The final announcement we have as Avenue Coffee will come as a shock to some, while others will not be surprised in the least.  This will be our last blog post as the entity “Avenue Coffee,” as we are announcing our official alliance and merger with the Arizona roaster Cartel Coffee Lab. Be it model trains, base jumping, or snake wrangling, passionate people with very specific, if not outright bizarre, interests tend to feel alone in their pursuit of what fulfills them.  Some go to great lengths to find community within these sub-cultures.  Romantics would call this the need to find kindred spirits; like minded people that understand these common passions and ideals.  Specialty coffee is absolutely the same in regards to these small communities that have to organize and plan to maintain relationships over wide geographic areas, often spanning states, countries, and oceans.  This is the main reason this merge makes sense in our minds.  The state of Arizona has very little in regards to quality specialty coffee, and even the direction and incentive to strive for those standards.  We saw Cartel Coffee Lab as one of the only voices in the state that echoed those standards that we, as the coffee shop Avenue Coffee, grew into over the past year.

Transparency and sustainability might be buzz words in the larger context of specialty coffee, but we saw a company that used these as categories for quality control rather than preachy social awareness campaigns, or even worse, marketing.  We saw a desire to visit origin, and eventually develop relationships with farmers.  We saw passion and agency for employees to take ownership over their products and develop a culture of amazing coffee, reinforced at every level of employment, and few apologies for daring to implement a model that is quality driven.  Most importantly, we tasted their coffee, and all of these factors manifested in the cup.

We saw a lot of who we were as a coffee shop within the Cartel Coffee Lab culture, along with some elements that we were striving to incorporate as a business that employed high-skill coffee professionals.  It only made sense that when the discussion of our future expansion into aspects of coffee that we were naturally curious about (such as roasting), included Jason Silberschlag from Cartel, did the potential for an alliance of people immediately come up.  We could potentially pool our talents, whether it be design, business, technical knowledge, or people skills, and used our common love for coffee to make a cohesive entity in the southwest that voices our standards for specialty coffee.  We could work together doing something we love, and grow our base so that our conversations and standards for coffee can be multifaceted, well rounded, and three dimensional, all while geeking out on coffee in our spare time.

Some might believe that we our losing our voice and identity in this arrangement and that the coffee shop they knew is gone, and those people are entitled to their opinions.  We, however, believe being a single voice in the Arizona coffee culture is not nearly as productive as a group of people, spread out over two cities, all openly debating and striving for amazing coffee.  There are few opportunities to collaborate with a group of passionate people in any sort of specialty industry, and this one was obvious, and natural for us.  After all the due diligence and proper vetting, we are happy to be the same group of people, in the same shop, under the name of Cartel Coffee Lab.
Send all comments/questions to info@cartelcoffeelab.com

If you have entered the shop in the last two weeks, you have undoubtedly notice changes happening to Avenue Coffee. Before panic, fear, and doubt set in as they inevitably do during these tumultuous times of economic, social, and moral woes, we felt it necessary to address these changes publicly before rumor and speculation run rampant with stories of scandal and fraud within the sordid coffee industry of Arizona. The coffee shop we have all grown to know and love, either as a barista, owner, or customer, remains largely the same. Here are some of the changes, and the reasoning behind them.

Menu

Our menu is now shorter, simplistic, and possibly lacking in your favorite beverage. While we sympathize if your favorite drink did not make the cut to our new menu, we stand by our decision to only have items that allow our coffee to be express by our baristas, and experienced by our customers in a way that does justice to all the hard working individuals involving in making that one cup of coffee. We work very hard, in our constant study and training, to find the best ways to serve coffee, and to change a lot of ideology surrounding coffee by bringing a huge knowledge base, professionalism, and passion to our craft. For this reason, we may in some cases have to refuse a request by a customer to tamper with a drink. This has much more to do with the quality of our products and the idea of promoting coffee rather than syrup/sugar/ice cream, and much less to do with denying customers what they desire. We do not make decisions arbitrarily, or maliciously. If you find yourself unsure of what to order because your usual drink has fallen by the wayside, please ask your barista to find a suitable replacement. We are more than happen to share what we know about our coffees, and the best ways to drink them.

Price

Our prices have gone up. We have gone through several coffee roasters within the lifespan of the shop, with our prices remaining exactly the same. The Intelligentsia coffees were a pivotal point in our progression as a shop, as the quality was dramatically higher than anything else offered in Tucson at the time. Our plans to change the pricing structure existed before this more recent change to Cartel coffees, and just happen to coincide with these changes. We have already blogged on the topic of coffee prices, so we won’t repeat our reasoning behind higher coffee prices in general.

