Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "temple"

Revolution Wines puts down new roots

2010-05-26T04:10:32Z

Revolution Wines is coming out of the cellar, so to speak.

Sacramento's first urban winery is trading its back-door warehouse location at 2116 P St. for a Midtown corner at 29th and S streets, next to the new Temple coffeehouse.

The relocation to 2831 S St. will increase the winery's visibility and allow for the expansion of its wine-tasting and production facilities, said Gina Genshlea and Craig Haarmeyer, managing partners along with Genshlea's husband, Joe Jr.

"I think we always knew we'd outgrow that space. That was just a starting point," Gina Genshlea said Tuesday at the new location.

Revolution Wines is the only urban winery in the grid. The business started in a garage in 2004 and opened its P Street facility in the summer of 2007. A second boutique winery, Rail Bridge Cellars, later opened on North 16th Street in the Richards Boulevard area.

Urban wineries are sprouting all over the country. Like many wineries, they produce wine with fruit bought from other people's vineyards. The West Coast, with all the grape varieties possible in various climates, is home to wine-producing regions like California's Napa Valley and Oregon's Willamette Valley.

The West Coast is also home to a large number of urban wineries, from Santa Barbara and Sacramento to the Bay Area and Portland. Revolution Wines is carving out a niche by sourcing, producing and selling wine locally.

The winery sources fruit from neighboring vineyards in the Sierra foothills and the Delta region, as well as Napa and Sonoma valleys. Winemaker Jason Fernandez helped launch the business. The Genshleas later brought Haarmeyer, a winemaker and friend of Joe's since elementary school. Revolution Wines is known for its zinfandels, pinot noirs and an Italian-style blend named "Renzo" after Gina Genshlea's dad.

"Part of our challenge is to help define what an urban winery should be," said Haarmeyer, 44.

The facility will grow from 2,400 square feet to about 4,200 with the move. In its present space, Revolution Wines had to work with a combined tasting room, production space and lab.

The winery's current "industrial chic" look will be recreated at the new location, Haarmeyer said.

"The New York Times did a writeup on us. They described us as 'industrial chic'," he said. "We could never pin down what our look was. So now, we joke about it. 'Industrial chic' is going to be our standard."

The tasting room's ambience will come from a combination of warm woods, cool metals and soft earth tones. They won't be going after the "frilly French" or "Tuscan villa" looks used at some estate wineries, he added.

"If it's up to our industrial chic standard, it works," Haarmeyer said.

The new location will allow for separate spaces for the winery's different functions. The 1,200-square-foot entry-area tasting room will feature a 16- to 20-foot wine bar, kitchen space and a mini wine cellar or barrel room that can be used for special events and projects.

A 3,000-square-foot area in back will be dedicated to production, barrel storage in the main wine cellar, a wine lab and office. The production area, with its crush pad, will have higher ceilings and be double the size of the existing space, or 2,400 square feet, Haarmeyer said.

The larger production space will enable Revolution Wines to process about 100 tons of grapes this fall, contrasted with 70 tons in 2009.

The small cellar will be used for projects including a new "vintner's experience" that will allow smaller customers, whether groups or individuals, to make their own wine with a custom crush. The wine can be given to the maker's friends and family or business clients, or be sold through Revolution Wines' tasting room.

Making wine costs $2,800 to $6,000 a barrel, depending on the grapes, whether the barrel is American or French oak, packaging and other factors. A barrel produces 24 to 25 cases, at 12 bottles a case. While the wine may cost $10 a bottle to make, bottles may sell for up to $30 or more, depending on the quality, marketing and more, Genshlea said.

The P Street winery will remain open until the new tasting room opens in August.

And yes — you can even stomp grapes in a plastic grape-picking bin.

"It is possible to do that if you want that's how you want to punch down your grapes," Genshlea said. "But we have other methods if you don't want to get your feet dirty."

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, Colleen Belcher and Revolution Wines. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Sacramento baristas return from nationals

2010-04-21T03:10:29Z

Three local baristas have returned to Sacramento fresh from the 2010 U.S. Barista Championship.

