I just heard about this new coffee shop in Tucson called Sparkroot. They have a small web site up at sparkroot.com, and it looks like they’re serving Blue Bottle Coffee (from San Francisco) — the first in Arizona. The shop is owned by Ari Shapiro, and is still under construction. It is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Congress Street. They’re planning to open in July. Ari also owns and operates Xoom Juice, a Tucson juice company with 4 locations. I asked Ari to provide some additional information, and he sent the following: Although still a few months from opening, Sparkroot is thrilled to announce a union that will make coffee-lovers in the Sonoran drool: we are exclusively serving San Francisco’s beloved specialty roaster, Blue Bottle Coffee! It will be standard issue at our premium espresso bar, at our custom pour-over drip bar, and for sale as retail whole-bean. This partnership developed over months of dialogue, in which great synergies were found between the two companies. Sparkroot was seeking a unique bean and roaster to bring to Tucson; Blue Bottle seeks wholesale accounts that represent them wholly, and that adhere to their strict regimen of execution. Sparkroot will be their first Arizona account, and one of a few outside of their home bases of CA and, recently, NYC. Blue Bottle has an insanely loyal and dedicated following, they are consistently ranked in the top tier of specialty coffee purveyors (GQ, in a recent exhaustive search, ranked them handily in the US top 10). More importantly, they share an ethos toward coffee that is totally in line with Sparkroot’s philosophy: fair trade, direct relationships with farms, a vibrant employee culture, and coffee shops that are among the most dynamic places you’ll visit. My lead barista, Leah Young, and I just returned from a week of training in their beautiful Oakland Roastery. I can promise we will be pulling phenomenal shots, and will be proudly serving Blue Bottle Coffee Company! Sparkroot 245 E Congress St. Tucson, AZ 85701-1849 Facebook
Psyd Well, there is an opportunity for downtown Tucson to finally get some decent espresso. It has been a desert for decent coffee since the Cafe Ole went away years ago. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. At worst, it’ll be a local source for Hayes Valley blend within bike riding distance! 0 Reply May 3, 2011
