Inspired by our sister company, Beve, we wanted to give our knowledgable and talented Baristas the opportunity to delve even deeper into their craft and to bring you, our knowledgable and discerning customer along with us.

Coffee is an extraordinary and complex beverage and there is so much to learn and enjoy outside of the sometimes hurried cafe experience.

HOW IT WORKS

There are 6 spots available for each service in which at least one Barista will guide you through an experience like no other, exploring and explaining different coffees, brew methods and even food pairings. The Barista has complete freedom to do almost anything, join them as they create, explore and journey through the intriguing finer points of coffee’s tasting profiles, volatile production, cultural, ritual and culinary disparities. They will expound on details such as growth and harvesting, roasting, and other factors which determine what you ultimately encounter in the cup. The menu is predetermined, and the details will change along with their whims and the seasonality of our coffees.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Curious about coffee? This is the place for you. Come prepared to learn more about varietals, extraction, tasting profiles and the important roles of coffee history and place during this one hour experience. Discover the culinary side to coffee through four different coffees and brew methods, enjoy small food pairings. Relax and enjoy learning and discovering a new perspective.

Cost: $35

RESERVATIONS

March 2, 4pm (Fri)
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March 16, 6pm (Fri)
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March 23, 6pm (Fri)
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April 6, 6pm (Fri)
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April 27, 6pm (Fri)
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May 11, 6pm (Fri)
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More dates and times will be added to this page as they become available.

Not ready to purchase? Tell us why so we can improve.

Nathanael, Barista & Beve partner, led the development of the CREMA {Slow Bar}, here’s what he had to say:
In the end, the idea behind this is to not only showcase the new coffees that we’ve been painstakingly sampling, roasting and dialing in over the past few months, but also to try and create an atmosphere for folks to take a moment to consider their coffee rather than just drink it. So many times, even in my life, this amazing beverage can easily become just a background to whatever else I’m doing at the time, whether it’s a meeting or a book or …facebook. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Coffee has been a great supporter of conversations and a muse for artists for centuries, and that’s great, but it’s also a jewel to be considered and looked at in different settings. We’re hoping to open some minds, to expand some experiences, and to just have some fun.

We were delighted when our friend, Chelsea Kallman, a Nashville based writer and photographer for Barista Magazine recently visited and blogged about her experience. She hang out with us while we cupped three different coffees and discussed our foray into roasting. Here’s what she had to say…

The CREMA Roasterie
By Chelsea Kallman

“It’s wild, totally unexpected in the way it comes out. It’s just a grab you over the table and put your head in the cup,” says Gunnhild Seljenes about one of her favorite coffees.

“I’ve thought this is my favorite, but then I get home, brew the other one, and that’s my favorite. But, what I’m most excited about is Edlina Estate, Finca Vista Hermosa,” says Sean Stewart.

“Usually the one in front of me that went well,” says Winston Harrison as he goes on to talk about the vegetal components of coffee.

The way these three people talk about coffee may sound like a different language to some. But, to Gunnhild, Sean and Winston this speech is a part of everyday life.

“It’s a beverage that’s 300 times more complex than wine, so we want to show it off,” says Sean.They are the roasters for CREMA’s new roasterie. They start their day cupping coffees and naming off the different flavors and scents they find in the newest cup. Sometimes it’s chocolate notes or peaches. Other times it smells like a forest, or more specifically, bark.

Because of this fact and, in their opinion, Nashville’s need to see coffee differently, they are all passionately employed in Crema’s newest project.

Serious conversation about the roasterie started about a year ago, right around the same time Rachel Lehman, owner of Crema, hired Winston. He said they talked about roasting in his interview and he expressed a desire to learn more.

As of November 2011 CREMA now has a Diedrich IR12 roaster in a newly renovated space within the coffee brewtique. A table to the side of the roaster allows for group cuppings and note taking. Windows allow customers to see the roasting process, but a re-purposed door keeps them separated. Burlap bags line a wall next to the entrance.

Each of the roasterie’s employees is an experienced baristas with coffee wisdom to share.

Sean, like many other baristas, started at Starbucks. He eventually moved to Fido in Hillsboro Village. Then he left the country.

“When I was in Spain I realized coffee meant a little more to me. I really enjoy it. I wanted to do it more seriously.”