Young baristas from Chocolate Fish Coffee and Temple said they were amazed at the level of competition as they went up against 55 other baristas at the competition held in Anaheim last week.

The six baristas from other cities who made it to the finals Sunday — people such as repeat winner Michael Phillips of Chicago and second-place winner Chris Baca of Santa Cruz — were easy to recognize from coffee culture magazines and videos. For the most part, the finalists had well over 10 years of coffee-making experience plus skills honed at several nationals, said Ben Lance, the 25-year-old manager of Temple.

"It was our first time being at the big-daddy competition," said Lance, who's been a barista for seven years. "The level of ability up there is so great that it's almost borderline intimidating."

After working as a barista for seven years, Lance said one of the things that impressed him most was that Chocolate Fish Coffee employees Erik Annonson, 22, and Kyle Baumann, 21, were so calm on stage it was hard to believe they were taking part in their first nationals. They each have four to nearly five years of experience.

"They both brought the thunder pretty hard," Lance said.

In the end, Lance and Baumann were about three points apart, and Annonson scored about 20 points higher. Organizers announced the finalists' scores Sunday. Other scores won't be announced for several weeks, said Temple owner Sean Kohmescher.

Hometown baristas compete at nationals

2010-04-15T03:02:33Z

Three young punk baristas from Sacramento are competing in their first national barista competition this week.

Ben Lance, the 25-year-old manager of Temple, and Chocolate Fish Coffee employees Kyle Baumann, 21, and Erik Annonson, 22, left Wednesday for the 2010 U.S. Barista Championship in Anaheim. The competition is being held Thursday through Sunday as part of the 22nd annual Specialty Coffee Association of America Exposition.

All three compete in preliminaries Friday to see if they'll go on to semifinals and finals at the coffee geek event of the year. More than 1,000 people may watch from the stands, and others from around the world will watch as the event streams live online.

Lance, Baumann and Annonson are among 58 baristas who have made it to the nationals. Sacramento is sending three for the first time. Only a few hundred compete each year in 10 regional competitions. By doing so, they gain respect for themselves and their coffeehouses — with some achieving near-celebrity status among their peers and coffee-drinking fans.

Lance has competed in two regionals. He was a regional judge last year. He can't go into a grocery store without at least one person recognizing him. And every time he visits another coffeehouse, the staff pull him shot after shot of espresso. Which he likes, unless it's 10 p.m.

"The top guys — they're kind of like rock stars in the industry," said Auckland native Andy Baker, who owns Chocolate Fish, a New Zealand-style coffeehouse at Q and Third streets, with his wife, Edie. The shop features an umbrella-shaded patio, beach photos from New Zealand and surf videos harking back to Baker's youth.

He and Temple owner Sean Kohmescher spent last Monday night at their shops, watching their baristas practice and giving them pointers. Kohmescher and Lance drove down together with coffee and equipment for the competition. Baumann and Annonson left with the Bakers right after their Wednesday morning shift.

The competitions are part of the third wave of coffee culture in this country.

The first wave is said to have begun after World War II, when freeze-dried, store-bought coffees from Folgers and Maxwell House made the beverage cheap and easily available. Peet's and Starbucks launched the second wave in the 1960s and '70s by importing Italian coffee culture with its espressos, cappuccinos and dark roasts.

A new wave began in the mid-1990s, when independent coffeehouses ventured beyond just dark roasts to celebrate the unique tastes of individual coffees and the growers who make them.

"People still wig out and do a double-take when I say, 'Yeah, this coffee is going to taste like marzipan and grapefruit,' " Lance said. "And hopefully it will, if I do my job right."

Competitors will be judged on the talent and artistry they show in preparing, serving and explaining espressos, cappuccinos and a signature beverage to four judges — 12 drinks in a 15-minute routine. By competing, baristas also improve their knowledge and skills.

