Photo courtesy of Clayton De Laney
Most days of the week smoke can be seen and tasted coming from the BV Roastery. Don’t worry, nothing’s on fire, that’s not what I was getting at. Joel, Chris, and Ed can be found most days roasting serious amounts of coffee beans in the back, while a medley of the Grateful Dead, some electronica-esque and most types in between come pouring out of the speakers. Everyone else’s heads bob just a little while they’re doing their own work even if it’s not their particular cup of tea (pun intended). Suddenly ‘we whistle while we work’ just popped in to my head.
Here at the Roastery amidst this quaint town, an eclectic group of individuals help run this stellar coffee shop. I’ve had the privilege to join these folks for the past couple months and effectively get a serious crash course in all that is coffee. The customers, more like friends, move through here in a peaceful chaos sometimes just for a simple morning cup of joe.
One of the first things I learned here was ‘it ain’t easy’. Well, let me put it this way, it’s a steep learning curve for someone like myself who’s only coffee experience is plowing throw pots in the middle of the night while writing science papers in college. Another thing I learned is that you actually can drink too much coffee and espresso in a single day. “But it tastes so dang good!” is my usual excuse. And now that it’s nearing winter I find myself obligated to drink warm beverages throughout the day. (My friend Michael would be proud of me for that statement) I’m still making my way up the learning curve as far as coffee and coffee related things go, but it’s been a fun climb so far.
Since this is my first blog for the Roastery, and there have only been a few that we’ve produced in the last few months, I thought I’d just start by giving an update on things we’ve been doing, not that you don’t already know almost every move we make from Facebook. But I digress. We’ve got a nice stash of bakers that have been cooking up a storm. Things from the ever-present breakfast burrito to guilty pleasure gluten free scones, muffins, and biscotti. The bagel scene is catching on quickly: jalapeño cheddar, garlic, and everything bagels can be seen in the basket most mornings, but usually don’t last long. Theo chocolate bars line the shelves along with mate gourds and now a whole array of trinkets from 10,000 Villages. The pastries, I’ll admit, are above all the hardest to steer clear from.
Above all else, we have a few new giant bags of coffee beans that we’ve started roasting, one of them being the Ugandan that is quickly making its way in to our main stream of coffees. Another, even newer coffee is the Kenya AA (don’t ask me what the initials stand for, just ask Joel). Both of these boast lots of flavor without being too dark of a roast. We’re currently dialing in this new Fruity Bali coffee that’s got great flavor. Plus, a bonus of this particular coffee is sticking your face in the pre-roasted beans and getting the stifling aromas of apples and other such sweet fruits.
Apart from looking like we’re working to the bone all the time, we do have a little fun as well attempting our latte and cappuccino art. I was a part of a collaborative cappuccino owl that is currently amongst my favorites so far, with Joel’s Phoenix and potentially accidental, but impressive nonetheless, lizard.
For those of you who live in the greater BV area and join us regularly, we hope you keep coming back to see us. And for those who have passed through, ordered online, or maybe even just stumbled upon us, I hope this little snippet of enlightenment on our roastery has tempted your coffee tooth in to stopping by one way or another.
