Fresh Cup

FEB 2013

Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.

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OFF THE WIRE continued from page 20 Walking into The Front Tea & Art Shop in Lafayette, Colo., you might encounter the familiar odors of a café—freshly ground coffee beans, for example, or steeping green tea. Stick around long enough, though, and you'll encounter a smell more frequently associated with a Phish concert than a coffee shop: cannabis smoke. The Front Tea & Art Shop is among the initial businesses capitalizing on the November passing in Colorado and Washington of legalized recreational use of marijuana—and the first of those businesses that's coffee and tea focused. The Front, which began allowing cannabis use in December when Colorado's Amendment 64 was signed into law, sells specialty drinks and various handmade knick-knacks and art pieces during the day. At night the shop turns into a cannabisfriendly venue that employs a bring-yourown marijuana policy and serves as a venue for customers to light up (though the shop encourages patrons to use the smokeless device known as a vaporizer). "We allow people to recreationally use cannabis here on site," says Veronica Carpio, the shop's owner. "According to Colorado law, as long as they're over 21, they're able to possess it and use it. If they're under 21, they must have a red card [a medical marijuana license]." Carpio is no stranger to working in the world of cannabis; she ran medical marijuana dispensaries and then opened a patient collective, which was shut down by the federal government (she is currently on probation for marijuana possession). She says the new business is a way for her to continue working in the world of cannabis with less of a worry about breaking the law, following the November passage of Amendment 64. "Since I'm not selling and I'm not distributing or doing any of that on-site, I'm not violating any state law," she says. "I think this is a model that works perfect in the gray area that we're in right now until regulations are decided." That "gray area" refers to marijuana being legal in Colorado and Washington state but illegal under federal law. That means that The Front could conceivably be shut down by federal officials at any time. "Obama said they're not going to deal with that at this point, but we'll see," Carpio says. "It really has to be decriminalized at a federal level, otherwise there is just an uphill battle for the states and individuals." In the meantime, The Front is operating with cannabis front and center—not just by allowing customers to vaporize, but also by employing hemp in many of its products. "We make a hemp balm, we cook with hemp butter, and we're going to start making hemp milk," Carpio says. The café also makes "hemp coffee" that she hopes to soon start distributing to other shops. "We use the hemp seed, which is super high in omega3s, and we blend that with the coffee," says Carpio. For The Front's evening events, Carpio has been scheduling laidback entertainment that she hopes pairs well with cannabis intake. "We do everything from chainsaw-carving demos to blue light art events to drum circles and live paintings," she says. Because of her previous run-ins with the law while operating cannabis-related businesses, Carpio is hesitant to get too comfortable with The Front's initial success, which has included an onslaught of media coverage and crowds of eager pot smokers. But if her wishes come true, The Front will be the first of many cannabis-friendly cafés in Colorado and—if recreationaluse laws pass in other states in the coming years—around the nation. "I think people are probably a bit leery and are going to stand by and watch for now," she says. "But I'm hoping other businesses will jump in the boat." —Chris Ryan COURTESY OF THE FRONT TEA & ART SHOP CAFFEINE HIGH: CANNABIS-FRIENDLY CAFÉ OPENS IN COLORADO All four will move on to compete at April's U.S. Barista Championship and Brewers Cup in Boston. | INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE & TEA announced plans to open retail locations in San Francisco and New York as well as bolster its presence in Chicago, the trendsetting roaster's hometown. HEAD TO FRESHCUP.COM each Tuesday for our Weekly News Tasting, a roundup of the latest industry headlines. 22 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com

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