"We wanted to step up our game and fine-tune our craft," said Baumann, an earnest guy who's worked as a barista for nearly five years. A T-shirt reading, "Make Coffee Not War" peeked out from under his flannel shirt. After competing in Western regionals in February, he's become more tidy, tightened up his routine and found it easier to educate customers.

While neither gave the impression they'd fight off a rock star image, right now, they're still mastering the art of making great coffee.

"It'd be nice. But for the most part, we just want to be better baristas," Annonson said. Bearded and contemplative, he said he's served coffee for four years but "coffee I'm proud of" for only two years, since joining Chocolate Fish.

Baristas thrive and learn through camaraderie, both in Sacramento and at competitions. Here, they visit each other's coffeehouses to sample coffee, talk about coffee and experiment in a collective effort to "push the art forward," Lance said. He added that every coffeehouse pulls its espressos differently, and that impacts the taste.

To prepare for this year's regionals, Annonson and Baumann practiced with Lance at Temple. Lance gave them tips on preparation, how to come up with a winning signature drink and what to do on-stage when serving judges. A roaster who supplies coffee to Chocolate Fish also gave advice to the pair, who will be among the youngest competitors at nationals.

And they practiced on their own. Four to five days a week, before or after work, as far back as two to three months before regionals.

"This is not something you can just practice two to three times and you're good to go," Lance said. "A good majority (of what's done during competition) is what I do every day, serving people and describing how things taste. But (it's done with) almost a sommelier type of presentation."

Baristas at this level also want to educate people about coffee, as well as about the farmers who grow and harvest the beans. Many farmers live in poverty in developing countries. They labor to produce the highest quality coffee they can, which affects everything in the chain, he said.

Monday night, all three ran through their routines — pulling espressos, pouring cappuccinos (with latté art on top) and going through many steps to perfect signature drinks.

Working as a barista is physically demanding. Baristas try to apply 50 pounds of arm pressure each time they tamp down espresso in a portafilter and must use all their strength to crank portafilters into espresso machines — up to 200 times on a busy six-hour shift, said Lance, dressed in black and pulling espresso with tatooed arms.

They dress up for competitions, so judges are unlikely to see one sign of Lance's devotion to the craft: a portafilter and hourglass shot timer tatooed on his calf.

But judges will see another sign of that devotion: the signature drinks he and the Chocolate Fish boys create from scratch, using culinary methods to put carefully selected ingredients together to make the coffee beans' flavors sing.

Baristas use coffee from their own shops to compete. Annonson is aiming for the taste of a chocolate malt milkshake — using fresh-squeezed pixie tangerine juice, barley malt extract, chocolate and whip cream — to play up his coffee's chocolate flavor. Baumann is using tangelo juice, vanilla-enhanced sugar, heavy cream and cacao shavings to create "chocolate-covered orange cream puffs" that call out the beans' citrus tones.

Lance put coffee and sassafrass together for regionals. After that didn't go over well, he's layering a French press coffee mousse over a chocolate ganache and blueberry syrup reduction shaken with espresso.

They will each take their best shot at becoming the U.S. Barista champ and going on to the world championship in London this summer. But there's one other thing that Lance, Annonson and Baumann are after.

"We're all under the same sun and we all want the same thing: to get the public to appreciate what they, unfortunately, take for granted — which is the quality of a cup," Lance said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Businesses hope to hold steady in 2010

2010-01-22T05:24:09Z

Small business owners in Sacramento plan to hold on tight in 2010 for what appears to be another tough year.

Several said they're doing their best just to keep their businesses going as the recession continues to waterboard the local economy. The owners of a local chain of taquerias said they will do what it takes to keep their heads above water for the next year.

"That's been my theme since 2008: survival mode," said José Cortéz, who co-owns 10 La Fiesta Taqueria and La Favorita Taqueria restaurants in the Sacramento region. He and his family, including his mother and a brother who manages one La Fiesta, come from the Mexican state of Jalisco. The restaurants serve food of the Los Altos region of Jalisco, which is famous for tequila.

