Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/300684
freshcup.com | May 2014 25 BLUEPRINT COFFEE IN SAINT LOUIS B Y C O R Y E L D R I D G E BEHIND the BAR he first thing the baristas at Blueprint Coffee do when a cus- tomer walks up to the bar isn't to demand a drink order. They don't rattle off the day's roasts. They don't wait for the customer to make the first move. Instead, the baristas offer a glass of water. This isn't simple hospitality; it's a signpost in a café whose layout is unique in Saint Louis. There's no menu, anywhere, not even a minimalist chalkboard or tiny clipboard. There's no cash register designating a starting point. There's no pick-up coun- ter. In an anchorless space, potentially a daunting one, the baristas make that first move familiar from restaurants—they offer a glass of water. Kevin Reddy, one of a hefty team of Saint Louis coffee professionals who started Blueprint, says, "Some customers come in and are unfamiliar and may be a bit intimidated, so it's largely up to us to bring customers into it." But that's a task the Blueprint team accepts in exchange for an aesthetic and experience different from any other shop in town. "The customer is welcomed by a conversation rather than spaces to order here and pick up here." Blueprint began just eight months ago, on Labor Day weekend 2013. The roaster- retailer settled into a brick-front building on the Delmar Loop near Washington University, the city's bohemian district. Elongated subway tile wraps around the bar while a backsplash the size of a picture window is filled with hexagon tiles recall- ing the café's logo. A small kitchen pro- duces jams, nut butters, chutneys, cookies, and biscuits. Further back in the deep shop is the roastery. The roasting side of the business focuses on single-origin roasts. Currently, they don't even offer an espresso blend. It's the same simple and clean approach of the café. Though when you look at the backside of the operation, that simplicity demands a lot of creativity and effort. T House-made Syrup: Blueprint whips up its own vanilla simple syrup and use Springfield's Askinosie Chocolates' cocoa for their chocolate syrup. Espresso: Two single-origins and a decaf are ready to go with milk or almond milk. The machine and grinders, set at the far end of the seating area, are the closest thing to clutter on the bar. M I K E M A R Q U A R D May14_magazine.indd 25 4/18/14 10:42 AM