Thank You

We had such a great time at our New Albany store Grand Opening yesterday. What a blast! We want to thank everyone that was a part of it whether you donated goods or consumed them. Whether you live on the north side of the Ohio or the south. We appreciate you! More on the event (including photos) to come!

GRAND OPENING: Quills New Albany

This Saturday- February 18th- you are invited to THE EVENT OF THE MONTH. Really. This is bigger than Valentines Day. Maybe even bigger than Tom Brokaw's birthday.

We mean you no disrespect sir.

This Saturday we will celebrate the opening of Indiana's latest and greatest all-ages attraction - Quills Coffee New Albany

Hooray!!

Below you'll find an informal schedule of events (including FREE food and beer and discounts on your favorite coffee drinks) but the party goes on all day long- open (7am) to close (8pm). We'll see you there! 

ALL DAY: Pour-over demos and samples by our roaster John Letoto, discounted coffee drinks (prices listed at bottom of this post), chances to win several incredible items and services from local downtown NA businesses (who are also listed at the bottom of this post)

7a: Open

10a: Ribbon Cutting by Develop New Albany

11a-12p-ish: Put your hands together for Mr. Philip Rock-da-houze Revell

Late Lunch-ish: Tapas from Habana Blues

Afternoon/Evening-ish: New Albanian Beer Samples

5p-7p-ish: Small bites from Louis Le Francais

6ish: Music from southern Indiana songwriter- Adam Green

8pm: Closing Time

Drink Discounts (all day):

(12 oz.) Mocha, Miele, Caramel Latte $2.00

(12 oz.) Coffee $1.00

2 oz. Shot of Blacksmith Espresso $0.50

Chemex and V-60 samples FREE 

 Raffle items from: Creative Boutique, Dress & Dwell, Colokial, Dandy Lion, Keg Liquors, Billow

Hanging at Quills

Our three stores' walls are wearing some sharp new artwork these days. Perhaps it's time for you to take a little tour de Quills. A coffee trail if you will. Try a different drink in each shop and admire the art.

Sneak Peak...

Ain't no party like a Quills Coffee party

The staff at Quills Coffee... well- we really like each other. We've worked hard these past few months opening two new stores and training new staff. Some introductions and fun were definitely in order.

Tonight we gathered at our U of L store for a potluck, some games, great convo. And to watch Kent dance behind the bar. It was a good time.

Quills Competes w/ Barista Jamie Tooill

The slogan found on the website of the Specialty Coffee Association of Ameria (SCAA) reads "because great coffee doesn't just happen."   We happen to agree. Which is why we love sending off our talented baristas to show how they make great coffee happen.   

Next up... Quill's own Jamie Tooill is heading down to Hotlanta to take part in SCAA's Southeast Regional Brewers Cup.  

This is what Jamie has to say about it:

"It's basically a competition held in Atlanta that's put on by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America)  which is the largest specialty coffee organization in the world.  It starts on February 10th and on that morning the officials will hand out the exact same coffee to everyone. No one knows which coffee it'll be until that morning. All the competitors have a few hours to practice and find out how the coffee will taste best. We'll all experiment with water temperatures, grind sizes, extraction times etc. In the first round I'll have seven minutes to complete and serve three different brews of that coffee. Then professional and certified coffee tasters will judge the coffees on the way it tastes and smells using a pretty specific numerical grading system. There should be roughly 30-40 participants and if coffee scores in the top six then I'll be in the finals on the next day. For the finals I'll get to use one of Quills' coffees and have ten minutes to make 3 cups of coffee as well as talk about Quills and the coffee I'm serving. 

Here's a few links that might be helpful: http://usbaristachampionship.org/?p=main&s=usbcbc
and this is a fun video about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvIadnIlOLc&feature=player_embedded

Basically I'm excited to go to Atlanta and hopefully represent Quills well. I'm sure I'll learn alot and I should catch up on the cool barista stuff that's happening in 10 states around!"

