Today was a pretty amazing day, if you are lucky enough (like I am) to live in Calgary! The team over at Monogram welcomed Andy Sprenger, who founded Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters along with his wife Laurel, to their Britannia Cafe for a public cupping.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters hails from Lakewood Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Interestingly enough Sweet Bloom has a strong connection to Alberta as Laurel grew up in High Level & Three Hills. Andy brought three coffees for everyone to try.
- Sonia Imbachi, Huila, Colombia
- Diego Imbachi, Huila, Colombia
- Duromina, Jimma, Ethiopia
These were three amazing coffee’s, and we were really privilege to sample the Sonia Imbachi that isn’t even available on their web-store. Sonia & Diego are siblings who have begun to make a name for themselves from their father, Carlos, who has been farming their family land for decades. My personal favourite was the Diego Imbachi which presented sweet caramel notes, reminiscent of cola, along with a bright and clean finish.
It was amazing to see how many people showed up for this cupping, literally packing out the cafe. It’s so encouraging to see so many people from the coffee community of Calgary come out for this cupping. It was a veritable whose-who from across the various cafes and roasters of this city. This city is passionate about coffee, and to have events like this does much to continue to foster such great camaraderie.
Andy shared a bit of the history of Sweet Bloom including his own decorated career in specialty coffee including:
Two-time US Brewers Cup Champion
Runner-up in the World Brewers Cup Championship
2013 US Aeropress Champion
Runner-up in the 2014 US Cup Tasters Championship.
Andy began SweetBloom coffee back in 2013 and has made quite the name for this coffee roaster. It was great to introduce myself to him and mention that I run a blog here in Calgary similar to his company’s name. Their website has a great write-up about this concept of “the bloom” which I must say captures much of what I was initially looking to capture when I began this blog almost a year ago.
“All coffee begins with a bloom: an elegant, fragrant white flower. Exceptional coffee, freshly roasted and ground, blooms again when infused with hot water – equally fragrant and even more complex. We care deeply about everything in between these two blooms, from the producers to precision roasting. Our passion for this craft ensures the end result – what’s in your cup – is as beautiful as its beginning.”
It was great as well to learn a bit more around the history of their bag design. There is no mistaking a Sweet Bloom bag! Andy shared that much of the inspiration for their bags comes from the geography and nature that surrounds them in Colorado. Andy as well original made a living in conservation before entering into coffee. This, and the artistic abilities of his wife Laurel have spawned these absolutely incredible bags! Andy hinted there may be new bags in the future, and some current ones might be retired, so you better collect them all if you’ve got a favourite!
Contact Info:
Instagram: @sweetbloomcoffee
Web: sweetbloomcoffee.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetbloomcoffee/
It was an incredible afternoon, and one that I won’t soon forget. Again, thanks to Andy, and the team at Monogram for putting this on.
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
commonly coffee 