You got your coffee in my kombucha! You got your kombucha in my coffee!
How about you put your hands together? In San Diego the team behind OB Beans Coffee Roasters have done just that, linking up with local favorites Babe Kombucha to open up a combination coffee bar and kombucha tasting room. Take it from us, these are two great tastes that taste great together. Don’t believe us? Try a shot of kombucha next time as a back for your favorite espresso, and thank us on social media. It’s delicious.
The 2021 season of Build-Outs is presented by Fellow. The series is sponsored by La Marzocco, Pacific Barista Series, Marco Beverage Systems, Dona, and Sustainable Harvest.
As told to Sprudge by Keet Veylupek.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Sur Coffee opened in early 2020 and is the second project for OB Beans Coffee Roasters, which was started in 2017. Sur Coffee is located in San Clemente, CA and is a small micro roaster and cafe.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
Our new space will continue under the same name, Sur Coffee, but will be located an hour south of San Clemente near the University of San Diego campus. This particular location will be a hybrid coffee shop and kombucha tasting room within the Babe Kombucha warehouse.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Our approach to coffee is simple and it’s written on the wall of all our cafes, “Doing Good… Farm to Cup.” We don’t claim to be reinventing coffee but are making a conscious effort to do as much as we can: to always make quality coffee, to maintain storing relationships with coffee farmers, and to give back to nonprofits—globally and locally.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
We use a Mill City roaster at both our OB Beans and our Sur Coffee San Clemente locations. At all locations, including the new USD location, we use Sanremo Cafe Racers.
How is your project considering sustainability?
This is our first project utilizing a cart model. Meaning we’ll be opening up within an existing warehouse space and will need much less material or construction than we have in the past. We’re hoping that this gives us insight into how we can open cafes in the future in ways that allow us to preserve the buildings we occupy. As a company revolving around roasting and sourcing, we are always thinking about fair and sustainable practices. The more stores we can open, the more coffee we can buy, and the more time we’re able to devote to ensuring we’re doing the best we can in all our coffee buying processes.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
Hoping to open by mid or end of Summer.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
We’ve had the unique opportunity of completing all of our build outs on our own so far. One of the owner, Ryan Bardelli, has a background in custom carpentry and the rest of us are just handy enough to get the job done.
Thank you!
The 2021 season of Build-Outs is presented by Fellow. The series is sponsored by La Marzocco, Pacific Barista Series, Marco Beverage Systems, Dona, and Sustainable Harvest.
