Tomorrow will be the last day of a very important era at the shop… the era of Mariah working for me. While we enjoy the metaphor of a business running like a machine, this is at best an understatement and probably just a flat out lie.  The reality is that businesses run because of the people who work at them.

Mariah has been at the shop for 5 years, which is almost its entire life. Through those years she has quietly and graciously taken whatever task I gave and done it as perfectly as possible.  Wake up five mornings a week and pull shot after shot? Yes. Organize the backroom? Yes. Keep the shop clean? Yes. Most daunting of all, keep me organized and on track? Yes.

Many regulars have had a constant every morning, being able to wake up to a sassy joke and a delicious beverage. Judging by the gifts and cards, I know they realize this.

And this of course is the real meaning of a cup of coffee. Not the hints of lemon, or the perfect extraction, but the relationships we develop while sipping.

Mariah is moving on to other things, and of course we wish her luck (although she barely needs it) in all she accomplishes. Of course, a part of us wants one more morning, but what we really want is to say thank you for all the cups we’ve already had.

Thank you, Mariah.

Join us for a candlelit evening for two this Valentine’s Day.

We’ll be celebrating the delights of our new neighborhood with three cupcake and ice cream pairings (courtesy of Sweets and Izzy’s), served at your table with coffee or tea.

For $25, choose from:

• Caramel & Nut,
• Berry & Citrus, or
• Chocolate & Chocolate.

We’ll be taking reservations via email or postcard (available in-cafe soon). Just let us know your dessert theme, who you are (name and email address) and what time you’ll be coming (6pm ’til late).

To guarantee a spot, please register on or before January 12th.

Questions or to reserve: andrew@kopplinscoffee.com

Here are our Holiday Hours this Year:

Saturday, December 24th 7 am – Noon
Sunday, December 25th Closed
Monday, December 26th 7 am – 8 pm
Sunday, January 1st 7 am – 8 pm

See you around the shop!

Perhaps you’ve seen the books in our retail shelf and wondered what we’re doing selling books now.  Well, it’s much more than a pile of books. We’re attempting to start a book a club and with it community events.

In an age of iPods, laptops, and a plethora of places for our attention to go, we so rarely do things communally (even family meals are becoming segmented). To this end, we thought it would be a worthwhile endeavor to have something that the entire Kopplin’s community is doing together. Reading one book a month seemed like a great place to start.

Sunday, December 11th, 4 – 8 pm

Celebrate the traditions of the season with us:
There will be a lefse demonstration and tasting, winter beverages available including eggnog from Castle Rock Dairy and hot chocolate from Rogue Chocolatier.

Special guest Scarlet Letter A Design will be showing a sparkling collection of jewelry.

Our new Good Taste retail section will be on display featuring great gifts. Including, ceramics by Eureka Pots of Minnesota, honey and candles from Ames Farm, “good taste” tees and hoodies, “Linger” posters from Design for the Arts, and coffee-brewing tools for the coffee lover.

As an extension of our commitment to well-crafted artisan products, we’re excited to be able to expand our selection of retail goods in our new location. We believe that surrounding yourself with objects that encourage a connection and reflection is an important part of life. Just like sourcing local food ingredients from farmer’s we know enhances the flavor of our beverages, so does sourcing mugs, candles, and cards from local artisans. Light a slightly honey-scented beeswax candle, warm up a ceramic mug crafted by the touch of a hand, and relax to enjoy a gently steeped tea. I guarantee that it will be a completely different experience from gulping down some steaming liquid on your commute or at your desk. The more moments that we gift to ourselves, the richer our experience is of the world. Sometimes it’s worth taking the time to savor.

It may just be human nature, but anything we do repetitively – no matter how simple – has the possibility of becoming quite technical and complicated, and it becomes important to step back, breathe, and reassess the situation. It was in this spirit, that our new coffee brewing method (debuting at our new space) was born.

An interesting conversation was happening on Twitter this afternoon involving pricing and creating an espresso café culture here in the Twin Cities that more closely resembled Italy.  Due to the fact that I’m not very good at checking Twitter, my response is almost certainly beyond tardy, but also this is a topic that deserves much more than 140 characters.

On Monday, my wife and I took my nephew to Sweetland Orchard to do some apple picking.  It couldn’t have been a more gorgeous fall day.

I’m a map guy so here’s one of the new neighborhood: