Who doesn’t a nice cozy cafe? A place where you can go grab a coffee with a friend and feel like you have a quiet space all to yourself. A place you feel comfortable staying in for multiple rounds caffeinated delights as you slog your way through a work day. It’s a difficult balance to strike: if the shop is too big and open it may lose a sense of intimacy; too small and it loses and loud and it loses privacy.
Wanting to have the best of both worlds, Living Room Coffee Craft in Campbell, California took its newly-remodeled big, open cafe space and added a few partitions, or living rooms, to allow for a more private setting in an otherwise public place. Fire places, puffy couches, padded chairs, the home vibe is very strong at Living Room. So let’s grab a nook and check out the brand new Living Room Coffee Craft in Campbell, California.
The 2019 Build-Outs of Summer is presented by Pacific Barista Series, notNeutral, KeepCup, and Mill City Roasters. Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 46)
As told to Sprudge by Dean Lucas.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Living Room Coffee Craft focused on the craft of coffee, using high quality beans and building drinks from scratch to let the natural flavors of the coffee shine. Our syrups are made in-house and we use local organic dairy. In addition to espresso drinks, we also offer batch brews, pour-overs, cold brew, and loose leaf and iced teas.
All our pastries are baked in-house each morning by our pastry chef who came from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant. We offer sweet and savory pastries with gluten-free options. Our signature food item is a herbed pão de queijo waffle, which pairs perfectly with our coffee. All other pastries are seasonal.
We are focused on social impact; as a non-profit we donate proceeds to local and global charities.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
We have a very spacious seating area designed to be modern and cozy, inviting people to connect with each other and stay awhile. Our seating is arranged into living room areas, with a fireplace, couches and padded chairs, family tables, counter seating, and smaller tables for two or four people. The space is open with lots of natural light. We have a stage and audio system for live music and other events. Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 46)
What’s your approach to coffee?
We treat coffee the way a chef approaches food, focusing on quality of ingredients and their preparation. Every cup is created with precision, using exact measurements for weight, temperature, and timing. We feature single origin coffees and use brewing methods and ingredients designed to bring out the flavor notes of each origin or blend. We currently use Counter Culture coffee exclusively. We chose this roaster because it is local, and they are committed to sustainability and, like us, focus on social impact.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
We chose a two-group La Marzocco Linea espresso machine with Mazzer Major grinders. For pour-over and drip coffee, we use a Mahlkönig EK43, Hario servers, ceramic Kalita 185 flat bottom with flat bottom filters. We use digital scales and timers from Acaia. We also use Rhinogear spin-jet rinsers.
How is your project considering sustainability?
We chose our coffee roasting partner, Counter Culture, because of quality and commitment to sustainability. Counter Culture also partnered with La Marzocco to support a sustainability project, Hands for Songwa. A portion of our purchase for the espresso machine will go to this farm sustainability project in Africa.
Additionally, we use organic dairy from Clover in Sonoma, California, a local farm that is also dedicated to sustainability. We also made the decision to serve our food and drinks with glass and ceramic in order to minimize the use of disposable paper.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
Our grand opening was on June 9th, 2019.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
We worked with Kuehne Construction for the remodel. We hired a local artist, Pat Sunseri, to turn our vision into renderings that were then used by interior designer, Mary Merrill, to bring to reality.
Thank you!
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