If you've been following the updates on the Coffea News section of the site, you already know that the building is really taking shape. We're expecting the arrival of our custom bar early next week, which has all of us excited. We decided on dark stained ash mill work with a beautiful black granite top.
Blue Devil Creative has been building us some very cool furniture as well; everything from bar stools, to tables, to our menu board. I've only seen sketches thus far, so it should be a lot of fun to see the finished pieces. Everything in the building is moving at a rapid pace now, and its exciting to see all of our planning finally take shape. For a while there, it was feeling like March would never come.
On the coffee side of things, we're busy developing new espresso blends to use in the shop. I just tasted a wonderful shot pulled from a 75/25 blend of Brasil/Kenya. The Brasil is one of a few samples that we're evaluating. It is a wonderful espresso base for a milk or straight shot blend, with sweet berry notes and spice. It makes a delicious latte. Paul roasted another Brasil sample just now, and I'll be doing one in a few minutes as well. Between these we'll surely have a great base for our blend.
We also picked up a very nice washed Sidikalang that resembles our Blue Batak, but with a bit more acidity and a bit less funk. I could see it working nicely as a minor component in an espresso blend, and I think it will really shine in the Clover. These cleanly prepped Sumatras are quickly becoming a new favorite "family" of coffees for me. There's nothing else quite like them, and many are essentially free of defects, which is a welcome change from the Sumatras of the past.
We've been honing our specialty drink recipes, and we're still looking for volunteers for our tasting panel/focus group if anyone is interested.
If all goes as planned, we'll be opening in the second half of this month. I'll post an update once we have a specific date.
-Jon