"This is true us," Nidas Kiuberis tells me inside the swanky South Tampa space now home to he and his business partners' Caffeine Roasters.
Yep. Opened to downtown Tampa as a specialty coffee shop last year, Caffeine has expanded its Tampa Bay footprint to include on-premises roasting, a hyper-local idea it's had since the start. Cass Street was a warm-up. The new operation, which Kiuberis calls the "mothership" — complete with a drive-thru for folks on the go — launched in the building where Drama Burger (and Jade Garden before that) formerly operated at 2420 W. Kennedy Blvd. late Monday afternoon.
Like the flagship, the 40-seat second location, larger than its older sibling at a little over 1,800 square feet, features dark tones that feel more cozy than drab; reclaimed elements, including an upcycled Largo sofa whose backdrop is an illuminated letter "C"; more than one communal table; and a retail corner with the tools needed to achieve the perfect coffee at home.
This is where Caffeine aims to introduce people to its understanding of the specialty coffee world.
"We think that sometimes this world is a little bit closed. I mean, dick-ish, and, like, 'I know everything, you don't know nothing about coffee.' But it's supposed to be the other way," said Kiuberis, head of communications and coffee, plus the guy behind the shop's atmosphere, who doesn't like the "coffee expert" title. "I think we'd like to open coffee a lot more."
Doing so allows the shop to host a number of events, including cuppings, latte art throwdowns and brewing sessions billed as "meet the roaster" or "meet the farm." Sit-down talks with coffee farmers are a possibility, as are rooftop gatherings (anyone else up for a rise-and-shine cupping?).
A Diedrich roaster, the shiny piece of equipment the shop has named Mr. Diedrich, that's visible to patrons sipping at the bar also helps with the educational aspect of Caffeine. The open layout gives them the opportunity to enjoy Mr. Diedrich's bounty while watching him do his thing.
Now that roasting on-site is a reality, Caffeine, which previously sourced its coffee from the locally based Zeal Coffee Roasters, is working with Cafe Imports, an American company that travels to farms around the world selecting coffees for the shop to sample. Two house roasts, both light, were available earlier this week — one from El Salvador and the other from Ethiopia — and there's more to come.
"This is what we truly believe we should do, take control of the coffees," Kiuberis said.
Another plus: A kitchen, led by chef Freddy Peña, a graduate of The Art Institutes of New York City's culinary program who has 10 years of executive chef experience, allows the shop to produce a small menu for breakfast and lunch, essentially 20 cafe offerings with a twist. Although it's been a challenge to find the happy medium of fresh and affordable, a big portion of the lineup is available for drive-thru clientele, everything from parfaits and sandwiches to four types of toast and salads.
"It was all a team effort. They told me what they really wanted, and I just brought it to life," Peña said of the menu.
But food isn't the driving force behind the drive-thru. It's getting exceptional coffee, made by baristas who care about what's in the cup, to customers behind the wheel, fast — something Kiuberis believes the specialty coffee scene is lacking.
"I think the biggest challenge specialty coffee faces here is the constant thinking that you cannot do it fast," he said, "but if you have the right equipment and if you understand how to use it and what you can prepare, like especially for a climate like this, you can do it. You can."
The main bar consists of machines for espresso-based drinks (think classics like the cappuccino or flat white) and brewed coffee, plus water that remains at a constant temperature to ensure consistency. There's a "brew bar," where specialty coffee magic, such as the pour-over technique, happens. And, no, the caffeinated goodness doesn't stop with Caffeine signatures like the irresistible orange cold brew, which are always in development and speak to the shop's unconventional style.
Three towers for cold drip — different from cold brew in that the process (one drop per second for 10 to 12 hours, sometimes longer depending on the grind and single-origin that's used) produces a more concentrated coffee — are also on hand. Served over ice, cold drip, whose single-origin flavors and delicate, strong taste shines through, makes for a one-of-a-kind of iced coffee experience.
"People who drink cold drip now at our coffee shop in downtown they don't drink anymore cold brew because, for them, it's much weaker than a regular cold drip. Just because of that extraction and saturation time and the dripping process," said development manager Emily Dadonaite. "I would say cold brew is good for people who just like regular coffee, and cold drip is more for if you want to have a unique flavor."
As Kiuberis puts it, the Tampa coffee community is booming, which wasn't the case when Caffeine started looking into the area two years ago, and Dadonaite says their downtown patrons' curiosity and interest in good coffee, really learning about it (where the origins are, how it gets picked up and the like), is huge.
Their loyalty has led to the mothership, after all.
With the South Tampa location open, Caffeine plans to launch at least two or three more shops in Tampa, and is looking into St. Petersburg as well.
"I want to meet farmer. I want to shake hands. I want to make a deal. I want this coffee. I want to bring this coffee to the roastery and bring it to you," said globe-trotter Kiuberis, who tells CL that he and the team will travel all over to see how coffee's made and where it comes from. "That's the whole idea."