Customer numbers have remained the same at restaurants like La Fiesta at 1105 Alhambra Blvd. But operating costs for everything from produce and meat to equipment, health licenses and employment taxes have gone up about 7 percent, he said.

The chain is also trying to recover the rest of $90,000 in repairs after someone accidentally drove through the Alhambra restaurant's front doors last fall. No one was injured, but the restaurant was closed for 35 days as they replaced broken counters, doors, windows and equipment, including registers.

The owners don't want to raise prices or lay anyone off, he said.

"We have the business we have because we have good employees," Cortéz said. "The problem is with restaurants, you don't make much."

For now, they're just breaking even, he said.

The owners of Quickly, a family-run tapioca milk-tea franchise at 16th and U streets, will also do what it takes to stick it out over the next year. Michelle Yee and her husband, Doug Holdren, opened the place two years ago as a side business to their full-time jobs.

The couple, joined by their kids, work weeknights and mornings and weekends in a sunny storefront painted in Quickly's bright oranges and blues. They also employ three college students to help run the establishment.

"Basically, all our free time is here," she said. "We enjoy working together. We spend time together here, instead of at home. By working together, we make a few extra dollars."

Quickly sells frozen and hot drinks in a wild variety of flavors and styles, including slushes, snows and milk teas sometimes mistakenly called "bubble tea."

"Everybody calls this the 'bubble tea place.' It's 'boba' — tapioca," Yee laughed. "I don't know how it became 'bubble tea.' "

In 2010, they plan to add more variety to their food menu and try new things, such as fried sesame balls and an egg puff popular in Hong Kong, to attract new customers. They also provide friendly service to keep people coming back, she said.

"I'm waiting for the economy to get better," Yee said. "When we work so hard for our business, it really doesn't matter if it's a good economy or a bad economy. We are going to make this work."

Down 16th Street, neighbor Henry Rodriguez's Casillas Cigars has been selling cigars for more than three years. The small shop sells everything from robustos and double coronas to skinny "pencil" cigars and cognac cigarillos. Rodriguez will most likely not make any changes to his business in 2010.

"I'm going to maintain," he said.

State senators and other friends of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been known to stop in to buy a Nicaraguan cigar known as the torpedo rosado or "red torpedo" for the governor, Rodriguez said.

Sales are strong enough that he'd like to triple his stock if he can get a small-business loan to build a second humidor, install a new floor and update his website. He would also hire a couple people to help out when business gets hectic, he said.

In 2009, business at Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies remained about the same as years past, said owner Nancy Stewart.

"We stayed pretty steady, even with the economy what is has been," said Stewart, who runs the store at 2110 X St. with help from her family.

However, interest in protecting honeybees has grown so much in the last four years that she ordered an extra 1,000 bee boxes that she can pre-assemble as needed before spring, when the new season for raising bees starts. She also ordered early, placing her order with a supplier last fall, rather than waiting for spring.

"Last spring, I had people start telling me, 'I'm going to (start raising bees) now so I can help with the problems.' I'm kind of expecting the same thing to happen this year," she said. "So I'm semi-prepared for a good year."

Another business making a few additions in 2010 is Temple coffee and tea house at 2829 S St. An imported German roaster will soon begin operating and Temple will soon sell wholesale coffee, owner Sean Kohmescher said.

Temple Manager Ben Lance is also offering a new class, the Art of Home Brewing. Coffee lovers will work with a range of equipment and learn different ways to grind, brew and make coffee.

Kohmescher said he will focus on internal development of the staff and company, "as well as making great coffee."

"What are we hoping for this year? Growth and prosperity," he said.

More storm photos

2009-10-14T06:24:50Z

It was quite the blustery day in Sacramento as winds reached over 50 mph and more than 3 inches of rain fell, according to Fox 40 News meteorologist Kristina Werner.

Trees and branches fell in streets, on houses, on cars and power lines went out intermittently through the central city.

Streets turned into ponds, traffic slowed making commutes much longer than usual and I-5 was a flooded mess near the boat section despite the recent work by Caltrans.

It seemed there wasn't one corner of the city that the storm didn't touch.

