Coffee class is in session. There will be a test.

BLehman — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:54:40 +0000

Satisfy your craving for caffeinated tips, tutorials and homespun CREMA randomness. Announcing the first of our tutorials, by popular demand we present the premier of, “The CREMA College of Coffee: How to make a french press.”

Got questions or ideas for videos? Send them to us here… anyone? anyone? anyone? Bueller?

Send us your videos! Show your CREMAZYNESS!

Before CREMA was CREMA

BLehman — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:26:29 +0000

One of our dear CREMANIAN’s dropped off this photo a few days ago. This is what CREMA was before it was…

Wish we still had that drinking fountain, how sweet! And if you were wondering, it was a diesel engine repair shop before falling into disrepair itself.

Debunking the Myths of Coffee

rachellehman — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:59:37 +0000

“Hardly a month goes by without a report that hails coffee, tea or caffeine as healthful or damns them as potential killers … Recent disease-related findings can only add to coffee’s popularity. A review of 13 studies found that people who drank caffeinated coffee, but not decaf, had a 30 percent lower risk of Parkinson’s disease” - New York Times, Aug 5, 2008.

An honest review of coffee’s effects on health by the New York Times last week. Great article, read the whole story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/health/05brod.html

Keep your eye out for….

rachellehman — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:04:34 +0000

….soon enough we’ll be offering two espresso blends, so when you come in we’ll be asking which one you would like. Also, we’re trying to get our coffee classes scheduled for the fall, and we need your help, which topics would you like us to cover? This really could be anything, so ask away. Don’t worry, if you’re on our e-mail list you will get an e-mail blast covering all of this, but if not you need to sign up! Also, e-mail your topics to Rachel at: rachel@crema-coffee.com

Thanks for all your support!

Peach Cream Cheese Tart & Coffee $4

rachellehman — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:46:20 +0000

Come in and get one of our favorite desserts! Only while it lasts!

Not lying, this actually went down

rachellehman — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:33:23 +0000

Not at CREMA of course; funny enough that it made us laugh until milk came out our noses at the ridiculousness of the whole event. Read it (also read this & this)

p.s. this post is for Mark (you know who you are) who says we need to post more often.

CREMA reviewed in The City Paper! More thoughts…

BLehman — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:56:17 +0000

Look for the article in The City Paper today, “Creme de la CREMA : Rolling Mill Hill cafe expresses with espresso.” Thanks for the write up William! Below are our complete answers from the interview.

QUESTION: You were winner of a 2006 Barista competition. Your thoughts?

ANSWER: The great thing about competition is that it always helps you become better. One of CREMA’s guiding principles is to be a learning company, to never stop educating ourselves, to never stop challenging each other and to know our strengths and learn from our weaknesses. We recognize that we will only grow by challenging ourselves at a higher level. And so with a little anxiety and a shot of excitement we’re making plans to compete at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) Barista championship. The SCAA is a highly respected organization and the authority on special coffee. Competing in this event, if we only bring home a “thanks for participating” ribbon, raises the bar. Our customers are the real winners, this competition ensures our drinks will only get better.

QUESTION: Just about everybody I talk to says your coffees are the best in Nashville. Other coffee shops use the beans roasted at Drew’s Brews. So what do you do with the beans that makes your coffee so tasty?

ANSWER: It’s simple really, we soak Drew’s beans in Jack Daniels before brewing. Ha! No, don’t print that, it’s not true! Oh, but that is a good idea, anyway…

This is not a one sentence answer, there’s more than several key things that make the CREMA experience. First, we believe deeply that originality, creativity and a pure passion of what you do makes the difference, it makes us different. I think sometimes the record store industry might be a good analogy for understanding CREMA. If you want to talk to a real music enthusiast, someone who just loves music and is always exploring new music you go to Grimeys, not to the Big Box Store’s music department. Same parallel could be made with the wine industry, you don’t find Oenologist’s in the Big Box Store’s wine isle, you find them in your local wine shop. They’re the ones you really want making recommendations because they know and love wine! We love coffee! At CREMA you’ll find a community who loves espresso and coffee, and is always adventuring with new blends, roasts, varietals and coffee concoctions. We’re coffee geeks, but we’re nice geeks, that makes a huge difference. It’s obvious to our customers that we want to share this experience together and are committed to our and their education of coffee.

Second, our people (employees) are CREMA’s first and most important asset. We’ve adopted in certain ways the Southwest view that employees are first, customers second. When your people are empowered, trusted and supported we think in the end that will have the greatest return. We have rigorous training and a high expectation that they be experts, enjoy and love what they’re doing. We’re young, still developing our strategies, but already we see the difference this makes.

Third, a close relationship with our Roaster, Drew, allows me to better understand the roasts and so I have a better knowledge of our product and preparation. I spend time with Drew regularly to understand what he’s blending, roasting and why/how he’s choosing certain beans. Because we have this relationship, it allows me to ask questions, gain insight and relay that information to my staff and to customers. I feel like I will never stop learning, there is always something to improve on.

This knowledge and commitment to excellence are what make a better, consistent cup of coffee.

QUESTION: What about your background? Places lived? Your work at Sam & Zoe’s? Hobbies and interests (not related to coffee)? College or not?

