Coffee Design: Barista Parlor In Nashville

Barista Parlor out of Nashville has been roasting coffee for nearly two years. Last summer, the company unveiled new packaging for its coffee offerings held within a secret bag stashed in a stunning screw-top box. “The concealed inner bag is foil-lined, with a one-way valve to allow for off-gassing, and capped with a twist-off cap with a pull-tab for keeping the package air-tight and fully resealable,” says Director of Operations Tom Eisenbraun. We dig it. We spoke digitally with Tom Eisenbraun to learn more.

As told to Sprudge by Tom Eisenbraun.

When did this coffee packaging debut?

We released the BP Coffee Boxes into the wild last June.

Who designed the package?

 

The design for these was a joint effort between Andy Mumma, owner of Barista Parlor, and Bryce McCloud, owner of Nashville’s own Isle of Printing. These two have been responsible for the company’s design and branding from the start.

Tell us about the unique shape, look, and bottle-top design!

The coffee boxes took about two years to go from conception to holding the finished product in our hands. Initially, the idea was to craft something that felt good to hold in the hand, but that didn’t sacrifice on quality. The idea of an integrated bag-in-box design was there from the start. The concealed inner bag is foil-lined, with a one-way valve to allow for off-gassing, and capped with a twist-off cap with a pull-tab for keeping the package air-tight and fully resealable.

As for the artwork, these boxes were drawn up by Bryce, and subsequently letter-pressed by his crew at Isle of Printing. Our aim with Coffee Box was for it to be a piece of art that you hold in your hand. Much like the design experiences inside our cafes, the goal is the put art in our customers’ hands. It’s not just a first-of-its-kind coffee container, but it’s also a handmade piece of letterpress art!

What coffee information do you share on the package? What’s the motivation behind that?

We want to be as specific as we can be for traceability and transparency’s sake. We also worked to keep the presentation of those elements fairly minimal to keep the info tag clean and easy to approach. We’ve included origin details (country, region/town, farm name & farmer’s name or washing station/co-op if not from a single farmer), taste notes, varieties, processing method, altitude, and roast date & batch number.

Is the package recyclable/compostable?

The box itself is recyclable, though we do encourage creative reuse when possible! We’re currently researching earth-friendly options for future iterations of the inner bag.

Where is it currently available?

Our coffee boxes are currently available worldwide through our online store and locally in our Nashville stores.

Thank you!

Coffee Design is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read more Coffee Design here.