In a similar vein, all of our milk will now be organic. We have made this decision in light of the large majority of our coffee also being paired with milk, and, again, a dedication to quality. Another reason for higher prices is our new commitment to having a greener business. We find it nearly impossible to talk about sustainable sources of coffee while our own business is the source of avoidable waste. Our cups are now supplied by Eco Products, a company dedicated to creating products that are compostable and environmentally sound.

Coffee

Our coffee is now coming from a roaster based in Phoenix. Cartel Coffee Labs has a dedication to quality and transparency, which includes offering coffees that are traceable to individual farms, many of which have been visited by Cartel staff to ensure quality and suitable working conditions for workers. We have switched back to a “local” roaster for our coffee, but not for that reason alone. Coffee is intrinsically a non-local commodity, farmed in largely the third world, and shipped to the first world. With these power dynamics and relations, we believe it is more important to find people that are socially aware and responsible, rather than just a local business to align with. The shop will always support local business, but we will never compromise our dedication to quality and social awareness when it comes to our coffee. As long as the quality and traceability of coffee roasted in the Tucson remains static, we will look elsewhere for the quality we want, and the socially just practices we believe should be the rule in this industry rather than the exception.

Even with this lengthy explanation of our intentions and direction of our shop, we are sure some of you will still be unhappy, confused, or just flat out disagree with our decisions. That is to be expected, and your sentiments are noted, but we firmly and strongly believe these changes are necessary to elevate the state of coffee in Tucson, in Arizona, and across the country. The direction we are going is not new, and we are not the first to jump in this movement people are calling “third wave.” We do, however, believe we are filling a much needed hole in the coffee culture of Tucson by providing quality, traceable coffee, high skilled baristas, and passionate staff that are constantly refining the craft of making coffee. As we learn more, and digest more information about coffee, there will always be more changes in the future. We hope that you would trust us with our profession, and trust that we make decisions based on the good of all of those involved in the coffee industry, including farmers, baristas, shop owners, and customers. As always, our customer service will always be a priority. We just ask that in return, customers respect our authority on a subject we dedicate a large portion of our lives to master, and our decisions when it comes to the business that we would like to conduct.

And now, for a final big announcement…(to be continued..)

For some time now we have discussed the potential for a “Featured Roaster” program at Avenue Coffee.  In short we will maintain one house espresso, right now its Intelligentsia’s Black Cat, and on another grinder and a predetermined group-head on the Synesso, we will run a guest espresso from a “Featured Roaster”.  While its not very traditional for a cafe  to try and branch out from something other than their “house espresso”, we think its a great idea to help educate our pallates and those that are interested.  We would like to foster communication and collaboration in the coffee community and being that we are a cafe, we have the perfect medium to do so.  Tucson has a strong coffee community that CRAVES some of the best roasters in North America to provide some of the highest quality coffee in the world.

Speaking of North America, the map above plots out some of the roasters we are going to try and get on board, they include:
Verve, Ritual, Sightglass, Four Barrel, Stumptown, Blue Bottle, 49th Parallel, Counter Culture and Arizona’s own Cartel Coffee.

Ideally we will be serving some wicked cool roasters who are pushing the envelope for what espresso really can be. Different can be a very, very good thing.    We will be chronicalling the journey via this blog, Facebook and Twitter for those that are interested in our findings and experiences.  The idea here is not to critique coffees, but to enjoy what each roaster has to offer and enjoy how different each espresso can be.

In the coming weeks you are going to be seeing this come to fruition, along with some other cool changes.  As roasters come on board, we will let you know the schedule and when you will be able to come in and give it a try!  Stayed tuned Tucson, a coffee EXPERIENCE is right around the corner.

We decided there was no better way to celebrate with our customers than to offer a sweet deal on some tasty Clover Coffee! To get 20 percent off the Clover, mention the “Happy New Year” special when you come in!

Remember we close at 8, so if you need a caffeinated beverage to get you through the night… Come in early!

Closing tonight at 8 instead of 10! Also we will be closed all day tomorrow!

We are closed tomorrow the 24th and the 25th. Also we will be closed New Years day! Have a great holiday and be safe!

Today has finally come, Avenue Coffee has finally brought the Clover to life.  This single cup  brewing system has the ability to completely change your outlook on coffee.  So come by for an amazing coffee experience.

Our current Clover offerings are:
Finca Santuario, Columbia: Heliconias Bourbon from Intelligentsia – “Possessing notable dimension, the citrus acidity brings about a spacious quality to the clean body. Cranberry and orange pop in the front while the finish is straight to the point in cleanliness. Hints of roasted nut and caramel blossom as the cup cools.”

