Quills + Heitzman's Bakery= Local Traditions

At Quills, our love of originality and quality is the driving force behind every one of our decisions. It has led us down many paths. Most recently, it was behind the development of our own line of baked goods. For the past six months our baristas have been baking our muffins and scones in-house every day and the positive feedback from our customers has been truly rewarding.

We are, however, entering a new chapter in the story of Quills and it is one of expansion.  For this reason we have decided to hand the baking over to a Louisville landmark, Heitzman Bakery. Heitzman’s has been baking for this city for over 100 years and is committed to excellence in a way that makes us proud to sell their products. We are also excited to be working with a family run business that reminds us of our own.

In our new location at 137 Market Street in New Albany, we are creating a sort of Quills lab where we can focus our creative energies on the development of products that are as unique as the baristas who craft them. We will be creating our own selection of desserts with the help of local bakers and roasting an evolving range of expertly selected coffees.

We appreciate your support and are so proud to be a part of Louisville’s dynamic coffee culture. Stay tuned for the opening dates of our new locations in Downtown New Albany and in the UofL Cardinal Towne Center!

To find out more about Heitzman's Bakery:

http://www.heitzmanbakery.net

Quills Roasts Coffee

Word on the street is Quills is in the roasting biz. It’s all true. Roasting coffee has been part of our vision from the beginning, but now it's a reality. Once we landed our little roaster that could and a place to do its the thang, we have been full speed ahead.

The question of the day is who is behind this magical experience. The answer is our very own John Letoto. Hired on for his expert coffee knowledge and home roasting skills, John has taken on all parts of becoming a barista in addition to spearheading our roasting endeavors.

Spying on John as he roasts at our future New Albany location, it’s easy to see how much John loves coffee. With scribbled notes on paper, iPad documents and timers, John has it all down to an art. The complexity and the challenge is what John loves about roasting coffee.

He says it is intriguing to take something raw and make it this delicious thing that opens people’s eyes to the rich flavors coffee can have, much different than what they are brought up thinking coffee should taste like.

It is that moment that motivates John. Once someone tastes a quality roasted coffee, they are hooked, they want to know more and more. Being part of the experience that excites folks about coffee is tops on the list for John.

The support and comradery of being part of a small number of small batch coffee roasters in the country is nice too. Because there is always something to learn to further coffee, the support and info sharing done between them makes roasting better for John, and coffee quality better for everyone.

Being a part of the roasting and the brew process provides a deeper insight to the flavor profile of the coffee. Knowing how the coffee is going to be brewed allows John the chance to adjust the roasting to fit the extraction process. The details are everything.

Sniffing and watching the beans while they roast, John takes in every detail of the process. John is coffee obsessed to say the least, sharing his personal thoughts on coffee on his blog www.hermitudinous.com. This obsession makes him a perfect fit for Team Quills. Thank you John, for all that you do.

Please & Thank You Opens Up Shop

Our friends from Please & Thank You that make some of the delicious goodies we sell are excited to announce the opening of their own store front today! You will now be able to mingle and munch with Brooke Vaughn and Jason Pierce at their East Market Street location in the heart of the gallery district. They have put their special touch on the things they love especially for Louisville.

One of the things they love is Quills Coffee. PTY will soon be the home of Quills first outside roasting account. When setting up their espresso bar, the PTY crew took advantage of our Mahlkoenig rep status and installed one these fancy grinders for their fine coffee. They are leaving the geek status to us, but be rest assured when sipping their espresso drinks, they know what’s up.

Brooke is heading up the café portion of the biz while Jason is wrangling in the records and all things Analog. The PTY crew aims to give you a retro modern twist on the morsels for your mouth and the tunes for your ears. Setting foot in the shop, the care and attention that has gone into every item is apparent, hand picked just for you, so mind your manners.

Everything from the hand made tables and the Analog Mixed Tapes, to the vintage Pop Shoppe bottles that hold the iced coffee, the PTY crew are keeping quality and aesthetic in mind at all times. There is even a listening booth where you can preview the records and snack on their fresh baked cookies. The shop is more than a store, it’s a place to be.

