Roasting Up A Personal Coffee Experience With Parkside
Here in the Slope, there’s no shortage of places to get coffee. But what if you want a cup that’s a little more tailored to your specific preferences? Parkside Coffee Roasters, a new business located in a small production space on Prospect Avenue overlooking the Expressway, wants to help with that — and to lighten up the experience, a bit.
“We are happy with the quality of coffee shops getting better and better, and with the explosion of quality roasters in America, but along with this change has come sort of a staunch seriousness and elitism that we’d like to say goodbye to,” says Tim Tate, Parkside’s founder and roaster. “We think coffee can be fun, and don’t think you have to skimp on quality in order to make that happen.”
Years in the coffee, food, and beverage industries — he worked with Van Leeuwen as it started up, helped to get Ports Coffee and Tea off the ground, and tended bar at Saxon and Parole — helped Tim build experience not only in learning what tastes good, but what is a part of good taste.
“At Saxon, I saw the parallels between fine coffee and cocktails,” he says, “how attention to detail, outstanding customer service, beautiful design, and creative passion can add up to something very special.”
He took a break from the industry for a couple of years, but “couldn’t stay away from coffee for long,” and he began a journey to figure out the best methods for making it.
“Hundreds of thousands of espressos pulled, countless cups brewed on every type of device, tasting coffee around the city and across the country,” he says. “Experimenting in the kitchen, on the barbecue, in a modified popcorn popper, an electric drum roaster, and our professional gas-powered roaster.”
His company is now roasting six pounds of coffee beans at a time, which are sourced from a buyer out of the Bay Area named Aleco Chigounis.
“He is a very experienced buyer, purchasing some of the best and most expensive coffees from all around the world for the past decade or so,” Tim says. “He also has coffee farming experience, so knows how to make sure agricultural and processing methods are top notch. He rewards farmers for doing things the right way, and producing the best coffee cherries.”
The resulting coffee beans roasted by Parkside are tailored to customers’ preferences — they’ll ask you about the flavors you prefer and the amount of coffee you drink, and develop a profile that fits your needs.
“We can zero in on an elusive taste you can’t quite pin down, or deliver an old favorite, or even stretch your palate with some of our personal choices we think you’ll enjoy.”
The very “you” bag of coffee will then be shipped out, along with a surprise in every delivery, “just like the Cracker Jack boxes from way back when.” Expect some whimsical, Brooklyn-centric stuff, like unique coffee comics by local artists, but also coffee-related gadgets like Parkside’s homemade ceramic pourover brewers.
Of course, Tim acknowledges that you can find good coffee at several shops within walking distance, but it’s that personal touch that he hopes will attract caffeine hounds.
“I think what we are offering is special because we are willing to look a little further into your personal coffee preferences, and then try to provide you something delicious based on those preferences,” he says. “Also the convenience of having your coffee arrive at the appropriate time instead of going round town on a bean hunt, or searching the web for the best stuff.”
Once you get those beans, you’ll have to decide how to brew it — a choice that Tim finds incredibly interesting, because the possibilities are almost endless.
“There are literally thousands of different kinds of coffee, and so many different ways of processing and brewing those coffees,” he says. “One of my favorite ways of making coffee is using the Aeropress, which is funnily enough made by a frisbee company. It’s basically a giant syringe (but you inject into a mug instead of your veins). Delicious, velvety coffee is very possible here.”
Coffee might be a huge part of his life now, but it’s not the only thing Tim drinks — and thankfully, our neighborhood has a lot of other options.
“My favorite spots in South Park Slope are Lot 2, where you can get very good seasonal food along with a quality cocktail, and Quarter Bar, where the pedigree of the barmen is outstanding,” he says. “I do love to walk up to Owl Farm for an amazing beer. You can catch me pretty often at Energy Fuel bumping up my vitamin intake with a fresh squeezed juice.”
To learn more about Parkside Coffee Roasters and to get a taste of some of their coffee, check out their Kickstarter, which is running through July 2.
Photos via Parkside Coffee Roasters