ASHEVILLE - A local coffee roastery and shop welcomes customers to choose their drink journey by creating custom blends that fit their tastes and brands.
Drew Hawkins, co-owner of Coffee Library and Kota Kai, said the businesses also help customers become comfortable with expressing what they taste, which comes from tasting and trusting one’s palate.
“For us, success is when the novice can say, ‘It’s not all coffee. This coffee tastes different from this coffee and from this coffee," Hawkins said.
In January 2022, Coffee Library launched operations at 9 Chestnut Ridge Ave., where more than 60 specialty coffee varieties and more than 25 different origins are roasted and wholesale orders are fulfilled.
Coffee Library specializes in small- and large-scale custom and private-label coffee development for individuals, businesses and organizations.
The roastery's collection, overseen by operations manager, Rei Redtail, ranges from light, medium and dark roasts to nutty, fruity and chocolatey to caffeinated and decaf.
“All the profiles, Rei has set, built from the ground up,” Hawkins said.
In December, Kota Kai coffee shop ― named after Hawkins’ sons, Dakota and Kai ― opened at 753 Haywood Road in West Asheville.
Noah Marines, coffee roaster and lead barista trainer helps uphold the quality at the roastery and ensures baristas can communicate with customers about the products.
The staff offers one-on-one consultation at the roastery to determine the ideal product for the wholesale client.
Hawkins said he wants coffee imbibers to feel “empowered and not scared" when choosing their coffee experience.
“It’s about educating folks, so they know what the challenges are and getting people excited,” Hawkins said.
Custom coffee selection
Kota Kai’s retail coffees are offered at a flat rate.
The cost is $21/lbs. of single-origin bagged coffee or $18/lbs. if refilling Coffee Library's reusable coffee tubes to make them accessible and approachable.
Coffee Library's flagship creations are $23/lbs. or $20/lbs. for coffee tube refills.
“At Kota Kai, all our coffees are the same price,” Hawkins said. “I pay a lot more for certain coffees. I don’t want people worried about price. I want people thinking about the journey that it took and what they liked and not be afraid."
Refillable cold brew bags are offered.
Reusable and recyclable packing promotes sustainable practices.
Cold brew flights will be introduced to the menu.
Custom blend orders are planned to launch on Coffee Library’s website.
Coffee fulfillment
Hawkins worked in marketing for major food and beverage brands until he sealed a business partnership with Greg Gregory to open a custom, private-label roastery.
Hawkins spent time with a farmer in Costa Rica, where his wife, Betsy, previously lived, to learn about the coffee industry.
Hawkins said he and his wife quit their former occupations and have visited many places of origin to connect with the coffee and farmers.
Hawkins had experience creating a coffee espresso for a former alcohol brand client and discovered a lack of options for those seeking low-minimum custom blends and private labels. He said many services required high-volume orders and offered a predesigned product that received new labeling but wasn’t original to the client.
“Coffee is the start of a lot of adventures,” Hawkins said. “The journey starts here’ is the tagline for us because coffee is the beginning of many adventures ― starting a new job, traveling the world or just going to work. It’s that positive energy.”
Ethically sourced coffee
Hawkins said Coffee Library puts ethical sourcing over price and certified organic standings largely because the farmers who need support may not have the funds to meet the certification’s criteria.
“Anytime it comes down to financial I am very much about ethical,” Hawkins said. “Let’s get down to the humanity of it and that, for me, is the priority and for our entire company.”
Direct-trade coffee is in consideration.
Redtail was a transformation coach for seven years before gravitating toward the roastery and deciding to learn the craft.
While traveling in Europe, he said he realized how cafés can promote communication and community.
He said his passion for coffee began to form during foraging excursions where he learned to appreciate the labor-intensive process required to harvest, like coffee beans from trees.
“I know how much energy went into harvesting this crop and I am going to honor every single bean, every single seed that comes in here,” Redtail said.
Asheville’s growing coffee community was part of the reason the partners decided to start operations in the city, offering a unique concept in Asheville and the U.S.
“There’s a really good coffee scene, and for us, it’s exciting to be in a place where you’ve got a lot of folks who drink a lot of coffee who are coming on vacation,” Hawkins said. “Also, an established local community that brings a lot of different coffee to be able to appreciate the unique values that we have, which is creating their own.”
Kota Kai by Coffee Library
Where: 753 Haywood Road, Asheville.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Info: For more, visit coffeelibrary.com and @coffeelibraryroastery and @kotakaicoffee on Instagram.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times .
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville roastery, café empowers guests to create small-batch custom coffee blends
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