We have slowly (no pun intended) learn to love the idea of a Slow Bar. From our personal interpretation, a Slow Bar is, to have a deeper connection and appreciation of the coffee and its farmers, the art of making it and genuinely enjoying it. At Boondocks we set out on this coffee journey for the love of coffee, culture and the community it brings together. We wanted to start with Filipino coffee beans as we are Filipino Americans who are proud and passionate to highlight Filipino coffee, culture and community. Growing up in the Philippines, we have fond memories of sitting around the table surrounded by family and friends, enjoying a cup of coffee with pandesal, and feeling that comfort and joy. We wanted to tap in to that nostalgic feeling and bring that experience with our cup of coffee. We want to enjoy the company of whoever we are making the coffee for, whether it is our family, old friends, or new friends we meet along the way. We want to provide a warm, welcoming experience to slow down, enjoy the coffee, the company and then to go on about our day. In a world where instant gratification and everything is at our finger tips, slowing down to grind the coffee, wait for the water to heat up, seeing that bloom, and watching the coffee drip down makes that coffee that much more flavorful and worthwhile. 

Growing up, what we remember coffee as, would be known as the First Wave, coffee such as Folgers or Maxwell that were staples in our households. For Filipino Americans, instant coffee was a big part of what we knew coffee as. These were coffee that were massed produced, more for quantity than quality. The Second Wave is the era of Peet’s Coffee and Starbucks, where there was more focus on roasting and better sourcing of beans. This gave birth to terms such as espresso, latte, and Americano. The Third Wave now focuses on sourcing coffees from individual farms, and roasting coffee intentionally to capture the unique taste the coffee beans offer. Slow Bar has been introduced in the Third Wave of Coffee, where specialty coffee has made its way to coffee culture. Now the coffee experience is dynamic, because there is a hunger to learn about where the coffee came from, the farmers that worked diligently on the coffee beans, enjoy making the coffee, building on the right tools and skill to make that delicious cup of coffee, taking a pause and appreciating the cup of coffee. This coffee experience is now more for quality than quantity. This is a new journey that each person can take to discover what kind of coffee they like depending on the region, type of coffee, varietal type of process (natural, washed, and honey) how it is roasted, the grind size, and how it is brewed (espresso, pour over/drip, French press, chemex, moka pot, etc).

This is a slow, but steady and exciting journey to learn about what kind of coffee we like but also learning a little about ourselves and each other along the way.

Catch us on our next pop-up event!