Far from a classic chain, Blue Bottle Coffee has grown to be a small network of cafes that is unlike any generic, commercial coffee enterprise. From its early 2000s birth in Oakland, CA to the company’s latest DC cafe opening this past March 2018, Blue Bottle has held steady to its simple purpose of getting fresh, delicious coffee to everyone who asks for it. Recently, I visited Blue Bottle’s Union Market Café and Training Lab to learn more about the company and its team members.
Location
Set on the perimeter of DC’s popular Union Market, this Blue Bottle café location is said to evoke a sense of déjà vu for the company’s first headquarters in Oakland. All of Blue Bottle’s cafes are original designs (both DC locations by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson) and each are unique to the neighborhood, building, and community to which they inhabit. Set only paces away from artisanal food stands and street murals, the Union Market location couldn’t be better!
The Daily Grind
During my visit, Director of Cafe Experience, Michael Phillips, taught us how Blue Bottle makes the most satisfying cup of coffee with a little lesson in dose and grind. For any coffee novices, like yours truly, dose refers to the amount of coffee used in the brewing process, while grind setting determines how coarse or fine your coffee beans are ground. Blue Bottle baristas create the perfect balance between the two to serve coffee at peak deliciousness. Despite my affinity for iced coffees with the whole works of add-ins (i.e. swirls of caramel syrup, Nutella, etc.), Blue Bottle showed me the magic of a well-brewed cup of simple, black coffee.
Team Blue Bottle
Something that I noticed immediately when I was greeted as I stepped through the doors of the Union Market café was the incredible energy that was emanating from the Blue Bottle team. It’s quickly apparent that the company takes great care in recruiting their team members to not only ensure the quality of its coffee, but also the quality of its service. Each member of the Blue Bottle team must participate in an extensive, two-day training program before they begin work in a café. These sessions teach the company’s key goals as it comes to hospitality towards guests, overall sustainability, and the peak deliciousness of its coffee.
More to Come
The Union Market Cafe marks the second Blue Bottle location to open in DC, coming a year after the success of the first Georgetown location opening in July 2017. Blue Bottle’s DC expansion isn’t stopping there though. The current cafes will soon be joined by locations at Union Station, Logan Circle, and The Wharf this summer, as well as a Midtown Center location for this upcoming fall 2018.
My Must-Try’s: An Iced NOLA and the Avocado Toast!
Blue Bottle Cafe, Various DC Locations, Website.
