Supporting local coffee shops is a great way to contribute to the local economy and help to create a vibrant and diverse coffee community. Buying from local coffee shops, you get not only a delicious cup of coffee, but you are also supporting small businesses. They have unique and flavorful blends of coffee that you won’t find at big chains like Starbucks. Local coffee shops in Toledo include SIP Coffee, Brew Coffee Bar, Sip and Brew, Black Kite Coffee, Plate 21, Maddie & Bella Coffee Roasters, The Onyx Cafe, and many more.
If you haven’t tasted freshly roasted ground and brewed local coffee, have you tasted coffee at all? Big coffee chains like Starbucks have a bitter, burnt coffee taste. According to coffeecherish.com, Starbucks over roasts their coffee beans to improve their lifespan. Dark roasted coffee beans at high temperatures remain fresh for a long time. The burnt taste is caused due to higher concentration of the beans that are roasted. This burnt taste can be attributed to the large companies that call for mass production of coffee. With over 21,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks must roast the coffee beans at a higher temperature to produce large quantities of coffee at a faster rate. For independent coffee companies, this does not happen since they have the time and resources to appreciate and roast their coffee beans at an appropriate rate. This lends to the smooth and robust taste local coffee will offer. For example, SIP Coffee roasters are La Colombe (based in Philadelphia), Flying Rhino Coffee (based in Toledo), Rooz Roast Coffee (based in Ann Arbor), and Flatlands Coffee (based in Bowling Green, Ohio); they even have prompted people to send samples of their own roast to be used at SIP Coffee. Yes, Starbucks is great for seasonal drinks and sweet, icy treats. However, if you want to experience the coffee and its essence, you will need to take your business somewhere else. Find a local coffee shop that cares about the coffee they create.
Going to local coffee shops brings out individually versus the big chains. When you visit the coffee shops that are local, you get not only delicious food and beverages, but you are getting a unique experience that you might not find anywhere else. They typically have a more personalized atmosphere than Starbucks. Customers including myself often feel more at home in these kinds of places, as the baristas know their regular customers by name; they also take their own time to get to know them and their preferences. As you choose to consistently support a small business, the effect is actually felt by the business owners, and subsequently the workers. To these coffee shops, the value of yourself as a customer is greater than for a giant chain. For example, SIP Coffee is all about the people and not just the coffee. They provide involvement activities for the customers like art jam, SIP book nook, and live music.
Visiting local coffee shops is more than just the coffee. Entering Starbucks, you will find your typical beverages, pre-made food items, and Starbucks merchandise; nothing that special. However, visiting a local coffee shop in your area, you can find unique drinks, drinks made by the workers, food made in-house, and sometimes other merchandise. Not only do these businesses sell food, but they sell items you can keep forever. For example, SIP sells not only food, but clothes, cups, hats, etc. SIP also gives back to the community, their extra food and baked goods are donated to local shelters and food banks. SIP uses quality ingredients and they reuse and recycle. As SIP is all about people, they also care about the environment.
When I go to local coffee shops, I personally get better customer service compared to a large company like Starbucks. Starbucks don’t necessarily have bad customer service, it’s just the employees at smaller coffee shops are generally more patient and caring towards us as customers, connecting with us as people. Employees of large businesses are focused on getting as many people in and out the door as possible because corporations put pressure on them to hit a daily target. Like I said earlier, going to local coffee shops you tend to get a more personalized experience; when you become a regular customer, you can build a lasting relationship.
Local coffee shops aren’t for the faint of the heart. They aren’t as convenient as Starbucks can be or the Keurig machine in your kitchen. Although, local coffee shops are better, better for the world, better for our community, and better for the consumers, which is why you should check out a local coffee shop right now.
