Caffeine Crawl Colorado Visits Colorado Springs and Denver
Caffeine Crawl’s Sadie Renee gives us the lowdown on August’s first of two Caffeine Crawl events in the Rocky Mountain state. Read her report below:
Weekend number two spent caffeinating in the Rockies kicked off with a latte art throwdown hosted by Willamette Coffee Co, Beagle Coffee Co. & Lion Head Coffee at Corvus Coffee! Beer from Odell Brewing and prizes from Golden Chai, Topo Designs, Barista Magazine, Colorado Coffee Collective, and more made for a great evening.
SwitchBack Coffee Roasters began Colorado Springs’ second Caffeine Crawl with an informative cupping and insight on the Colorado Springs coffee scene, which has boomed in the last 6 months! We got the scoop on Loyal Coffee‘s new cafe and roastery with a cupping and roastery sneak peek, and Copper Kettle Coffee, set up inside Brooklyn’s on Boulder, served up a multi-brew-method Counter Culture Coffee experience. The gorgeous new space of Building3 Coffee Roasters welcomed us for a tasting of three different processed Loma La Gloria El Salvador offerings & farm to cup explanations.
We found wholesome goodness all the way around at Nourish Organic Juice ~ house made cherry ginger kombucha, ranch kale chips, ‘Perky Pants’ carrot apple lemon ginger juice, and coupons for our Wholesome! event bags. Wild Goose Meeting House took it up a notch with a nitro cold brew affogato and an espresso forward twist on the classic Moscow Mule.
The Principal’s Office incorporated their cocktail/coffee fusion with a coldbrew mocktail – lemon, ginger beer, bitters and a grapefruit twist.
We said ‘Bula!’ and cheersed to the first Kava Bar on a Caffeine Crawl – shots of Fiji kava at Ohana Kava Bar were chased by a pineapple slice and chill vibes. The crew served up nostalgia in cortado glasses at Peak Place Coffeehouse with ‘Cinnamon Toast Crunch “Cereal Milk”‘ mini lattes and a peek into their new roastery, Hold Fast Coffee Co. Hot and cold brews were enjoyed amidst the community ambiance at Welcome Fellow, and we savored the tiny house experience at Story Coffee Co. while sipping a coffee ‘Arnold Palmer’ and chatting with the owners, Don and Carissa, the owners.
Allegro Coffee Roasters on Tennyson kicked off Caffeine Crawl Denver with Crawlers choice – a Cortado with a butterscotch oat cookie, a Matcha Cortado with a pistachio vanilla bean biscotti, or ‘Death Cream’ – espresso with an infusion of vanilla and sweet cream, served cortado style, alongside a chocolate hazelnut cookie. We toured the roastery and learned company history while enjoying our pairings. Beagle Coffee Co. and Lion Head Coffee served a tasty cold brew mocktail from a pop up in the park, and explained their company missions and goals in & Fort Collins, CO and Granby, CO respectively.
Pablo’s Coffee took our tastebuds on a tour of Colombia – a washed and natural processed Chemex brew of two coffees from the same region, and flavor notes to guide our tasting. Golden Chai set up shop at SloHi Coffee Co., and we tasted our way through golden gummies, hot and cold Golden Chai, multiple Denver roaster coffee brews and a coffee cocktail featuring Leopold Brothers Rocky Mountain Blackberry Liqueur!
A tasty sampling at Happy Leaf Kombucha marked the first Kombucha bar stop on a Caffeine Crawl! Corvus Coffee sample three delightful signature drinks highlighting their bottle cold brews – whiskey, chicory and Rwandan. Bellwether served up nitro cold brew and shared the mission of their snazzy cafe / barbershop / boutique / art gallery space, and we learned the essentials of espresso extraction at Black Black Coffee. Coda Coffee welcomed Crawlers behind the bar to test new-found skills, and sent everyone on their way with whole bean coffee to brew at home.
We sampled delicious iced tea lattes at The Sophisticate’s Tea pop up mobile cart in Denver, including chai, vanilla black, earl grey and matcha. Process Coffee Lab participated pop-up style with a fruity cold brew mocktail in the park. The guys from Strava Craft Coffee welcomed us to Denver Bicycle Cafe with cold brew pours and a unique coffee quiz for whole bean prizes! Sweet things awaited at The Source – Nova Chocolate served up several single origin and ganache chocolates, and Boxcar Coffee sampled signature cold brew.
Novo Coffee took uppers and downers to new levels with a coffee cocktail featuring gin and amaro. Purple Door Coffee, a unique cafe employing and helping homeless youth while rocking a great beverage program, served up a twist on the cherry cola and a tasty lavender lemonade, and Pigtrain Coffee had affogatos awaiting Crawlers at Union Station. Sweet Bloom Coffee served Chemex brews of several single origin coffees, and Wash Perk gave a roasting demo to accompany lavender lemonade, a “guess how many beans” game and take home whole bean samples.
The team traveled the Front Range in style all weekend thanks to Zipcar, and Crawlers took home sweet event bags from Wholesome!, filled with swag from Allegro Coffee Roasters, Yelp Denver, Mission Coffee Roasters, Ally Coffee, Earnest Eats and more! A wonderful second weekend exploring the thriving Colorado coffee scene wouldn’t have been possible without the sponsors and shops already mentioned, as well as 303 Magazine, Toddy, The Passport Program, InterAmerican Coffee, and many more. Colorado, you rocked . . . we can’t wait for next year!
