Voluto Coffee

Transition

2009-11-04T12:26:47-08:00

We're making an exciting so-called transition, or perhaps we shall say Voluto Coffee is getting a face lift. We're being pro active and also trying to stay at pace with everything else around us. Ever since we opened, some of you have been asking for more food items, and well, you know very well how much we've been fighting against all of it. We strongly desired to put 100% of our focus on the coffee experience, but quickly realized that it is a tough business approach...although it may work for some if all the variables are right. With this said, we're a young company, and haven't even been opened for a year yet, we're still trying to figure out our footing. I'd say we've succeeded in creating the ambiance we dreamed of, and the coffee, although always trying to figure out how to improve it, is pretty darn tasty. The Espresso, although temperamental like any other, pours like a brown sugar covered cocoa nib most all days. We've build a really nice group of loyal customers and we're seeing new ones come in. All this rambling I'm doing is basically just to announce that yes, we do listen to your suggestions, and yes, pressed sandwiches are soon making an appearance on the easily erasable chalk menuboard. We're also going to be partnering with Vanilla Pastry Studio for some sweet treats and Fraiche Confections will be bringing some awesome chocolate sweets. Yum. We finally have bagels from Mediterra Bakehouse that we can toast for you. And the coffee, well, it's still our focus, but I think we've also realized that it is perhaps possible to still place an emphasis on what we love, and still provide what you want...just don't get crazy or we'll have to hire Bon Qui Qui ( one of our Favorite Clip of all times). We have alot of new ideas that we're tackling and trying to see their feasibility, just hang tight. We're currently working on the panini menu, it is going to be limited, however it's going to be packed with flavors and it is going to change seasonally. There will always be a vegeterian option. So for those of you who've been sitting here awhile, then leave for lunch to then come back, you just won't have an excuse anymore, unless you're in the mood for Vietnamese or Indian, and well, the answer to that is no. But again, that's what we said for paninis, and look at us now.................

Towing "War Zone"

2009-10-21T06:34:04-07:00

As a customer of Voluto Coffee, you have the ability to park your vehicle in the rear parking lot of the building. We want to remind everyone not to park in the Resident only designated parking which is identified with signs on Post, in front of the parking spot. We have been diligently working with the Penn Fairmont Apartments and our Lessor in order to remove all of these overwhelming towing signs… and as of yesterday afternoon, the rear lot feels more like a Towing “war zone” as more signs were added without our knowledge. In a previous meeting, we were re-assured that our customers were not at risk of being towed, however, it is intimidating for new customers and many of you have expressed to us your concerns. In case you don’t know, there is also Metered parking on Penn, and plenty of free on-street parking on Roup and Clarendon st in Friendship. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we are working on the situation.

Thank You.

Change #1

2009-10-11T17:28:06-07:00

Per our previous post, a series of small changes are set to occur over the next few months. Since the day we first opened our doors, we have emphasized the importance of quality and our focus on coffee and we hope our efforts and commitment shines through our offerings. The first change and might I say improvement that will slowly take place is the fact that we have decided to kick Monin Natural Syrups to the curb and stand out by offering all HOMEMADE syrups. We always knew this was something we wanted to take on, as it will give us the opportunity to bring Pittsburgh creative and out of the box syrups for our Lattes. Although we've always pleaded our case in the fact that we strongly believe in a traditional menu, the fact remains that most of us have a sweet tooth and carrying a small variety of syrups is almost a must for our business. Having the ability to make all of our syrups from scratch is something that we can actually feel proud and excited about. We only carry 5 syrups right now, all which are Monin. Overall, we believe that Monin is a good company, especially in comparison to some of the other products out there, regardless, it still can taste artificially. Although you may soon find less choices of syrups available at ONE time, rest assure that what you will find will taste amazing. Vanilla, being the most popular choice, will be available at all times, but again, this one isn't going to be available until the Holidays. We still currently have several bottles of Monin that we must go through before officially making the full switch. Available as of today is a cinnamon bark infused syrup. This is Batch #1, made on 10/9/09. I took pictures of the final product, but we're having issues with the camera not connecting with the laptop. We think it fits perfectly with the colder days, and you can't beat this with our Fresh Apple Crumbles from Sweet House Bakeshop. As always, we do not overdue it with our syrups, and the flavor of the espresso still shines through the Latte, but the cinnamon just adds a little kick. We hope you will enjoy what's to come next....

