Sean Kohmescher discovered the coffee culture as a beach barista in San Diego.

The 23-year-old wanted a job on the beach, and he liked coffee. He became a barista at an outdoor café on Pacific Beach, and then what started out as just a fun job turned into a passion.

"I kind of fell in love with the culture," he said.

Kohmescher dreamed of opening his own coffeehouse someday. It wasn't until he began developing his palate while working in San Francisco's fine-dining scene that he really became passionate about coffee and tea.

After moving to Sacramento, he opened Temple, a coffee and tea house, in 2005 in a storefront at 1014 10th St., once home to Levinson's Books.

Now this 35-year-old entrepreneur is putting the finishing touches on a second Temple location, opening Monday, June 29, at 2829 S St. A grand opening party will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 18.

Sitting in his cavernous new warehouse, Kohmescher made it clear that he couldn't settle for just opening a branch of a big coffee chain, or, as he describes it, "the coffee equivalent of McDonald's." His fine-dining experience inspired him to create sanctuaries where people could enjoy a hand-picked selection of teas and coffees from around the world.

He chose the name "Temple" after traveling extensively in Southeast Asia and discovering the role Buddhist temples play in Asian culture.

"I had this connection with the temple being a community spot, or a meeting and gathering place for all the villages," he said.

What sets the newest Temple apart from other coffeehouses is that it will soon operate as a roastery. Sacramento has only a handful of coffee shops that roast their own beans in-house, including Coffee Works and Old Soul. A German roaster is expected to arrive by boat from Europe the day before the grand opening.

Another difference is the space itself. Kohmescher looked at 50 buildings before finding what he wanted: a place with character, a workable facade, front retail space and reasonable rent.

He chose a nearly century-old, small brick building with an attached warehouse and space for a front garden in the Newton Booth neighborhood. He saw past the building's caved-in roof, broken windows and chicken wire covering part of the warehouse that was open to the sky.

"It was definitely dilapidated and my staff said I was crazy," he said. "But they never saw [the first] Temple before we opened that space, so they didn't know what that looked like, either."

Landlord Chris Brocchini handled rehabbing, which involved cleaning the space, building a new roof, replacing windows and supporting the roof and walls with exposed steel framing.

Kohmescher's passion for everything about his business also makes him stand out from other coffee retailers. He and his staff built nearly everything inside the 1,000-square-foot retail space from the ground up. Last week, they finished building the front counters, espresso bar, banquette seating and display case out of birch stained in a warm walnut. They built the tables and designed and installed the garden.

His goal was to create a warm yet urban space with an international feel. He used lots of wood to soften brick walls and the exposed orange framework and mechanical duct. Buddha statues and other art create a global vibe.

Described by staff members as a "determined perfectionist," Kohmescher is also hands-on with the entire process to make sure customers get expertly made coffee and tea.

"I have a philosophy: I don't eat out at places that don't make food better than I make at home," he said. "I think we (Temple) should strive to make coffee better than people can make at home."

He turns people like 26-year-old Jessica Woods into some of California's Top 10 baristas. Woods had never made coffee before working at Temple, but under Kohmescher's training, she and other employees have competed in the Western Regional Barista Competition and won.

Last week, he tested several wannabe baristas at the new Temple. New employees must go through eight hours of training and score 100 percent on a written test before touching the register. The exam tests people on such things as steeping times for particular teas, coffee flavor terms and decaffeination processes.

After new employees have worked at Temple three to six months, they must go through four weeks of on-the-job instruction before they can work as a barista.

Last week, coffee lover and poet Stuart Canton took the test in the new Temple. He said Kohmescher's business sophistication and fine dining perspective got him interested in the job.

"To him, it's come in and have a fine dining experience, but it's with coffee," said the 21-year-old Natomas resident. "Temple has a quality product and a degree of seriousness I don't find at a lot of other coffee houses, which I'm attracted to as a person who's passionate about coffee beyond a blended white mocha with lots of whipped cream."

Back in the warehouse, Kohmescher dug through shelves stocked with black bags of tea. The new space will have a more extensive list of French-press coffees and expensive teas than the first, and will stock seven to 15 coffees and 28 teas, he said.

He opened bags and sampled aromas of loose-leaf blueberry rooibos, lychee red and pricey osthmanthus silver needle ($50 for 16 ounces by volume).

He explained that he works with several importers or "green bean buyers" to get fine coffees from small coffee farms — so small that big coffee chains can't use their beans because there just aren't enough. A Kenyan coffee will arrive next week for the store's opening.

Monday afternoon, manager Ben Lance led a tea tasting so new staff could learn about the look, smell and taste of the teas.

Kohmescher now describes his passion for coffee and tea as "somewhere in the borderline of insanity." He teaches staff to seek perfection in a cup of coffee or tea and educate customers so they'll develop a higher appreciation for what they're drinking.

"The fun in life is actually knowing about things," he said.