When he came back he started learning more. He took courses, got certified, and started playing with a refractometer, a device used to measure the refractive index in liquids, aiding in creating the best cup of coffee. He started Beve, a mobile coffee company, with his friend Nathanael Mehrens, and is now business partners with CREMA. Sean says Beve is what made coffee stick for him. He went from barista of the masses to coffee geek.

Winston, also like many other baristas, needed a job. He had worked in coffee before, but there was more to this job than any other.

“If there’s one constant in my life it has been my obsession with coffee.”

He said he would go to sleep excited to wake up the next day and make coffee. Now it’s a part of his life and he gets to roast for CREMA.

Winston jokingly says Gunnhild is an international coffee superstar. Though modest, Gunnhild shared she has won the National Barista Championship in Norway. From the win she was given opportunities to travel to producing countries and serve on the International Cup of Excellence Jury. She moved to Nashville for her husband. She says she never saw herself living here.

“It’s a lucky position to be in,” she says.

The CREMA Roasterie is just getting on its feet, but they know they’re going to have some big shoes to fill.

“Nashville is coming to the same place that a lot of the big cities already are and cultivating more high end coffee places and having more chances to experience coffee at a high level. I don’t know that we are alone in making a huge impact, but we are part of some big change that’s happening in Nashville,” says Winston.

Gunnhild doesn’t want to drive to find good coffee. She wants to walk down the street.

“I would like to see better coffee in local coffee stores. Putting the expectation upon coffee stores to pay attention,” says Gunnhild.

Sean says he wants to see people thinking differently about coffee. He wants to see a move towards an understanding of why coffee is more expensive and being ok with that. He wants to see a move from selling coffee by the pound to selling it in 8 or 12 oz. He wants to see coffee thought about outside of dark roasts.

“The norm for America, let alone Nashville, is used to dark roasted coffee. We’re used to the idea of throwing in cream and sugar,” says Sean.

He wants to drink a livelier cup.

“We will be hosting a lot of community events to try to push what we talked about. We’re going to do cuppings, tastings, explaining where the coffee comes from, why we roast it, what we did, what they’re tasting, so the community knows why we’re doing it…We don’t want to be exclusive,” says Sean.

So far CREMA has hosted their first cupping. They filled the table in the roasterie with three types of coffee, Finca Vista Hermosa, a Guatemalan coffee, Mbeya Mshikamano, a Tanzanian coffee and San Pedro, La Laguna, another Guatemalan coffee.

There were spit cups and spoons. The room was filled with slurps of different registers. Some people kept their teeth together. Others used their tongue more. It was a unique site to see grown men and women spitting into cups and talking about what it tasted like. But, that’s how coffee is changed and moved forward, through tasting and seeing, through identifying those chocolate flavors, the nuts, apples and herbal scents and honing those.

Here’s the press release with all the info…

THE 4TH ANNUAL CREMA CHRISTMAS SET FOR DECEMBER 10TH

Local Coffee Brewtique Hosts Handmade Arts – Crafts Sale
to Benefit the Nashville Homeless Community

NASHVILLE, TN –November 29, 2011 — CREMA, a local coffee brewtique, has set their 4th Annual CREMA Christmas event taking place Saturday, December 10th from 2 to 6 PM. This year’s holiday event once again will focus on serving the Nashville homeless community with 20 percent of proceeds from the event going to Safe Haven and People Loving Nashville. Last year, the event raised more than $2,000 for the local organizations.

This year, CREMA Christmas will once again feature local artisans that have made homemade accessories, paintings, photos, jewelry and other handmade goods by local artists with proceeds going to each of these organizations.

The CREMA mission is to serve distinctively great coffee, expand coffee knowledge and be good people. Since opening their doors, CREMA has raised and/or donated more than $10,000 to Safe Haven, People Loving Nashville and other non-profits.

With these donations, CREMA has been recently announced as a “Gold Guardian Angel” for Safe Haven. A “Guardian Angel” is an organization that underwrites the cost of a family while they stay at Safe Haven Family Shelter. With their donations, CREMA has been able to provide a family with the opportunity to receive comprehensive training, counseling and support through the shelter program for 45 days.

Make a difference for the Nashville homeless community this holiday season by attending CREMA Christmas.