Businesses such as Temple and Lucky Lefty's (shown below) felt the effects of the storm.

It's hard to believe many of us were just wearing flip flops, skirts, shorts and sleeveless shirts, as ponchos, hooded jackets, scarves and boots accompanied upturned umbrellas and scurrying people.

The rain did lighten up around 6 p.m. and there was even a rainbow to brighten the day.

Fall is definitely here.

The first two photos were taken by David Watts Barton. The rest of the photos were taken by Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography.

A tale of two stomachs: Eat Your Art Out in action

2009-09-28T05:03:48Z

Saturday morning I contemplated whether or not I should eat breakfast. My stomach was inexperienced with grub crawls, the Eat Your Art Out Crawl would be my very first. I settled on eating something small.

Luckily I lived close enough to walk to the captain meeting place and by the time I had gathered my team's bags and badges, my stomach was growling.

Of the 18 restaurants and dining establishments in the Crawl, I had eaten at all of them but five.

My team, Team Snuffleupagus, started at Brew It Up! where a fruit platter and blue cheese kettle chips awaited. This was a good warmup for the digestive system, not too heavy, and easy to eat.

Lucca was one of the restaurants I hadn't tried. Their zucchini chips and eggplant crostini were very tasty. I felt that this stop actually showcased appetizers that reflected the uniqueness of the restaurant. Rubicon offered chips and salsa, celery and carrot sticks and fries - not exactly dishes that wowed the crowd.

Azul Mexican Bar and Tequila Bar was the third stop. We were hoping they would be serving margaritas, but found it was one of many places that chose to serve sangria. Although there was a bit of a wait for the food, our team got a whole plate of nachos with queso fresca and warm quesadillas.

Beach Hut Deli put my stomach over the tipping point, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able eat anymore with14 restaurants left. They served huge sandwiches stuffed to the brim with meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese and pickles.

As mentioned earlier, Rubicon served pretty basic appetizers, so it was easy for me to bypass their food to save room for later restaurants. I must say that what they lacked in food they made up for with their selection of beers.

They were the only restaurant to offer six different beers. All of the other restaurants serving beverages offered only one or two to choose from.

Mulvaney's B&L was one of my favorite stops. It was one of the locations where people stuck around to really enjoy the food and the atmosphere. In the front catering room, fresh mozzarella was cut to accompany heirloom tomatoes and champagne was being poured into a lime pear juice concoction.

In the main space, tables were set up and interpretive dancers filled the room with kicks and poses. There wasn't an area they didn't venture into, they stretched against the windows, flowed around the tables, using the space and each other as part of their composition. Dessert pastry cups were served with chocolate ganache, raspberries, blueberries and other delicious fillings.

Yogurtagogo was the seventh stop, where participants could sample one or all of the six different yogurt flavors. Stops seven, eight and nine were conveniently located right next to one another.

Ginger Elizabeth served a crispy coconut lime chocolate which was devoured eagerly, dessert goes into a different compartment, right? The employees said that this chocolate would be available for purchase in December.

The L Wine Lounge had a couple festive teams who were happy to share their beads with other teams. One woman doling out the necklaces demanded that we earn our beads by showing her something. She asked to see our palms and handed over the gold beads.

On our way to Zocalo, we once again got our hopes up for margaritas, but were very pleased that they instead served a delicious mixture of horchata with tequila.

Hot Italian served up Peroni and a pizza with pesto and pine nuts, one pizza for each team. We weren't able to finish our pizza.

I was particularly impressed with Nishiki Sushi, although I had been there many times before. Employees walked around with plates of sushi rolls and the manager poured two different kinds of sake. The first sake was infused with apple and was really smooth. The second sake tasted exactly like lychee.

The newest restaurant on the Crawl list was Sapporo Grill on 16th and L streets. They served a beautiful spread of potstickers, spring rolls, sushi, edamame, and some type of breaded chicken. Their long, cushy couches allowed tired crawl-goers to stretch out and put up their feet.

