It can be tough selling a hot beverage in the desert. Against all odds, roasters like Cartel, Press, and Peixoto have long championed locally-roasted coffee in the Phoenix area. But a new wave of cafés are introducing the Valley of the Sun to out-of-state roasters, adding a depth and diversity to the Phoenix coffee scene. On a recent trip to Arizona we visited three Phoenix coffee shops changing the local scene. …
Search Results for: Phoenix
Cafe Review: Giant Coffee in Phoenix
For most people, Arizona conjures up images of desert, cowboys, and cacti. With such a rugged heritage, it is little wonder the lion’s share of coffee shops here prefer to roast their own. But a strong micro-roaster scene also leaves room for committed cafes hawking out-of-state wares, and Giant Coffee in central Phoenix is standing tall in that gap. …
Ghost Roasting with Nom de Plume Roasters
Opening a coffee roastery is a major operation. A good roaster can be more expensive than a new car, not to mention the cost of goods and infrastructure. But two young coffee professionals in Phoenix, Arizona are flipping the script. Harlin Glovacki and Niko Kovacevic, the duo behind Nom de Plume Roasters, have taken an unconventional approach to starting a coffee company. Inspired by Danish brewery Mikkeller, Glovacki and Kovacevic “ghost roast” their coffee. By renting time on Scottsdale-based Press Coffee’s Probat, Glovacki and Kovacevic are free to invest more of their capital in higher quality coffees. Although Nom de Plume is not even a year old, the company is already attracting some serious attention. …
Product Review: notNuetral’s Gino Dripper
Just when we thought the manual pour over movement had peaked, notNeutral’s Gino Dripper burst on the scene in early 2014. Todd Goldsworthy used the device to win the 2014 U.S. Brewers Cup, the same weekend it received the award for best new product at the SCAA’s tradeshow. We’ve been using Not Neutral’s coffee mugs since their first Intelligentsia collaboration. So when our sponsors at Prima Coffee gave us the opportunity to test a Gino Dripper it felt like Christmas had come a little early….
Come for the Food, Stay for the Coffee at Crepe Bar in Tempe, AZ
A Foodie Favorite
We have a fairly simple policy for finding tasty coffee in Arizona: go where Bryan Schiele goes. The mustachioed software engineer has a caffeine tolerance that could drink most baristas under the table, and a palate as refined as a master sommelier’s. As anyone who follows his fantastic blog already knows, the guy drinks a lot of coffee. So when Bryan invited us to visit Crepe Bar with him, we didn’t have to think twice. …
Interview: Angela Muniz of Girl From Arizona Aprons
A barista is only as good as their tools, and one of the most important tools in any barista’s toolbox is their apron. And if you’re going to wear an apron, it might as well be an expertly crafted, custom apron made from high quality fabric- something that reflects the quality and craft that goes into a good cup of coffee. We asked Angela Muniz, founder of Girl From Arizona Aprons, what goes into a custom made apron.
How did you start making custom aprons?
Earlier this year, a chef friend asked if I knew a tailor who could modify an apron he’d bought. The straps didn’t fit quite right. I told him I knew how to sew and could probably adjust it. I ended up making him one from scratch. He’s got a big Instagram following and a popular restaurant, so it wasn’t long before other chefs were asking if I’d make some for them. The real shift to creating an online business came when one of our Phoenix resort chefs asked for 26 for his crew. I already knew there was a demand for custom aprons, and that just …
Cafe Review: Quills Coffee New Albany, IN
Nostalgia in a Cup
The coffee shop holds a nostalgic piece of my heart as the place where I first experienced many cultural aspects of the city of Louisville. Like so many college students, I discovered the cafe environ as a place of respite, a cultural mainstay where society has no real expectations. A person can simply “be” in a cafe. I appropriated many cafes as study halls, although Quills Coffee stood out as one great oasis in a concrete desert of no-loitering zones. A few blocks from my house meant it could provide me caffeine and wifi for study sessions. It also provided a location for the romantic notion of meeting someone through some inexplicable fate. One should be young and dream.
Quills Coffee and Books
That cafe where I spent so many hours was closed …
