Update: Sacramento's Old Soul Roastery
It's been a big year for Sacramento's Old Soul Roastery and Bakery since I first met co-owner Jason Griest. I happened to be in Sacramento for the day, and stopped in to pay a visit. As will quickly become our Sacramento tradition, we met at Benny's on Q Street, this time to watch Jason's Pittsburgh Penguins play Game One of their series with Philadelphia. But not before I stopped at Old Soul's original L Street back alley location where Jason and I first met, to pick up some coffee to bring home.Read: Profile Sacramento's Old Soul Roastery and Bakery[ad#Google Adsense - use me]When Jason and I first met, he told me the company's origin as a bakery that happened to make great coffee for themselves, and that attracted local residents and workers on break. Coffee became a natural fit. In the company's five years in roasting, they had even been approached by the mayor of Sacramento to open another location in a failed and closed Starbucks outlet. This is now a very successful Old Soul location, and one where I stopped on a recent trip to the city where Jason and I didn't have time to meet, but I wanted some good coffee to bring home.
Since then, Old Soul has even opened in the Sacramento International Airport. While not the only game in town, Old Soul is the biggest and in many respects a pioneer of specialty coffee in the city. In the last year, an employee of Old Soul's broke off on his own. Jason doesn't mind the competition, since it raises local awareness of specialty coffee as a whole.Jason and I talked about his recent cupping experiences, where roasters get together and sample new coffees that have not yet been imported in bulk. This is the opportunity for a roaster to decide if any of the coffees being cupped will be carried by them and offered to their customer.
When I stopped at Old Soul, I bought a pound of Papua New Guinea Peaberry. I love Peaberry coffee, and I'm looking forward to making short work of this coffee at home. I didn't realize that Jason had brought a pound of Rare Reserve Ethiopian Beloya to Benny's for me, and maybe best of all, a sample of Washed Bourbon Brazil that has not yet been sold in the US. An excellent night...well, except that Jason's Penguins lost in overtime. He had to pace for a bit, and may have punched something in the restroom, but it all ended on a happy note. We agreed not to take so long to get together again. Jason Griest is another example of today's coffee entrepreneur...serious about his community, serious about quality, laid back on life.Visit Old Soul online.