Temple provided a nice pick-me-up with iced coffee and the Grange put together three ingredients I had never eaten simultaneously: figs, cheese and bacon - a delicious surprise.

The last stop was Sofia, and despite our late start (1 p.m.) we made it to all 18 restaurants in the allotted time.

If you do the math, 18 restaurants for $35 turns out to be less than $2 per restaurant and $7 per hour of the five-hour crawl.

In addition to all of the food, there were goodie bags. Inside each bag was a copy of Midtown Monthly, coupons for a free milkshake and chicken menu item from Chick-fil-A, a pre-punched Yogurtagogo card toward a free yogurt, a buy one get one free coupon for Temple and a few brochures.

After mixing nachos, chocolate, pizza, sushi, sangria, sake, potstickers, coffee and every food group into our bellies, most of us were experiencing a food coma at the end. As might be appropriate for a team named after a Sesame Street character, Team Snuffleupagus was ready for a nap.

Best Restaurants - a different take

2009-07-21T01:54:18Z

It's that time of year again - time for "Best Restaurants," brought to you by Sacramento Magazine.

After reading the readers' picks for each category, it made me wonder whether the results would be different for readers of The Sacramento Press. Our focus has been primarily on events and coverage of things in the Grid, whereas Sacramento Magazine covers a larger demographic including the suburbs.

There were four categories that stood out to me in Sacramento Magazine's Best Restaurants: Best Burrito, Best Pizza, Best Burger and Best Coffeehouse.

I live in the Grid and therefore have my own biases about restaurants that live in Downtown and Midtown. I prefer restaurants in this area to those found in the outlying areas. It would be interesting to see the results had it been limited to only restaurants in the Grid.

Best Burrito went to Chipotle, with Dos Coyotes coming in second and Ernesto's coming in third. Both Chipotle and Dos Coyotes are chains. The Grid has very few chain restaurants, and I wonder if the presence of chains amidst family-owned and unique Sacramento restaurants makes a difference in reader choice. Does the quality speak for itself?

Best Pizza went to Round Table. Granted, Chicago Fire and Zelda's picked up second and third place, but I wonder how a delivery-based chain is even allowed in the running. Did Hot Italian or Luigi's or Giovanni's make it in the top five?

For the category of Best Burger, there are quite a few restaurants that come to mind that did not make the top three. Jim Denny's, Whitey Jolly Cones and Nationwide Freezer Meats were all missing from page 115 for best burger. In-N-Out, however, took first place, the Squeeze Inn (deserving, in my opinion, one of the top three) made second and McDonald's placed third.

For Best Coffeehouses, Starbucks was voted first place, Peet's took second and It's a Grind made third. When I think of good coffeehouses, I think of the unique havens in the Grid. Temple comes to mind. So does Weatherstone and Naked Lounge. If I want ambiance and a coffee or tea that comes in a mug that was washed and that is reusable, I do not go to Starbucks. If I want free wi-fi that does not require a cellular account, I cannot go to Starbucks. If I want a swirled foam design on my latte, I will not go to a mass chain coffeehouse.

My coffee choices come from currently living in the Grid, although I did grow up in the suburbs.

After reading this list, I looked at Sacramento Magazine's website. At the bottom, it reads "Find the best that Sacramento, California has to offer at Sacramento Magazine Online. With fantastic features such as a restaurant guide, an entertainment and events calendar and monthly recipes, you’ll find everything you need to know about exciting Sacramento, California."

Now, I ask you - readers of The Sacramento Press - if you were to vote on Best Restaurants for The Sacramento Press (in the Grid), which ones would make your top three for best burrito, pizza, burger and coffeehouse?

Temple opens second shop

2009-07-20T06:39:59Z

About 300 people milled in and out of the newest location of Temple coffeehouse at 2829 S St. for the grand opening Saturday evening.

The new coffeehouse is the second Temple location in Sacramento.

The front area of the building was crowded with young people, business professionals and families mingling. The back room of the café was opened up as a space to snack and play darts.