ABOUT SAFE HAVEN:
Safe Haven provides shelter and transitional services that empower Middle Tennessee homeless families with children to achieve lasting self-sufficiency. This is the only homeless shelter that takes in whole families in the area. For more information, http://www.safehaven.org/

ABOUT PEOPLE LOVING NASHVILLE:
In 2008, a group of five gathered to provide a small Thanksgiving meal to those residing on the streets of downtown Nashville. Impacted greatly by this one night, they decided to provide a weekly meal for the homeless & less fortunate in downtown. Now, coming together every Monday night to prepare, serve and give a meal, People Loving Nashville has become a movement among twenty-somethings and beyond in Nashville. The most important goal is to provide love; simple, genuine love to those that feel they have been forgotten. They are simply “People Loving Nashville.” For more information, http://peoplelovingnashville.com/

ABOUT CREMA:
CREMA is the mark of excellence in the finest espresso. When a shot of espresso is properly crafted, its rich foam topping is the crema. Our name represents our primary goal, excellence in quality as well as our passion for the best quality in coffee, espresso and service, which is proudly rooted in our Italian heritage. We focus on the fundamental elements, so our highly skilled, ninja-like baristas use small-batch, locally roasted beans, precise methods, and superior equipment to handcraft the finest traditional Italian coffee and espresso. Our love and respect for coffee means we never stop learning or experimenting and we’re always eager to talk about it. We are also always finding new ways to be a part of the local community, such as giving away our advertising space to charities and donating caffeine to jump start event volunteers at 5:30am! For more information, http://www.crema-coffee.com/

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During this nearly week-long event you can go to symposiums, classes and lectures, browse the enormous expo floor (and get lots of swag), watch or compete in the cupping, brewing or barista championships, consume more caffeine than your body can take and learn more in a day than you’ve been able to pound out by yourself in a year. On top of all this, there are parties and hangouts and fun times to be had by all.

It’s real neat.

This year for the first time, The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) held the event in Houston, a city which has been generating a lot of buzz (see what I did there?) recently for places like Catalina, and Greenway. Not everyone gives the south a lot of respect when it comes to coffee, but thanks to cities like Atlanta, Austin and our very own Nashville, we’re definitely building our street cred and becoming more and more visible. This is the second time we’ve attended SCAA and already we’ve met tons of fantastic people who greet us with warmth and respect. People we can learn from, teach or just share a mind blowing Geisha Colombia with. It’s so much fun to be working the complimentary coffee bar and have the actual farmers of a brilliant coffee bring you some to brew up and try (this is where Sean’s fluent spanish comes in handy).

We did a lot of volunteering this year. Sean and Nathanael (of Beve) worked several shifts at Cafe BGA (Barista Guild of America), and despite not having as much time for the lectures or expo floor, they were right in the middle of the competitions and got to meet and make coffee for lots of great people. They also both took and passed their BGA Level 2 Exams, joining a small and skilled group of people in the USA (Seriously. Nathanael was the only one who passed the day he took it). Of course, they won’t be completely certified till they actually take the classes intended to prep you for the test, but they hope to be able to do that this fall at BGA’s Camp Pull-A-Shot.

Ben and Rachel spent a lot of time researching lots of roasters and getting advice and opinions from many people including our much loved Aaron Blanco (of Brown Coffee co.), and arrived at a decision for CREMA’s new roastery! More details on that soon…

We also all had time to attend a couple sponsored parties and events. Beve competed in a brew-off at Revival Market (SO cool) with a special Ethiopian from Brown and took second place! There was a huge get together and lots of great beer at St. Arnold Brewery, and the BGA wrap party was at ANVIL, a place our friends over at the Patterson House had raved to us about. Can you say 6(six!) wet bars? Dang.

Really though, for all the new toys we play with and brain stretching we experience, the best thing about these gatherings and probably even the best thing about working in coffee is the people. No other industry we’ve experienced is as open, welcoming, collaborative and passionate as these people. This goes for Nashville peeps too, and we’re so happy and proud to be a part of what’s happening at home and abroad.

Can’t wait for next year.

Classes are $25 and include a bag of coffee. Gear for the featured method will also be available for purchase. Class sizes are limited so register today!

The goal of this partnership is to (1) advance coffee knowledge, (2) elevate the coffee experience to culinary art and (3) enhance access to exceptional coffee and brewing. The partnership will advance these intents through collaboration in these key areas: professional and public coffee classes and education consulting, coffee catering, coffee retail and roasting.

Beve is a mobile unit capable of bringing the best in coffee and tea to your event, wedding, or gathering of any kind. They’re kind of obsessed with quality and are absolutely committed to excellence in what they do. Let’s face it: “coffee catering” isn’t exactly all it’s cracked up to be. They’re here to change that. View the Beve catering experience in pictures now. You really should!