Neighbors

2009-09-27T08:08:08-07:00

Expect a few changes over the course of the next few weeks. Not in prices...( you can breathe now)...minor technicalities really. We're moving in the neighborhood next weekend and once settled in, our energy level should increase and we'll be able to focus on ways to continuously improve our business. For the past 9 months, we've been dealing with 45min-1hr commute in and out of the city, 6 days a week, which equals 10-12hrs of driving a week! By the time we got home, our brains ran low on fuel and ideas. We'll finally be able to ditch the cars, and hop on our bikes, (my super sweet Trek single speed), get healthier while contributing to a cleaner environment.

Change is good and Mama's got a brand new bag.....

Coffee, G-20 & Integrity

2009-09-19T17:19:52-07:00

Owning a business challenges every aspect of one’s character and values as a human being. Unfortunately, success isn’t always built on honesty as a guiding principle, that’s just the reality of the game. Passion doesn’t pay the bills. Regardless of the outcome, we will always remain women of integrity, which is the driving force of our operation. Never gain at the expense of another….That’s the thought of the day.

Ethiopia Yergacheffe Wondo Worka will be back on the menu starting Thursday afternoon, as well as the Cup of Excellence Winner #4, Costa Rica Finca Barrantes, which will be available as an individual press. For now, we have Guatemala La Finca Perla with its caramel and chocolate sweetness. We’ll be opened for G-20, so go ahead and speak your mind, it’s healthy, but stay around the neighborhood because horrendous traffic isn’t.

Labor Day Hours

2009-09-04T05:07:23-07:00

We will be closed on Sunday and Monday for Labor Day weekend. We will re-open on Tuesday at 7am and our new fall hours will take effect. Enjoy your weekend!

Sleeping Woman

2009-08-26T18:22:03-07:00

Starting next week, we’ll be offering the Guatemala La Finca Perla, Sleeping Woman, on the menu. This is the coffee we offered the first few weeks we opened back in January 2009 and was a favorite amongst many. The harvest for this year’s crop started back in October 2008 and ended just in May of this year and 49^th Parallel just receive its shipment a few weeks ago. 49^th Parallel has been directly trading coffee with the owners of La Finca Perla, Ricardo, Enrique & Roberto Arenas since 2007 and they have told us that this years harvest is the best yet. This coffee, which comes from 2 species of coffee plant (Caturra & Bourbon), has always been known for its abundance of chocolate and caramel notes and although we personally prefer all coffees black, this specific offering is quite pleasant with or without cream (certain coffees just don’t shine or take cream as well as others). This year’s harvest has produced a much similar profile but with a crisper acidity and notes of peach and vanilla. The owners of La Finca Perla are quite dedicated to producing a quality coffee and they most certainly pay attention to details: from harvesting the ripest cherries only, to ensuring proper drying of the beans once it’s been washed and pulped by either sun ( if weather allows) or dryers. La Finca Perla employs between 2500 and 3000 people on the farm which about 15% of the total land is dedicated to coffee. Much left over hectares are actually preserved native trees and plants which also sources several natural springs which in turn irrigates the farm. The farm also advocates for the community’s wellbeing and have actually promoted health campaigns such as vaccinations and helped revitalize the economy by providing work and helping build villages. These are the best examples of the benefits reaped from working directly with coffee farmers around the world, and honestly, we all, from farmer to consumer can see and taste the difference. As the economy slowly recovers from one of its worst downfalls yet, all of us need to think twice about how and where our dollars are spent. If you’re one to enjoy coffee for what it truly is, then your dollars are very well spent the minute you’ve decided to set foot through our doors. You can rest well at night knowing that you contributed to someone else’s livelihood, locally and from across the ocean.

Guatemala La Finca Perla, to be available starting on 9.4.09

Rich, Jake..Merci

2009-08-19T16:34:48-07:00

It's always very exciting to see your hard work land you in the newspaper, even the @volutocoffee on Twitter makes us smile. This time, thanks to the Pittsburgh Area Coffee Association ( PACA) and Rich from Aldo Coffee Co., we had a small little blurb in Barista Magazine! It covered the Sprodown event we hosted back in June. This overall is great for the City of Pittsburgh as our coffee community keeps growing in the right direction and it proves that we can stand up there with the other coffee towns around the country. So we'll just keep on pressing amazing coffee for everyone and you all just keep spreading the word. Talking about amazing coffee, we'll be getting the Honduras El Manzano Cup of Excellence Winner #3 tomorrow afternoon roasted by none other than 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, who happened to be the winning bidder for this prized coffee. I obviously have not tasted it just yet, but I can't wait to cut open this bag....

