Roast! West Coast
Coffee People
Coffee People: Romantics Coffee
0:00
-34:29

Coffee People: Romantics Coffee

Coffee feels like home for Libby and Victor Arreguin.

S7:E12

Guest: Libby and Victor Arreguin, Romantics Coffee
From: San Diego, CA
Online: www.romanticscoffee.com • @romanticscoffee on Instagram


I’m always a little melancholy at the end of Roast! West Coast season. Often I’m a little burnt out too. Season 7, the first in which the show was split into two parts, has been particularly wearing.*

There were more logistics than anticipated. There have been more off-the-field, i.e., not in the actual show, details than accounted for. There has been growth in the ranks of our Industry Partners and show listeners to account for. There has been the retooling of Coffee Smarter.

And so on, and so on. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in all those logistics, those straightforward details, those boring behind-the-scenes times. I’m a bit melancholy writing this, and yet…

I’m feeling the warmth and pleasant joy that comes with having a great conversation with new Coffee People. It’s easy to forget that coffee can be, and often is, a moment of joy. Libby and Victor Arreguin’s Romantics Coffee embrace the yin-yang of emotion that can be found in or around a cup of coffee.

Shop Romantics Coffee

For Libby, coffee feels like home. It brings to mind all the family conversations at the dinner table over a cup of coffee. For Victor, it evokes images of his uncles drinking dark motor oil-esque coffee in his youth and this new connection with his wife as an adult.

Their coffee company isn’t just coffee. It’s the belief that we can forge connections, create memorable moments, and risk vulnerability merely by taking a chance on a cup of coffee. That sounds fairly romantic to me.

Loading...

*The weather in Southern California hasn’t helped. We moved here for the Endless Summers, not the Everyday Gray.


INTELLIGENTSIA

Intelligentsia Coffee in Logan Square was one of the first craft coffee shops I ever spent time in. A dozen years ago, the options for craft coffee weren’t nearly as ubiquitous as they are now. It was the first place I learned that when I ordered my coffee, it might take more than the 15 seconds it would take to be poured into a cup. They were making my coffee to order.

Not only my coffee but all the coffees were being made to order. With a half dozen customers in line, the time would add up, but the coffee was worth the wait. After leaving Chicago, I found myself temporarily living in Pasadena. An Intelligentsia Coffee opened there that turned into a wine bar in the afternoons. It became my regular spot.

Things have changed in the past decade. After 20 years in the coffee business, Intelligentsia was sold to Peet’s Coffee in 2015. It was the continuation of the business and, in some way, an extension of what Peet’s Coffee had started. They were a San Francisco Bay-area coffee shop that opened in 1966. They were sold in 1979, then again in 1984, went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2001, and then taken private once again when purchased by JAB Holding Company.

With the sale, the industry-influencing giant that Intelligentsia was, went corporate. There was some outcry in the way people complained about small breweries selling out, but not nearly as much. Intelligentsia roasted coffee would be shared with the masses. It was the next step for a roaster that had grown beyond its walls into a boutique chain of stores and retail coffee sales.

In some ways, it worked. I can get Intelligentsia Coffee at my local grocery store even though the nearest cafe is a two-hour drive (or four depending on traffic on the 5). There are coffee shops in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Chicago. Even though they’ve become a mass-produced craft brand, they’ve managed to raise the level of quality available nationwide.

In some ways, it hasn’t. The reverence coffeeheads once spoke of Intelligentsia has faded some. New craft coffee consumers likely won’t know all the ways the brand paved the way for their favorite local coffee roasters. And, finally, they’ve had to begin to close stores. Eater Chicago recently announced the closure of two Chicago locations—Logan Square and Wicker Park—citing increased competition, the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and the ending of their current leases. Left unsaid were labor challenges and rising costs. Both locations staffed union workforces.

Will more Intelligentsia store closures be forthcoming? Will there be more consolidation within the industry in the coming years? Will there be industry-wide closures as the wave of new pandemic-inspired cafes moves into their second, third, and fourth years?

I think so.

Consider this a sign to take a break and appreciate the coffee in your mug and, even more so, the coffee shop or roaster from whom you purchased it. I know that I will. In a nod to the brand that taught me good coffee takes time, here is an old video featuring Kyle from the Venice, CA Intelligentsia walking us through what it takes to make an espresso.

CLICK ON THESE R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNER LINKS

Support these great coffee companies. You won’t be disappointed.

Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle •  Camp Coffee CompanyIgnite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • San Franciscan Roaster Company


Thank you for reading. R!WC is a listener & reader-supported publication. Help us grow by subscribing to this newsletter!


LISTEN TO ROAST! WEST COAST ON THESE PLATFORMS
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC • THE COAST NEWSTUNEIN RADIO • I HEART RADIO • POCKETCASTS • BREAKER • RADIO PUBLIC • OVERCAST • YOUTUBE • STITCHER • CASTROPANDORALISTEN NOTESDEEZERPODVINE • CASTBOX

Share Roast! West Coast

0 Comments
Roast! West Coast
Coffee People
The new Roast! West Coast Coffee People thread. The same interviews with inspiring coffee people with a new name.