Need coffee at your next event? Need Barista training? Check out www.BeveCoffee.com now to learn how Beve can help your event or staff stand out!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CREMA and Beve Announce Partnership to Advance and Strengthen Nashville’s Coffee Community

Local Coffee Brewtique and Coffee Visionaries Partner to Elevate Nashville Coffee Experience to Culinary Art

NASHVILLE, TN (February, 2011) –The Rutledge Hill coffee brewtique that ushered in a new wave of coffee excellence when it opened its doors in 2008, CREMA has announced that it will partner with newcomers Beve, a mobile coffee unit with the same devotion to excellence and quality that marks the CREMA experience. The collaboration will provide new opportunities to the discerning public for education, catering, retail and roasting while continuing to raise the profile of the local coffee community.

As an investor and part owner of Beve, CREMA aims to partner with the new upstart in innovative ways that include regular in-store coffee classes, education consulting, mobile coffee catering and more, in a collective effort to advance the ever-expanding knowledge and awareness of the coffee consumer. Together they plan to increase the city’s access to exceptional coffee and brewing and to elevate the coffee experience locally to a culinary art.

Sean Stewart and Nathanael Mehrens, the award-winning baristas and co-owners of Beve Mobile Coffee, bring a wealth of coffee experience to the new exclusive venture. Both trained and certified by the Baristas Guild of America, they are committed to the science of coffee and to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to artisan hand-brewed coffee methods.

For its part, CREMA will continue to lead the coffee scene in Nashville with its highly skilled, knowledgeable and friendly staff as well as educational coffee tastings, special events and the many charitable efforts they participate in each year. “We are pleased and excited to partner closely with this exceptional team of coffee experts and visionaries,” said Rachel Lehman, co-owner of CREMA. “Our team is thrilled to have the opportunity to more broadly share our passion for coffee with Nashville and together build an expert coffee community akin to Atlanta, New York and Chicago.”

CREMA is known for its attention to detail and traditionally crafted coffee and espresso. For more information, visit www.CREMA-coffee.com and www.bevecoffee.com.

CREMA, A Coffee Brewtique
15 Hermitage Avenue
Nashville, TN 37210
(615) 255-8311

Contact:
Ben Lehman ben@crema-coffee.com
Sean Stewart sean@bevecoffee.com

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This year’s holiday event once again will focus on serving the Nashville homeless community with coffee proceeds from the event going to Safe Haven and People Loving Nashville.

For the 2010 CREMA Christmas, local artisans have made homemade accessories (hats, scarves, gloves), and these items will be available for purchase for a homeless individual this holiday season.  Those that purchase a homemade item will be able to write a message to the homeless individual that will receive the gift. There will also be other “art” items available for sale: paintings, photos, jewelry and other handmade goods by local artists with proceeds going to each of these organizations.

In 2008-09, CREMA raised and/or donated nearly $3,000 to Safe Haven, the Contributor and other local charities. When the Nashville homeless community was displaced by the Nashville flood, the CREMA community quickly collected over three truckloads of supplies for immediate use by those displaced at tent city. Thank you for joining with us to make this a wonderful holiday season for the Nashville homeless.

About Safe Haven:
Safe Haven provides shelter and transitional services that empower Middle Tennessee homeless families with children to achieve lasting self-sufficiency. This is the only homeless shelter that takes in whole families in the area. For more information, http://www.safehaven.org.

About People Loving Nashville:
In 2008, a group of five gathered to provide a small Thanksgiving meal to those residing on the streets of downtown Nashville.  Impacted greatly by this one night, they decided to provide a weekly meal for the homeless & less fortunate in downtown. Now, coming together every Monday night to prepare, serve and give a meal, People Loving Nashville has become a movement among twenty-somethings and beyond in Nashville. The most important goal is to provide love, simple, genuine love to those that feel they have been forgotten. They are simply “People Loving Nashville.” For more information, http://peoplelovingnashville.com.

Produced in at least 70 countries with varying climates, soil, and growth processes, your cup of coffee has a specific flavor profile that can be traced to it’s region and country of origin.

The three major regions for growing coffee are Latin America, Africa, and Indonesia.

Latin America: [examples: Guatemala, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, El Salvador, Columbia]

When you drink a coffee from this region, you’ll typically notice a bright, crisp mouth-feel. This is because Latin American coffees tend to be moderate to high in acidity. Chocolate and nutty flavors are also prominent in some Latin American coffees. Generally roasted lighter than the other regions, the tart, clean flavor profiles of Latin American coffees pair well with breakfast or brunch dishes.