Drinks were free for those attending the private opening event. Anything the customer wanted, the baristas were happy to make.

The second location was well-received by community members.

“I was so excited that we have an authentic coffee shop in our neighborhood,” said Ann Hamilton, a board member for the Newton Booth Neighborhood Association. “The board is really thrilled, and I personally am really thrilled.”

The event attracted people from beyond the Grid. Baristas from Santa Cruz and San Francisco were present at the event to support the opening.

Scott Guglielmino is a coffee wholesale director for Verve coffee roasters in Santa Cruz. He had much to say about the future of Temple.

“Temple will be roasting their own coffee, which will be a great thing for Sacramento to have,” Guglielmino said.

He estimated the roasting facility to be running in about six months. The back room featured the cafe's first roaster (pictured above), and Guglielmino said it has roots in San Francisco as Ritual Coffee’s first roaster.

Much of the encouragement Temple Manager Scott Sean Kohmescher received from the community in Sacramento and beyond has to do with the philosophy of Temple coffee.

He said fair trade coffee and teas are “something we believe in—we believe in community and in things being organic.”

Hamilton lives two blocks away and reflected on a meet-and-greet Temple had with the community Saturday morning: “They had a little morning treat for the neighborhood with coffee and pastries, and it was delightful!”

The opening party brought many community members who celebrated the growth of a sanctuary together, and it would not be possible without the support of the staff and baristas working hard to keep the crowd hydrated.

“They are just awesome!,” Hamilton said. She was impressed by the enthusiasm of the staff and how the baristas would applaud the classical guitarist and flutist when the musicians couldn’t be heard over the noise.

The staff was a key part of making decision in developing the idea for the new location. “It’s really important for the staff to be on par with what we’re doing and to make that transition to opening another space,” Kohmescher said. “Businesses don’t function without staff that are involved.”

The night progressed, and the older crowd trickled out as the younger crowd trickled in. The large gravel parking lot was a space for conversation - people were chatting under table umbrellas, and patrons left Kohmescher with pats on the back and words of support.

“It’s an honor and wonderful that the city of Sac supports local businesses like they do,” Kohmescher said. “I’m glad everyone came out and pretty amazed by the turn out.”

One Temple not enough

2009-06-23T04:23:49Z

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.

Crawl…Flash…Spokes, It’s Bikeramento Week!

2009-02-12T02:14:33Z

Last night was an amazing meandering ride from Downtown through Midtown for the 1st Annual Bikeramento Crawl.

Set the scene of a moving banner from sanctuary to sanctuary in the light rain. It all begins with the religious experience of a cup of mojo at Temple Fine Coffee & Tea.

The loose Bikeramentans gather and awkwardly introduce themselves to the team. It’s to be expected. Who are these bike-crazy folks, these Spokes People, who believe that they can influence city planning and have fun doing it?

Ah….soak up that caffeine. A fine whiff of a single origin espresso parting the perfect foam of that cappuccino. David Barton shows up with the sharp photographer for Sacramento Press. And the adventure begins.

The energy builds, spreading the word to random cyclists biking over for meetings and everyday items, creating a chance run-in with Panama Bartholomew of the Planning Commission.

Australia, and barista extraordinaire from the emerging Chocolate Fish Coffee down the street, check.

Scotland, skydiver and cyclist, check.

Eco-activist, check.

State workers and Bay Area transplants, check.

Gear up to travel over to Brew It Up where Sacramento Press opens the tab and buys the ragtag Bikeramentans a round of beer. Mmmm…house-brewed Vanilla Stout. More creative capital joins the crew. We hear whispers of city-wide capture the flag driven by online clues.

Off we go into the wild night yonder, hustling to Butch N Nellie’s Coffee House at 19th and I Streets for Muddy Dublins, Guinness with a shot of espresso, and Dublin Floats, Guinness with 2 scoops of chocolate gelato. It’s a mad nightcap as a large group adds on to the fun and night lights flicker onto the bikes, like quirky fireflies amidst the dewy darkness.