Oh and we're in need of a part-time coffee lover. So, if you're like us, and want to live in a just opened bag of Ethiopia Yergacheffe Beloya and get paid, please apply in person.

Espresso, for here please.

2009-08-10T16:36:52-07:00

10 or 11 showed up last Friday night for our espresso tasting. Some had been in our shop before while others were first timers. We had 4 espresso all together, our 49th Parallel Epic opened up the event, followed by Ritual Sunday Blend, Barefoot The Boss with the Grand Finale of Sweet Tooth from Ritual, which was a Costa Rica Don Mayo, Finca La Loma. We tasted each blindly and had everyone write down on a chalk board what word or two described best what they tasted in each. We then disclosed which espresso they had just tasted and described the cupping and tasting notes from the Roaster to compare ours from theirs and then spoke very casually about each in terms of varietal, processing methods and so on. It was quite interesting to read what some of our customers jotted down, especially the description of Red bell pepper for our Epic. In the end, we hope that people got a very small piece of the big world of espresso and acquired perhaps a little better understanding and appreciation for the beverage. We're looking forward to the next one ( October) and hope to have more amazing coffee and roasters featured in our shop. We have a little left over from the event, so we'll be pulling shots of whatever's left for the week. If you have the "sweet tooth", it should be available for a couple more days.

Now, I'd like to mention a few words on our for HERE ONLY policy. The only beverage we'd like everyone to enjoy on site, comfortably seating or standing is our espresso. The final beverage is usually equal or less than 2ml in volume. You could technically drink itin one sip. This isn't our way to control your preferences or the pace at which you decide to live your life, it's all about the quality of the end product. The moment that the espresso is being pulled, it looses heat. That's why most all of our porcelain sits on top of the synesso, an attempt at keeping your beverage hot, they don't just sit there to look pretty ( and that they do). We also pre-heat your espresso cup with hot water right before extracting the espresso. We also serve all of our espresso on a bamboo tray with water, if you don't want the tray, we'll gladly hand you the cup/saucer.

Recap... Espresso for here only is good for me because:

1. It tastes better

2. It's a pleasing experience and the blue porcelain cups are mesmerizing and beautiful.

3. I can eliminate on waste, by saving a paper cup that will ultimately end up in the landfills.

A customer thanked for me today for slowing him down after I told him to have his espresso for here. "Prego!" ;) Again, we're not trying to dictate how to drink your favorite espresso based beverage, we're just trying to encourage you to experience the beverage to its full potential.

Bullet Points

2009-07-31T17:47:24-07:00

Our thoughts:

1. We're much more excited about Deconstructed than most people. Only 3 people signed up. Major Shut Down. Regardless, we've decided to keep the event open. People, you can sign up until 8.6. Get ready for a romantic tasting. I believe I've now added candles to list of things to buy.

2. We're Happy with our Feed Your Belly Menu. It's 95% Final. One more item up for tasting. As of now, no breakfast burrito on the horizon.

3. The Abid is nice, we're still messing around with it, we're 95% confident in its ability to brew a tasty cup of coffee. Don't be fooled, we still like to Press over anything. In the afternoon, ask for a press if you desire one, but please don't be upset over the time constraints.

4. Feedback over summer hours are mixed. It's heartfelt for sure. Our pale faces thanks all of you for the support. Our dogs are no longer on Paxil and I believe I have finally convinced my one cat that I belong on the couch. Come Labor day, the couch is all yours.

5. Free Cold Brew Iced Wondo Worka for anyone riding their bike for Car Free Fridays in the Strip. August 14th, 8am-10am. An event organized by Bike PGH @ Mullen http://bike-pgh.org/events/car-free-fridays/ Free doesn't happen too often. So, pump up your tires and rub on the butt butter. We'll have a table at the event. Thanks Eric for thinking of us.

6. Espresso Extraction Ratio. I hate Math. Besides, our taste buds rule. We'll give it a whirl. It feels very scientific.

7. Thai Tea. It's our August Special, it's also our version. Organic Assam meets organic spices. Sweetened with RAW sugar and topped with Half & Half. Someone get me some Tofu Pad See Ew.

Oh and we're pressing Ethiopia Yergacheffe Wondo Worka & Costa Rica La Legua De A Serri, Don Mayo Estate Micro-Lot. Terrazu Region, 100% Bourbon. and that's bourbon as in tree varietal, not George T. Stagg Bourbon/Whiskey.

8. Almost forgot...All the towing signs in the rear of the building are to scare unauthorized people from parking their cars in the lot. Is it working? Hardly. So fear not the towing monster. He's not "real"