Organic Ethiopia Amaro Gayo – Natural from PT’s Coffee – “Ethiopia Amaro Gayo is a beautiful, naturally processed coffee that will astound you with its crisp cleanliness and bountiful berry notes.”

Kenya AA – THUNGURI – Top Micro-Lot from PT’s Coffee - “The aroma has distinct notes of black currant, lemon and cream. In the cup, notes of cherry and grapefruit are added to the lemon creaminess to create a high toned, yet sweet Kenyan.”

CoE El Salvador: Finca Malacara from Intelligentsia - “A flavor that resembles cherry pie filling and molasses accentuates the stone fruit-like acidity. With a chewy mouthfeel that stays round through the finish of dark chocolate and baking spice notes, this coffee reveals every minute detail of its unique terroir.”

Panama – ELIDA ESTATE – Natural from PT’s Coffee “Dark cherries and blueberries dominate its aroma. In the cup, it is incredibly sweet, with notes of pineapple, lemon and berries. Its finish is refined, with notes of roasted hazelnut and cedar.”

We almost wrapped up the design for the Clover menu as well, designed by two local artists.  It isn’t completely finished yet, we still have some final touches!

Clover Menu Side Angle

Avenue Coffee Clover Menu

Jason Calhoon At Avenue Coffee

Avenue Coffee is excited to announce that Jason Calhoon (2007 Southwest Barista Champion) from Cafe Van Go is joining our team as both head barista and part owner.   It became very evident in our discussions with Jason, how passionate and dedicated he is to his craft.  His visions for what coffee in Tucson could be, clearly matched ours.  With this change comes many others and some that have already transpired, taking Avenue Coffee in a very different direction.

While our coffee experience has been good, we want it to be excellent.  Below you will find some of the changes being made at Avenue Coffee to further enhance that experience:

Clover now at Avenue Coffee

The Clover – Jason Calhoon has brought over his Clover Coffee machine, a single cup brewing system that produces some of the best cups of coffee we have ever had.  This machine will both explore and highlight the amazing coffees we soon will serve.

Grinders – One word, Anfim.  Our brand new Super Caimano sports a digital timer for a more precise dose control, and titanium coated burrs for higher efficiency and longevity.  Jason was also kind enough to bring his Anfim over as well to give us the ability to sport a second featured blend of espresso.

The Hand – As much of the industry moves to a more automated coffee experience, we at Avenue believe that nothing can quite produce quality like a well-trained barista’s hand.  Which is why Avenue Coffee is in the early planning stages of a pour-over coffee bar.  This gives the barista the opportunity to hand craft some of the best cups of coffee available.  Using the Hario V60 as our weapon of choice, we plan on preparing some mouth-watering coffee sure to educate your palate.

Roaster(s) - For the past couple of months, Caffe Luce has been our primary roaster.  Although Luce is excellent at what they do, Avenue Coffee is moving in a direction that includes roasters from all over the country, that can specifically cater to a full and complete coffee experience.  Our two main providers include Intelligentsia Coffee, and their famous Black Cat espresso blend as well as PTs Coffee for their wide array of excellent coffee offerings.  We will be featuring other roasters both locally in the state of Arizona and nationally who have both transparency and quality as their top priorities.

Synesso Cyncra

Synesso Cyncra – Although we have had the Synesso Cyncra since the beginning, we have not completely unlocked all of its full abilities, including pre-infusion and individual group-head temperature control.  With Intelligentsia’s Black Cat, future single-origin offerings and other featured espresso blends from around the country, we can now more fully explore the espresso we serve.

Going Mobile - Jason’s “Cafe Van Go” trailer will also be joining Avenue Coffee in the near future, allowing Avenue Coffee to go mobile all around the Tucson metropolitan area for special events.  Stayed tuned for future appearances!

Education – Home Brewing classes as well as public cuppings will soon be a regular occurrence at Avenue Coffee, watch out for pre-registrations  coming soon.

Hopefully this is just some of the many changes to come at Avenue Coffee.  We are very excited to have Jason apart of our team as we move forward into exciting times!

- Avenue Coffee

Although it’s still a work in progress, we are finally throwing the website live.  (Quick shout-out to Marti.  Thanks for ALL of your INSPIRATION)  Most of our updating will happen via the blog and the News and Events section of the website.  There are definitely more features in the works, more interaction and eventually a store to buy coffee, merchandise and coffee equipment for home use.

For now, we hope to make the blog a place of education and awareness of the possibilities of coffee, changes in the industry and anything we may find interesting.  Most of the time I (Mark)  will be doing the blogging and the updating of the website.

Remember: you can also follow us on Twitter or on Facebook as well.