Blueprint Coffee Roasters
Mike Marquard, Mazi Razani, Andrew Timko, Nora Brady, Radames Roldan, Kevin Reddy, Jamie Levine, Brian Levine (Photo Courtesy of Blueprint Coffee)
Blueprint Coffee was founded in 2013 by the efforts and vision of Kevin Reddy, Andrew Timko, Mike Marquard, Mazi Razani, Brian Levine, Nora Brady, and Aaron Johnson to “consciously connect joy and livelihoods through coffee excellence.” With a passion for creating and sustaining a series of “mutually beneficial relationships” between their producers, partners, and customers, Blueprint brings quality coffee and care to St. Louis, and this week, to us! We talked with Mike Marquard about coffee and the city they love to learn a little bit more about Blueprint Coffee.
St. Louis & Blueprint
Roy, Ashley, and Garrett (Photo Courtesy of Blueprint Coffee)
In designing their original cafe, Blueprint “wanted to break down the intimidation factor of specialty coffee bars. Our staff is very driven and directed to engage guests as quickly as possible and recognize the hesitancy and intimidation of our first-time guests.” Their second cafe, while smaller, will have more room for outdoor seating, 6 taps for non-alcoholic drinks, and deliver the same menu and transparency their friends have come to know and love.
Mike recommends checking out Forest Park for its “beautiful trails, green space, and free museums and a zoo,” city icons like the “City Museum, the Gateway Arch, or a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium,” and “breweries….we’ve got so many great ones, but be sure to hit 2nd Shift, UCBC, and Side Project.”
Beauty in Precision
Mazi Razani (Photo Courtesy of Blueprint Coffee)
The ideal Blueprint coffee “tastes like the best expression of all the work and passion that went into producing it.
"We try to find the best coffees that are in season and produced by mutually beneficial relationships. Often, we will sacrifice a point or two on the cupping table if it means we are supporting producers that align with our principles and we see that we can grow together to achieve those additional points in the cup.”
This commitment to the people of coffee first comes through in all areas of Blueprint’s DNA. “We are attracted to partners that share our values. This may mean that the company we choose to work with for our janitorial products treats their employees well and their team is concerned with our success and we are concerned for theirs as well. At a coffee level, we are working with more and more producers that share our concern for healthy soil, covering a fair cost of productions, and striving for quality. When we are able to support these great producers, we find we’re more excited about their coffees and they look forward to working with us year after year.”
We’re so excited to be able to serve Blueprint’s Ecuador La Papaya and are thankful for the work Blueprint does to build relationships in coffee that lead to a stronger and more vibrant industry.
We’re tasting sweet citrus and dark chocolate in La Papaya, so grab a cup and let us know what you think!