Onward to DeVere’s Irish Pub. It’s our poor waitress’ lucky draw, her first night on the job serving Bikeramento. A flawless delivery as Sacramento Press hurls a round of Washington Apples for the 20 of us gathered, followed by a roundhouse of beers and a few small plates to soak it all up. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” as we toast our sponsors.

Time slows down as we enjoy the jovial sounds of a full crowd. The lamb sliders linger on the tongue and bid us adieu into the rain once more.

Last call to Rubicon Brewing Company on 20th and Capitol Avenue next to The Waterboy Restaurant. We run into friends, associates, and more Bikeramentans. Thank goodness for open-faced meatloaf sandwiches drizzled with mushroom gravy. Another crowded house on a wintry Tuesday night, the perfect ending to Crawl home for bedtime stories and foamy dreams.

The Bikeramento Banner travels from post to post like a wise, wandering gypsy at home wherever it lands against the cityscape, signifying the temporal nature of each stop combined with the cyclical energy of moving forward together as an evolving urban wheel .

It’s 10 minutes to the next event, the bicycle flash mob on Wednesday evening. Find the answer online at Bikeramento.org.

New Year's at the newest urban center: 10th and J

2008-12-31T02:01:07Z

Still no new year's plans? For once, you don’t have to plan anything much. Just drive downtown to 10th and K to see the new year in at Sacramento’s newest nightlife center: 10th Street between J and K.

This New Year’s Eve will mark the official debut of Sacramento’s newest, and in some ways, finest, nightlife block. While the moaning and arguing continues about the K Street Mall between 7th and 9th, a single block of 10th Street between K and J is poised to impress.

With this month’s opening of the Citizen Hotel and its gorgeous, elegant restaurant The Grange - following the November opening of The Cosmopolitan, with its restaurant, bar, upstairs club Social and theatre the Cosmopolitan Cabaret - that one block of downtown is not only promising, it’s downright inspiring.

And with a New Year’s Eve ball drop planned for tomorrow night, Sacramento is going to get to see what is too often ignored: Sacramento’s growing, first-class core. You’ll have to pass a few sketchy looking characters to do it, but have you been to Union Square lately? Get over it! Nightlife and urban decay go hand in hand. Be real!

With the funky chic of Parlare Euro Lounge, which opened earlier this year, and wonderful Temple Coffee and Tea, as well as the more down to earth Japanese restaurant Megami, that single block of 10th Street can entertain for an evening, even a day. Even, with the Citizen, an overnight.

All that’s really missing is people. And Wednesday night’s ball drop should bring them in droves. I took a look at the intersection today (Tuesday) and there was no sign of preparations for a ball drop or anything else. But it’s on, nevertheless. And for suburbanites anxious about braving the “urban core,” there’s a nice big parking garage just a block away at 10th and L Streets. Enter on L Street, and enjoy.

The opening of the Citizen Hotel and The Grange restaurant are particularly promising, the crossing of a Rubicon of sorts. I had drinks there last night, and while one didn’t measure up, most (at $10 a pop, I cadged sips) were delicious. And the setting is absolutely stunning, with high ceilings, beautiful wood and fabric features and above it all, a private banquet room that is spectacular.

The Citizen and The Grange are extraordinary. The most unique hotel in downtown Sacramento, the Citizen has none of the big box fixtures that make the Hyatt and even the Sheraton rather cookie-cutter. The Citizen, with its elegant entryway and cozy, labyrinthine lounges and consistently clever government (malfeasance) theme, makes full use of the old 1926 building, down to the old room directories that still stand in the lobby. It's marble and carved plaster, wood and heavy curtains, comfortable chairs and carpets of red and black and gold. Stunning.

This is a Manhattan-worthy hotel, and visitors are instantly transported to a different era, and a different sense of space. The lobby is lined with old law books, some turned on their sides to create a greater sense of space, and the upstairs bar Scandal features a terrific series of six cartoons by Sacramento Bee cartoonist Rex Babin. A classy joint from top to bottom. Go see it yourself. This New Year’s Eve may be a great time to start.