And we are excited for you Jamie!! Be sure to come by, wish him good luck and give him plenty of chances to practice his skills. 

 

           {Jamie doin' his thang}

Billow Grand Opening

Quills New Albany will be staying open late Friday night (1.27) as our good neighbor - cigar shop, Billow - hosts their Grand Opening at 7pm.  We'll serve coffee while they'll have appetizers, free tastings and plenty of seating for smoking. Raffles and Giveaways too! Local faves New Albanian brewery and Irish Exit will both be present for your...er...less caffeinated pleasures. We hope to see you!!

Testing, Testing

Every morning - and several times a day after- we dial in, weigh, pull, sip, adjust (and repeat) our espresso to make sure she's playing at her full potential. With each batch, our roaster sets appropriate parameters such as weight, temp, pre-infusion time, etc. for optimal performance. In the end, nothing tells the truth quite like our eyes and taste buds. 

Now Open: Quills Coffee at Cardinal Towne

University of Louisville students and residents of Old Louisville now have lots of food and beverage options right at their front door: Cardinal Towne.

Quills Coffee @ Cardinal Towne  |  327 W. Cardinal Blvd. (right across from U of L campus)

Hours:    Mon. - Fri.  7am - 10pm    |    Saturday    8am - 10pm    |    Sunday      8am - 6pm

Photographs taken by Mr. Matthew Stevenson: Just another awesome and multi-talented person we get to have as one of our baristas. http://matthewstevensonphotography.com/

Photo Break

Just 'cause.

And in case you missed it the first time...our friend Brian took some slick photogs with something a little more substantial than a 4.5" x 2.31" mobile telecommunication device. We love seeing what you capture through your lens--whether it be of coffee or clogging (cats may have been a little overdone though)--so click away and share with us on facebook.

Quills Introduces...Houston Miller

Thanks to new stores and your continued loyalty, Quills has been lucky enough to invite a lot of new faces and new talent in these past few months. Likely you've noticed and perhaps even shook a few hands. We thought it was about time to further introduce you. First up...

This profile is not going to be a superflous jocular essay on Houston Miller's slight, green age; Ambling on about how he holds the title of youngest member of our staff or how he just graduated high school this year or how he was only two years old when the movie Apollo 13 came out.

So because we're not talking about how young Houstin is, we'll discuss his killer latte art and how it hints at the refined skills of a seasoned pro.  We'll reveal that he plays lead guitar, has the urge to climb everything and has an owl outside his bedroom window that became a fortunate omen leading to his profession at Quills (ok so maybe I exaggerate that story slightly).

Here are some further tidbits concerning Mr. Houstin "youngin'", "tadpole" Miller:

So why a Barista (besides the whole magical ominous owl thing)? I've wanted to be a barista for a long time. I've always greatly enjoyed specialty drinks and appreciated the craftsmanship involved. I love perfecting my latte art and drink quality is very important to me

Favorite drink? Cappucino at a low temperature

Any impressive quirky talents? Curling my tongue and whistling through it (just ask him to show you next time he makes your coffee)

Feelings on dumpster diving? Only if there's a large statue of a man made of solid gold reaching out of the dumpster with gold rings on his fingers

Fictional band name? (In respect to men with naturally "cleaner" faces) "Beards Half Full" for the optimistic side of an undergrown beard. Or "Scruffy Not Fluffy".

What do you want to be when you grow up? A rock-climbing, base-jumping chef who goes spelunking on the side

Favorite thing to cook as an aspiring rock-climbing chef? Alfredo

The gossip on Houston:

You wouldn't even know he was the baby of the family...carries himself like a bon-a-fide A-dult!

I hear he is a wicked guitar player too.

The dude is a total brain! He picks anything up and runs with it and he is super fun to work with! I feel like we never stop laughing when we're behind the bar together.

Houston loves learning and enjoys challenges. He's not afraid to try anything!