It’s an adage for life, one that really seems to have been taken to heart by coffee drinker of the world who are pushing this fanciful turn of phrase to its logical conclusion: life’s potential for sweetness can only be increased by the addition of more bitter. Lots of it. A new study shows that those more sensitive to bitter tastes consume more coffee than those who aren’t.

As reported by NPR, researchers looked through collected data from the UK Biobank, a genetic repository where “more than 500,000 people have contributed blood, urine and saliva samples” as well as “filled out questionnaires asking a variety of health-related questions, including how much coffee they drink.”

For their analysis, researchers pored over the half million participants to find those who were more or less sensitive to one or more of three bitter compounds: caffeine, quinine, and propylthiouracil, a substance generally used in “genetic tests of people’s ability to taste bitter compounds.” When cross-referencing the participants with their self-reported coffee intake, the researchers found that people more sensitive to caffeine—meaning those who are more genetically adept at picking up on its bitter taste—consumed more coffee than those less sensitive to it, by two tablespoons on average. Interestingly enough, those sensitive to quinine or propylthiouracil—neither of which are in coffee—consumed less.

To explain the ostensibly counterintuitive findings, Marilyn Cornelis, an assistant professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors, postulates that it isn’t the taste that keeps people coming back but what they associate with it, namely the energy jolt. Folks may “learn to associate that bitter taste with the stimulation that coffee can provide,” as Cornelis states.

It just goes to show the alchemical calculus coffee drinkers perform on a daily, if not multiple times a day, basis: that if you are going to chase the dragon of sweet, sweet liquid mental acuity, you’re going to need equal parts bitter to catch it.

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 © Vladimir Floyd/Adobe Stock

The post Bitter, Sweet Symphony: People Sensitive To Bitterness Drink More Coffee appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

In a town like Melbourne, where food and drink are the lifeblood of people’s professional and recreational day-to-day, places like the Queen Victoria Market are the beating heart of the city. It’s where families come to get their weekly groceries (and maybe some fancy delicatessen goods), it’s where chefs come to pick up seasonal vegetables and meat, and it’s where tourists flock to try the delicious dips and famed boreks (or to gather some delightfully kitschy Australiana souvenirs). It’s a delightful microcosm of all that Melbourne has to offer.

This diverse appeal, and the central location of the market, led founders Fleur Studd and Jason Scheltus to open an outpost of Market Lane Coffee at Queen Victoria Market over seven years ago on Therry Street, which runs alongside the market. (Disclosure: this writer worked for Market Lane between 2011–2014). In the years since, they’ve opened locations in Carlton, in the CBD, at South Melbourne market, and a satellite cafe within the deli area of Queen Vic Market. While their original Therry Street store absolutely flourished over the years, the building that housed the cafe was sold to the City of Melbourne four years ago, which meant they’d need to leave the space—prompting them to search for an alternative, more permanent location at the market to fill the gap. With this, they happily secured a new space on the corner of Victoria and Queen, in a beautiful terraced storefront—opening just in time for their Therry Street site to close its doors.

The design for the space was undertaken by Sarah Trotter of Hearth Studio, who’s designed the interiors of the last five Market Lane Coffee shops, while the build-out was done by Orio of Arteveneta, who’s also been behind the carpentry for nearly all the Market Lane venues over the years. The shop has one main bar where all the coffee brewing is undertaken, which creates a line and flow between the two entryways to the space—light wood frames the space through cabinetry, benches, and shelving, while brass handles, rich maroon tiles, and a patterned navy blue curtain punctuate the aesthetic and draw the eye.

The building itself is protected by a Heritage Overlay, which means that any new work needed to be undertaken with respect to historic aesthetic elements. As Trotter explained, “We aim to work in a way that is directly responsive to site and setting—and as such the historical and cultural context of the spaces within which Market Lane shops are located becomes very important to the way we design… Whilst our strategy revolved around the idea of minimal intervention, we were able to recognize and work with several opportunities the traditional Victorian shop front layout provided.”