We are so excited for our friends as they make their dreams come true. Going right in line with Quills’ vision of sharing what you love with the lovelies of Louisville, Quills coffee is a perfect fit for Please and Thank You. But don’t forget you can still get their tasty goodies at Quills when you are in our 'hood. Good luck Brooke and Jason! Save us a spin on the turn table.

www.pleaseandthankyoulouisville.com

Quills News: Coffee Quality Up and so is the Cost

Dear loyal Quills customers,

As the cost of coffee and distribution continues to rise, Quills will soon be raising prices. On the bright side, we will be taking this opportunity to refresh a few menu items to prepare for the legendary Kentucky summer (whew).

Thank you so much for all of your support and for allowing us to stay a part of this great city's coffee culture.

Your opinion is important to us! If you have any comments or suggestions please don't hesitate to let us know.

Contact: Ginger Goss, General Manager, ginger@quillscoffee.com

Quills News: Fresh Roasted Coffee for Here or To Go

Quills has some new stock on the shelves this week. One of which being our fancy new travel mugs, equipped with our logo and quirky quip that you will come to love. The mugs are high grade plastic and have the classy look of a real life To-Go Cup. They are $10.99 and come with a free cup of coffee upon purchase and then 10% off every drink you purchase to go in the cup from here on out. All your friends will be jealous. 

The most exciting addition to our retail stock is our very own roasted coffee!! Starting this week, our roaster John Letoto has been getting those green beans fired up ready for you to drink. We have a Guatemala SHB and Burundi Kayanza in whole bean for purchase and on French Press or Pour-Over to sip. Quills Coffee Emporium is on its way...

Quills Tools: Mahlkoenig Grinder

Quills is excited to announce we have procured a new grinder! It is the Tanzania model made by Mahlkoenig, a German company that is renowned for their high quality professional products. So fancy in fact they are the official grinder company for the World Barista Championship.

What is great about the Tanzania is its range of settings. It has the capacity to grind as course as needed for French Press, or to grind as fine for Espresso. The burrs (or blades) on the grinder are concave, unlike many grinders where the blades are flat, allowing for a more even grinding of the beans.

It is also exciting for us that we are officially Mahlkoenig reps. There are only a select few in the U.S. Of course it is a little out of reach for home coffee needs, but when you want to add a coffee bar to your new business, let us know. 

http://www.mahlkoenig.com/

Quills Tools: Chris King Tamper

Of course we understand the buzz about coffee these days, we are obviously in love. But it is awesome to see when professionals of different fields become coffee enthusiasts. Biker extraordinaire, Chris King, has expanded his passion to the coffee world by designing and manufacturing his very own tamper.

Quills was lucky enough to be gifted one of these fancy tampers by our local bike enthusiast, Drew Hartman of On Your Left Cycles. A Quills regular, Hartman discovered King’s tamper and was delighted to share the cross-over product with us. King hasn’t given up bikes he is simply expanding his love for making tools and parts to his new love of coffee.

The tamper is an essential part of making espresso. All manual and semi-manual machines require the espresso grounds to be packed down tightly with a tamper before the portafilter (where the espresso goes) is inserted into the group head on the machine. This packing is an important part of the espresso process, the pressure added with human inflection helps determine the rate of extraction (speed the water goes through) of the espresso.

King’s tamper comes in varying weights, preference of which is determined by the barista. Often heavier tampers are useful for those with a lighter tamp, or the weight becomes a feeling of solid quality.

Needless to say we are delighted to have the new King tamper in our tool kit for making fine espresso. Thanks Drew! You’re tops.

http://chrisking.com/

Quills Featured in Imbibe Magazine

Quills is privileged to be featured in the March/April issue of Imbibe magazine as one of the top place in the South to get caffeinated. We are among a select few of the tasty food and beverage establishments in Louisville to be featured. Due to this excitement the Courier-Journal penned an article detailing what an honor it is to be featured in this national magazine.

You can read the Courier-Journal article by Dana McMahon here:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011303120030

The insider information says that the process of selection was highly investigative and hands on. Due to the buzz on the web from our loving customers and the time and attention our dedicated baristas give to each cup, Quills is fulfilling its hopes of being recognized as a top quality coffee shop.

We don’t take such adorations lightly and would like to thank Imbibe magazine for the selection and our appreciative customers for keeping our doors open so we can do what we love and do it well.

See the article upclose here or pick up one of the remaining few at the shop!

http://dosecoffee.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/imbibemagazine-dose.pdf