direct trade certified

Counter Culture Coffee has recently launched their “Direct Trade Certified” label. It is the first of its kind direct trade certification that uses a third party certifier and guarantees both sustainability and quality. It emphasizes long term partnerships with coffee producers/farmers, quality coffee, fair and sustainable prices for goods and 100% transparency all certified by a third party intermediary. We are very excited and extremely proud to be a part of this move towards greater justice for those growing these exceptional coffees and for the deliciousness that we will undoubtedly taste as a result.

Frankly, we think you should be excited too.

Read more here.

coffee update 5/27

Our roster has changed up a bit recently. We are currently featuring the following coffees.

Kaiguri Lot # 4584

$12.00/12 oz.

A staff favorite, this coffee will blow your socks off with its tangy fruitiness. According to the esteemed palates at Counter Culture Coffee this gem is loaded with notes of ” meyer lemon, raisin, chocolate, and cherry above a buttercream body.” Sounds delicious to me!

Valle del Santuario

$10.50/12 oz.

This coffee is lusciously sweet. You may find notes of marshmallow, cocoa, apple, and yummy pound cake in this one. Valle del Santuario from St. Ignacio, Peru represents some of the finest work that Counter Culture Coffee has been doing in its commitment to fair and sustainable coffee. Read more about their newly launched Direct Trade Certified program here.

Royal Idido Washed

$12.00/12 oz.

A beautiful coffee from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. You will find everything you look for in a washed Yirgacheffe coffee in this one. Notes of jasmine, citrus and honey abound in the cup all built on an ever present sweetness that will have you begging for more.

Come by and try a cup today! Take a bag of whole beans home and the cup is on us!

coffee update

We’ve added a new coffee.  Spruce Street Espresso will be featuring Kangocho Peaberry Lot # 4602 from Nyeri, Kenya in the next couple of weeks.  It is a unique coffee that is ripe with pronounced flavors of citrus, red tomato and cream.  Come on out and give it a try!

Read more here.

the windows are open and the coffee is delicious

Just a few photos of Spruce Street bathing in the sun of one of our first warm days.  The great thing about the warmth is we get to open the storefront windows and entice the masses with wafts of freshly ground coffee and tinkling music…

coffee for sale

We are now offering whole bean coffee sales at Spruce Street! We are currently offering Kuta, Valle del Santuario, Harfusa and Espresso Toscano in Counter Culture’s beautiful new Source bags. Be sure to stop by and pick one up if you’re in the neighborhood!

Now pressing

All of our coffees are roasted by Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC. These coffees are sourced directly by Counter Culture and are artfully prepared with care and passion from blossoming tree to fragrant cup. Our coffee is ordered weekly and is always roasted fresh and shipped to us the same day. All coffee is prepared by press pot (a.k.a. French press).  We will be adding whole bean sales to our offering in the coming week or so. This is what we’re pressing in the store this week…

Kuta – Waghi Valley, Papua New Guinea

This coffee is a champ! This coffee is filled with tones of dark honey, cherry, dark chocolate, savory steak and a lush body.

Harfusa – Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

A wonderful example of a Yirgacheffe type coffee. Typical fragrant notes of jasmine, lemon and berries waft from this cup.

Valle del Santuario – St. Ignacio, Peru

This coffee represents the culmination of a number of different farmers work in St. Ignacio, Peru. It is a part of the Valle del Santuario partnership between the farmers of this region and Counter Culture Coffee that seeks to reward quality for a higher premium. Delicate apple, dried fruit, milk chocolate and caramel linger on your palate as you sip this beautiful cup.

Stay tuned for more offerings in the coming weeks!

spruce street is on its way

Well, it’s been just about a month with the doors open and things are slowly gathering steam (hahaha). We’ve just had the opportunity to bring Aaron Ultimo (the former Director of Coffee Quality for murky coffee in Washington, D.C.) on board at the shop. We’re extremely excited to have him on board as he will be working very closely with all of us to make sure that our quality in coffee and experience is at its absolute highest. We are so enthusiastic and hopeful for the great coffee journey ahead!