Chatting to Scheltus about what they hope to achieve in the new space, he said, “One of the big goals is to create a space where our customers can sit and interact with our staff while they’re brewing coffee. I think bartenders are really lucky to be able to have many of their customers sitting comfortably in front of them as they work, giving them a great opportunity to create rapport, relationships, and a familiarity with their customers.”

While the team considered installing an under-the-counter espresso set-up to break down barriers, they eventually came to the conclusion that even the most subtle equipment can’t create an inviting and intimate environment for customers—instead, they set up dedicated bar seating that highlights the pour-over coffee station, allowing for extended interaction and engagement while staff are brewing filter coffee.

The offering here is relatively minimal—espresso coffee or filter coffee, along with a small selection of sweets from North Melbourne-based bakery Beatrix, and a retail offering with an emphasis on brewing at home.

As any enterprise matures over time, there’s the question of sustainability—not only in relation to finance and whether the business is viable, but also whether the company is growing in a way that promotes a healthy culture for the people that work in that business. It’s an evolution that is often key to a company’s success, and one that Market Lane has very much been paying attention to.

Co-Founders Jason Scheltus and Fleur Studd, and general manager Jenni Bryant

“From the outside it probably seems like the biggest change to the company has been the number of stores we have opened, but really the biggest change has been the structures around staff, their development, progression, and training.” Scheltus explained, “We made a conscious decision in 2013 to be the best place for coffee-focused hospitality staff to work—meaning since then we consider the engagement, well-being, progression, and training of staff.”

It’s this openness to evolution that has contributed to Market Lane Coffee’s growth from their original roastery and cafe in Prahran Market to a company that has six venues across Melbourne city. In a city like Melbourne that appears to have an insatiable thirst for high-quality coffee, Market Lane’s oft-appropriated tagline “We love to make coffee for the city that loves to drink it” definitely makes you feel like there’s no need for them to slow down any time soon.

Eileen P. Kenny is a coffee professional, winemaker, and Sprudge Media Network contributor based in Melbourne. Read more Eileen P. Kenny on Sprudge.

With photos courtesy of Armelle Habib for Market Lane Coffee.

The post Melbourne’s Market Lane Coffee Finds A New Home At The Queen Victoria Market appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Wildfires across California are officially the worst ever recorded. Let that sink in—so many lives lost and missing, so many people affected. It’s horrible and terrifying and time to step up with support. We’re supporting the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund in the form of a direct donation and we ask that you consider doing the same. If you live in the region please stay safe this weekend.

This week’s episode was kind of a weird one—a last minute re-tape, following our difficult decision this morning to postpone scheduled book tour stops across the Bay Area with Counter Culture, Equator Coffees, and Omnivore Books.  On the show we talk a bit about that choice and talk a little bit more about the work CalFund is doing to help support people in need across the state.

Check out The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes or download the episode here. The Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by  Oxo, Urnex Brands, Hario, and Swiss Water Decaf. 

A little later on the show we check back in on Black Coffee—did you listen to last week’s episodes yet? They are available wherever podcasts are clicked and wow, it is some crucial, essential listening. Funny, heartbreaking, raw, and rousing stuff. You just gotta go listen to it. And back on this week’s show, we talk a bit more about the panel experience with Victoria Smith of The Cup We All Race 4, a charming lobby coffee bar in the heart of The Line Hotel DC, our gracious event hosts for Black Coffee DC. We chat with Victoria about the challenges and glories of hotel coffee, her experience as a panelist at Black Coffee, and much more.

Thanks so much for listening to this week’s episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, and if you’re listening or reading this from California, please stay safe this weekend.

Sign up now as a subscriber to the Coffee Sprudgecast and never miss an episode. 

Listen, subscribe and review The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes.

Download the episode here.