ANSWER: I grew up in a small farm town 60 miles west of Chicago, in a large farming Italian family where food and wine were very important to our daily lives. Since I can remember I would bake, cook, can vegetables, you name it with my mom in the kitchen. Food was very important to us. My first coffee shop job was when I was in high school. We didn’t know what we were doing, but we had an espresso machine, grinders, and syrups. I enjoyed it so much that when I moved to Colorado for college I got another job at a coffee shop. This time the owner’s were very experienced. They had been in business roasting coffee since 1979. The owner’s spent a lot of time training us on the espresso machine, as well as understanding roasting and coffee brewing techniques. I was the Assistant manager at their second location for over 3 years. This is when I discovered that I truly loved this industry, and could see myself working in it for quite some time. During my last year of college I was engaged to my childhood sweetheart, Ben, he lived here in Nashville. I graduated, packed up my bags, and moved to Nashville. My first job in Nashville was working at Sam and Zoe’s. I worked at S&Z’s as the manager for just over four years. At Sam and Zoe’s I was given the space to really push myself to be a better barista and manager. All my experiences as different as they were, have really paid off in the end. As far as hobbies outside of coffee, I like camping, hiking, boating, playing music, cooking, and eating….wait did I say eating? I’m not afraid to spend money on good food.

QUESTION: Since you’ve been open, what customer trends have you noticed?

ANSWER: Nashvillians are more eager to learn and explore coffee than we ever could have imagined! Our customers are adventurous and brave, they love to try new things, step outside the box a little with coffee! Out of all the coffee shops I’ve worked in we serve more straight espresso than any other. People who come to CREMA come to find what new single origin coffee we have, try a ristretto espresso, or just shoot the breeze about coffee. They are looking for more than the typical overly sweetened, monster sized espresso drink. We do have some espresso snobs that come in, and we love that!

QUESTION: Any unusual stories that have unfolded since you opened? Eccentric customers? Equipment failures that forced you to improvise. Neighborhood happenings? Work on Rolling Mill Hill? (things of that type)

ANSWER: I’ve been surprised by the immediate community around CREMA. So many different occupations. Within walking distance we’ve got Nashville’s first fine dining restaurant, Andrew Chadwick’s, the oldest children’s theatre in the country, Nashville Children’s Theatre, a fraternity headquarters, architect firms, city planners, graphic design companies, and a large radio station. Rutledge Hill has some of Nashville’s oldest buildings, and I’m so glad to see these old homes and building being reused for new businesses or living spaces. We’re very excited to see where Rolling Mill Hill and the SoBro areas will be in 2-5 years!

QUESTION: CREMA takes no commission from the sale of artist’s work. Instead, you request that a portion of sales are donated to a local charity of the artist’s choosing. Thoughts?

ANSWER: We are fortunate to have great artists want to display their artwork at CREMA. We’re a tiny bit tired of everyone wanting a little piece of everything as it often seems. So, instead of taking commissions we think it can be a unique avenue for CREMA and artists to give back to the community. We want to be a part of the community, be a contributor to making it better, this idea seems like an easy first step towards where we want to be.

QUESTION: Your thoughts on Nashville’s “café culture”?

ANSWER: The cafe, or coffee culture, in Nashville is in many ways undeveloped and under served. Someone once said that until everyone can walk from their place of work or home to a coffee shop, we’re not even close to saturation of the market. We’re just getting started. You come to CREMA because you will experience coffee in a way you’ve never had before in Nashville. That is not to say we don’t carry the best local pastries, after all what would coffee be without Sweet 16th’s Heavenly Scone or the Wild Muffin’s all organic Cinnamon Buttermilk muffin.

QUESTION: How would you describe the CREMA customer base? The vibe of the café? Your menu?

ANSWER: Our customer base is coffee fanatics, just like us. And we love them for their adventurous exploration of coffee and their yellow teeth! Our customers undoubtedly are the ones who grind their own beans at home (some at work we’ve heard!), regularly read about coffees and always seek new coffee experiences. We’ve discovered our target audience choice set is “grind my own” or CREMA; not “coffee from the chain” or CREMA.

This love affair of coffee and the experience is intentionally reflected in the vibe and menu of CREMA. As I said earlier, we strongly believe that when you’re truly passionate about what you do it’s a different experience for your customers. The sweat and creativity that we put into our building and business, that help to create the experience, are true to our beliefs, and we think prove, that original ideas are always the best ideas.

The Onion has landed

BLehman — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:39:31 +0000

Just a quick note to say we weren’t fibbing when we said we’re ordering The Onion, so were fibbing a little, but we’re not now, it comes every week! Because we all could use a little comic relief during the political season.

Back to coffee… check out this article on BoingBoing, “No crema, no serva“

Place your cash on the barrelhead, we’ll remind her!

BLehman — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:12:01 +0000

Nashville Scene’s Carrington Fox picks CREMA as her number one prediction to be on the Best of Nashville list this year. She also asks that someone remind her this fall when the Best of Nashville list selection rolls around about our Cafe Tom Kai… oh we will!

CREMA featured in Nashville Lifestyles magazine

rachellehman — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:50:09 +0000

Look for us on, oh, somewhere around page 90… I think. Can’t view the article online, only in print.

CREMA is featured with other notable Nashville originals like Las Paletas for our refreshing summer drinks.