Africa: [Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania]

African beans tend to considered “wild” with floral undertones and are usually of a medium roast level. Each country tends to produce coffee with very distinct flavors. Sip a mug of Kenya AA and then try an Ethiopian Harrar and you’ll know what I mean! While Kenyan coffees tend to be more lemony and citrus-like, certain Ethiopian coffees such as Harrar tend to be winey; with blueberry or strawberry notes. Ethiopian Sidamo can be very tea-like with a very light body and heavy herbal notes. Pair with sweet treats!

Indonesia: [Bali, Sumatra, Flores, Papua New Guinea]

Indonesian coffees tend to be characterized as spicy, rich, and earthy. Lower in acidity than coffee from the other regions, Indonesian coffees are smooth and heavy-bodied with a more syrupy mouth-feel. Pair coffees from this region with after-dinner dessert dishes!

The climate, soil, and processing of coffee differs greatly from region to region. All of these factors affect the coffee beans and this post is simply meant to introduce you to the basic differences and characteristics of the regions. There are many sources available that provide more details about the differences between countries and regions. Many of my references are found here and here. This site also offers an extensive list of coffees by country, taken from Kenneth Davis, author of Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing & Enjoying, Espresso: Ultimate Coffee, and Home Coffee Roasting: Romance & Revival.

gone, gone. p.s. Your mom says to visit Kangaroopress.com now.

Coffee is, after all, one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world, and it requires a great deal of human effort to make it from tree to cup. In this post, I’ll be covering a BASIC rundown (for a serious debate read this) on how coffee is processed prior to shipping to your local or regional roaster…I mean, it’s worth noting that HOW your coffee is processed affects it’s pre-roast flavor as much as where it’s grown!

Basically, coffee processing is broken down into two main categories: wet and dry, with subtle differences within these two main processes depending on the method employed at the coffee farm or plantation. Methods vary from region to region and are based on what variety of coffee is grown and the typical weather patterns during the brunt of the harvesting season. Furthermore, several ‘hybrid’ methods are developing and in use on farms today; these combine the benefits and nuances inherent in both methods all while increasing efficiency in production, increasing quality, and reducing some of the environmental impacts associated with a singular method.

Wet (or washed) Process Coffee:

In the wet process, the cherry pulp of the freshly-harvested beans is removed by using specific equipment, and oftentimes, large amounts of water. Beans are immersed and the good ones are separated from the bad before they are then mashed with screens–this separates some of the sticky pulp from the bean before further processing.

Then, depending on the method, the beans are either left to ferment in their mucilage (known as ferment-and-wash processing) under close monitoring; this ensures that undesirable off-flavors result from the fermentation. The other route is machine-assisted processing; this uses machines to ’scrub’ and remove the mucilage from the bean thereby cutting down on the amounts of wastewater and likelihood of off-flavoring that can happen from traditional wet processing.

During fermentation, enzymatic action breaks down the sugars in the mucilage and affect the development and complexity of the flavors in the final bean.

Afterwards, machines and even more water is used to remove the remaining mucilage before the beans are dried (either in the sun or in machines), further processed, cleaned, sorted, graded and shipped overseas.

Dry Process Coffee:

Also referred to as ‘natural process’ coffee, this method removes the entire cherry is dried prior to removing the cherry from the bean. It’s also the oldest method of processing coffee in use today.

The cherries are first cleaned, sorted and spread in thin layers on either patios or racks to dry in the sun.  In larger plantations, drying is done first under the sun and then in machines to speed up the process.

Once a specific degree of dryness is reached, the beans are then moved to silos for storage before blending and forced into hoppers where the entire cherry is removed from the bean. Drying, much like wet-processing, has to be closely monitored because over or under-drying will affect the quality of the bean and how easily it separates from the mucilage in the hopper.

After coffee’s processing, the finished beans are again cleaned and sorted, then graded before being bagged for final shipping.  All that work, and you still have green beans. However, flavors and nuances are developed in these stages before the skilled hands of a coffee roaster begins his or her job. Bad beans from processing will therefore result in a poor cup of coffee…no matter how talented your coffee roaster may be.

Other resources: Sweet Maria’s has a lot of photos of coffee processing in their flickr collection and there are more good basics plus photos in the Wikipedia article.