The post The Coffee Sprudgecast: The One With Victoria Smith appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

I was just in a hipster coffee shop (safe space) in Williamsburg and the libs were whispering to each other how the cafe was actually owned by a White Supremacist and now it’s shut down. As reported by Bushwick Daily, Sands Cafe has shuttered after the owner was accused of being a member of the Alt-Right.

It all started with a tweet (from a now private account) allegedly outing Guy Sands—the “Sands” of Sands Cafe—as sympathetic to far right ideologies. This kicked off an online controversy, leading to the shop’s demise.

Sands has denied any such association, going so far as to tell the Gothamist that he is “not a goddamn Nazi,” but as Bushwick Daily notes, there are some inconsistencies with his story:

Some of his statements were somewhat contradictory: he claimed to be a lifelong Democrat to Gothamist, though Eater identified him as a registered Republican. He denied maintaining an alt right Twitter account, though below the Gothamist article a commenter posted what appeared to be content from Sands’s deleted account expressing boilerplate far right sentiments and other similar tweets under the handle @SandsGuy remain aggregated on various other sites.

Even more damning for his “not a goddamn Nazi” assertion, though, is a 2016 article in Vanity Fair chronicling Sands attendance at a garbage party thrown by Milo Yiannopoulos after his Twitter account was shut down for saying garbage things about SNL actor/underrated Ghostbusters reboot star/national treasure Leslie Jones. “I’ve always been a contrarian,” Sands says in the VF article, which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a racist, but it does evidently mean he parties with them. This is man whose now-deleted Twitter account bio reads: “Brooklyn Songwriter : Philosophy Guy : Cineaste : Restaurant Manager : Evergreen Alumni : Political Unicorn.”

Whoa.

The proverbial nail in the coffin comes from Sands himself, who told Gothamist he’d “traveled to Washington DC with the Proud Boys,” whom the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group, on what Sands referred to as an “investigatory” trip.

He’s not a white nationalist, he’s just alt-right curious. And now his coffee bar is closed. Also, the fuck out of here with “cineaste” in your Twitter profile. That should have been warning enough.

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 Sands Cafe

The post Brooklyn Cafe Closes After Owner Accused Of Alt-Right Ties appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Richmond, Virginia’s very own Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co, now in its 14th year, has upped its game with lovely new packaging. The team at Blanchard’s spent two years moving the design and creative process in-house, lead by their designer Anna Thompson (Palindrome Creative Co.) and photographer and illustrator Cameron Lewis. “[Thompson] is responsible for corralling all of our rambling thoughts and ideas and synthesizing them into a final piece that perfectly embodied our desires,” says Blanchard’s representative Seth Bauserman. We had an opportunity to learn more about their vision and process by speaking digitally to Bauserman.

Tell us a bit about your company.

Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co. is a wholesale coffee roaster located in Richmond, Virginia. Our story began in 2005 when Founder, David Blanchard roasted the first batch of coffee on his new Ambex roaster, set up in his father’s garage. In those early days, David’s goal was to roast great coffee that he could share with family and friends. Over the years, family and friends grew in number, and our coffee community expanded to include customers and producers from around the world. Our modern, efficient coffee roasting facility is far removed from David’s father’s garage, but the spirit of Blanchard’s original mission still informs everything we do to this day. We strive to create a culture of intent, which begins with how we source coffees and the relationships we build with farmers and producers, continues through the information and education we provide about those coffees and relationships, and concludes with our clients and customers making informed, intentional decisions about the coffees they choose to brew.

When did the coffee package design debut?

October 1st of 2018.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

Processing method, altitude, variety, farmer, region, and farm name are all present on the label. Additionally, there is a supplemental insert that details more information about the coffee–sometimes a photograph from origin on a postcard, sometimes an illustration. We want our packaging to push to our website where we can dive deeper into information and resources.

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

As a wholesale roaster we feel the pressure and responsibility of communicating our vision, brand, and story for coffee through our packaging. Not having a physical cafe space to communicate those things can be limiting, so packaging becomes our outlet for engaging customers with our point of view. Whether or not we execute that need or not is ultimately up to the customers who experience and interact with our products.

