Th e customer is the one drinking the coff ee, so Firehouse Coff ee Co. lets them decide how to roast the beans. Firehouse runs a roastery in
Bullhead City, a small town of about 40,000 people in the Mohave Desert on the shore of the Colorado River. It runs two other shops—one is a kiosk
tourists come], they want dark roast," he says. "People who are always on the go…they want it darker.
"Toward the summer [when the
in a hospital, and the other, in a parking lot a few yards away from a big Indian casino, is the Avi Resort in Laughlin, Nev. Th e shops have a theme that's appropriate for the blistering hot, arid environs: a fi rehouse. Th e red-brick shop is decorated in fi refi ghter memorabilia: helmets, photos, a fi re hydrant. A lot of customers are tourists who
several housing tracts nearby, and they like to see some variety, so the roaster changes it up every two months, Cruz says: "Our customers always like variety.
Locals also come to the shop from " " SOUTH
come to the shop while playing in the Colorado River or at the golf course next door, so the shop in Laughlin caters to their tastes. About 75 percent is a medium roast,
and about a quarter is dark-roasted, says Abel Cruz, one of Firehouse's managers.
Java Pura Coffee Houston, Texas
If a coff ee tastes good to the experts, it's going to taste good to the customers, says Richard Colt, co-owner of Java Pura Coff ee. "We roast it the way we like it, and
hope people tag along," he says. His shop, in the Galleria area of
central Houston, cranks out about 700 pounds a week with its L12 Probat 12- kilo roaster and sends them to its retail store and to several wholesale clients, such as Central Market, a major whole foods grocer. Th e retail shop sits on the second
fl oor of a sleek rotunda between Rice University and the Texas Medical Center. Th is sunlight-soaked coff ee bar overlooks the university's courtyard, and its clientele is urban and comparatively knowledgeable about gourmet coff ee. About 80 percent of his product is
a medium roast. About 10 percent is light, and 10 percent is dark, Colt says. Th is is less about the demand and more about what the roasters feel is best. "We vet our coff ee very carefully through cupping," Colt says. "Th e beans
" SCR
we get require a medium roast so the nuances shine through.
April 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 29
