The Woods Coffee opens new roastery

On Monday, March 28 Woods Coffee debuted their new Woods Coffee Roastery, an extension of their current Lakeway Drive location. The addition is unique to Bellingham as it will not be added to any of Woods other 16 locations. Woods Coffee will hold a grand opening celebration at the roastery on Saturday, April 16. The roastery features an up-close and personal view of the coffee roasting process complete with a coffee brew bar and specialty espresso drinks, such as pour overs and single origin espresso, not offered at other Woods locations. At the coffee brew bar customers can choose their favorite roast, which is then freshly ground and brewed into an espresso beverage of their choice. Each cup of coffee comes with a small card that contains information on the roast, its process and where it originated. Woods owner Wes Herman said the roastery is about more than just the coffee. “The key to this site is for people to have a full experience different from what you experience at one of our other coffee shops,” Herman said. Woods’ goal is that customers who are new to coffee will enjoy the roastery just as much as coffee experts, Herman said. Junior Erik Titterness attended the opening Monday and said Herman’s dedication to the roastery’s atmosphere and customer satisfaction did not go unnoticed. “It has more of a coffee shop environment now,” Titterness said. Titterness said he would definitely be coming back for the pour over thanks to the quality cup of coffee he enjoyed. A cup of “pour over” coffee is simply brewed by pouring hot water over grounds that sit in a small filter above the mug. This uncommon insight of his cup of coffee intrigued local Dakota Spani. Spani said that although he is a devoted coffee drinker he does not consider himself  a coffee expert. “That is definitely the first time I've ever experienced an espresso bar,” Spani said. “It’s interesting to get a new perspective on how in-depth [Woods] goes with their coffee.” Herman said he wants the roastery to be a personal experience with relatable conversation to educate and help customers on their coffee experience. “We just want to be ourselves,” Herman said, “and have a great time with people that come in.” The Roastery features eco-conscious and customer-conscious machinery, including the Loring  Smart Roast coffee roaster and the La Marzocco Strada espresso machine, according to the Woods Roastery press release. The La Marzocco Strada espresso machine was custom made for the new Woods Roastery and specializes in single-origin pour overs made one cup at a time to create a personalized coffee experience for each customer. The 35 kilogram Loring roaster does not use an afterburner which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent compared to other roasting manufacturers that utilize an afterburner. According to the savings and energy calculator on Loring’s website,  if Woods roasts coffee for eight hours a day, five days a week energy savings would be the equivalent of taking 13 cars off of the road or planting 1,687 trees a year.

---