Aesthetics are particularly important for this package which is set aside for special releases. A few times a year we come across coffees that demand our attention because of their quality, scarcity, story, or uniqueness. These coffees push our boundaries and beg us to be more intentional with the materials and design of the package that holds them. We’ve worked to create a package that directs the customers focus to the coffee inside, using color, sustainable materials, and a hand printed approach. Color is a tool we use in all of our packaging to reflect the tone and character of each coffee, and this package expresses that in the purest sense. The color becomes an extension of the flavor and feel of the coffee itself.

Where is the bag manufactured?

The interior bag is Biotrē made by PBi. The exterior box was made in Nashville. The goal with this project was a low-cost product where we maintain complete control and flexibility. All labels and box colors are printed by hand in Richmond by our staff. The coffee community is full of people coming from creative backgrounds, so we have a few individuals on our staff who know their way around a printing studio. We work with a local non-profit printing studio, Studio Three, who facilitates creative practices through shared space, tools, and education.

What type of package is it?

The box was designed by us and is made of 24pt Kraft Board. All color you see on the box and label is a water based ink applied through screen printing. The interior bag is kraft Biotrē produced by PBI who does all of our other retail packaging.

Is the package recyclable/compostable?

Yes, the box is made of 100% recycled paperboard and is recyclable. The interior bag is compostable once the valve is removed.

Where is it currently available?

You can purchase these at our roasting facility and on our website.

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.

The post Coffee Design: Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co. In Richmond, Virginia appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

There have been no shortage of coffee-shoe collaborations over the past few years. I know this because I’ve struck out copping a free pair through not-so-subtle pandering on no less than three occasions. But it’s fine, whatever, I’ve found a new tack: not-so-subtly pandering for a free pair of shoes that ARE coffee.

According to VegNews, a German engineer by the name of Sebastian Thies recently debuted a brand new line of sneakers featuring an “upper made of up to 50 percent coffee grounds sustainably sourced from various regions.” It’s the lastest release from Thies’ nat-2, “a luxury state of the art footwear brand based in Munich, Germany,” per the company’s website.

For the Coffee Line, Thies—a sixth generation shoemaker “from one of the oldest shoe-dynasties in Europe”—is using on eco-friendly, 100% vegan components; along with the reused coffee, the shoe incorporates recycled PET bottles, cork insoles, glue “free from animal products,” real rubber, and “signature reflective glass details.” The unisex Coffee Line comes in both low- and high-top versions, both with just a faint smell of coffee. Finally, shoes you don’t have to worry about spilling coffee on (I think it only makes them stronger)!

It’s a good thing, too, because a pair of nat-2’s Coffee Line sneakers runs a cool €390.00 ($441 USD). The shoe’s first run has already sold out, so I couldn’t buy a pair even if I had the money to. Which I don’t. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the second release to get that free pair of shoes I’ve decided I deserve, right Sebastian. Sebastian?

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

*all photos via nat-2

The post These $400 Vegan Shoes Are Made Of Coffee appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

In 2018, the concept of “service with a smile” is changing. While many have grown accustomed to the hospitality model of going above and beyond to please the customer, some cafes are taking steps not only to serve individuals but to honor whole communities.

The Potter’s House, a historic bookstore-cafe in Washington, DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood, has been around since the 1960s. Founded by Gordon Cosby, the cafe and 501c3 non-profit first opened with loosely faith-based roots.

While the cafe today strays quite far from any sort of religious affiliation, the team at The Potter’s House tries to respect its original identity as a gathering space and a safe place for marginalized and housing-unstable people to come for a cup of coffee or a needed meal. The shop also faces a few challenges: a changing neighborhood, a widening demographic, and expectations placed on them as a historic gathering space. The Potter’s House aims to be many things to many people, including its own staff.

With a simple, spacious layout, liberally curated books, and a no-frills Counter Culture coffee menu, it may be hard to believe that The Potter’s House has undergone several different identities prior to a revamp in 2015. Most notably, the cafe was a crucial gathering point for the Civil Rights Movement after the assassination of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We were one of the spaces that stayed open to be a rallying space, a community space to talk through what this upheaval meant for the community and how we look after the community in an intentional way,” says Mike Balderrama, General Manager and Coffee Director of The Potter’s House. “We are constantly engaged in so many different things.”

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, The Potter’s House remained a central meeting space to tackle the issues of mental health and homelessness in America. After Reagan shut down several mental health facilities in his term, the Adams Morgan neighborhood became a birthplace for social programming and non-profit operations, many of which were conceived of within these cafe walls.

When The Potter’s House changed hands in 2015, the team had to ask itself how to maintain this historic identity. Balderrama said the focus became “upholding as much of the principles of the past and thinking what we can do while also offering really good food, really good coffee, and books that promote ideas and thought.”

Today, The Potter’s House honors its roots with an abundance of programming and books that speak to its past. Guests can expect to find a huge range of left-leaning reading material that ranges from ethnic cookbooks to self-help guides, liberal-themed graphic novels, memoirs from POCs, and more. In addition to poetry readings and open mic nights that focus on social justice and equality, the cafe also partners with a lot of local organizations and hosts community-centric events like “Mindful Monday Yoga” and monthly prison-letter-writing events—a chance for the incarcerated to connect with others on a human level.

The Potter’s House is connected to the D.C. coffee community too; the gang is always excited and ready to host a Thursday Night Throwdown when the opportunity presents itself. However, Balderrama hesitates to laud The Potter’s House as “specialty coffee cafe.”

“We are a shop that sells specialty coffee, but I wouldn’t necessarily call us a specialty coffee shop, because more than anything we’re a community shop and I think there’s a lot of weighted language that comes from the concept of a specialty cafe,” Balderrama says. “I want to engage with people in the community more—I want to make sure they have a cup of coffee that they like, have a pastry that’s good, have food that they enjoy and keep coming back for, and when they enjoy and their curiosity is piqued enough, I’m ready to talk coffee with them.”

“Community to me, in general, is super important because community is what keeps people in coffee in my opinion,” says Adam JacksonBey, a Potter’s House barista who also serves as a member of the Barista Guild of America’s executive council. “You’re drawn to it for many reasons, like the need for a job and customer service, but from all the coffee folks that I talk to, community is what keeps them there.”

“The community at The Potter’s House is different because you’re not just dealing with the greater, national coffee community or the D.C. coffee community—both of which I love dearly—but also with a community in D.C. that has been around for almost 60 years, so it feels great to be a part of something that large,” says JacksonBey.

JacksonBey says that the cafe’s goal to provide meals to those who need them is much of why he finds meaning in his work at The Potter’s House, where he’s worked for two years.

“We’ve been serving the community since the ’60s—serving people who didn’t have enough food, or couldn’t pay for it that week. Social workers know to come find some of their clients here. It’s a really beautiful thing to see and work with,” says JacksonBey.

However, keeping the doors open to a wide variety of faces can occasionally leave the doors open to conflict as well. To this end, Balderrama forgoes 911 on speed-dial at The Potter’s House, encouraging baristas instead to take de-escalation, bystander, and first aid training classes—but to also be welcoming resources for Adams Morgan.

“People think they are entitled to a very long laundry list of expectations when they come into our space and a lot of us is saying no, this is actually what our program is, and I think sometimes sitting in that discomfort is better than over-accommodating someone or having to move people around,” Balderrama explains. 

“The things we do have control over and consistency over is the coffee that we make, the food that we make, those kinds of things. Everything else is negotiable in a way.”

Everything else, that is—except community.

Katrina Yentch is a Sprudge contributor based in New York City. Read more Katrina Yentch on Sprudge.

The post Community Focused, DC’s The Potter’s House Is Many Things To Many People appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News