The brand new Sightseer Espresso store shares a South 1st Road constructing with Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop. All photographs courtesy of Sightseer Espresso.

You don’t should look far to seek out nice espresso in Austin, Texas, however any espresso tour of the town ought to now embrace a cease at Sightseer Espresso.

The ladies- and queer-owned espresso roasting firm opened its first brick-and-mortar location on South 1st Road in late Might, providing conventional and spectacularly experimental drinks utilizing coffees produced by ladies. 

“While you wholesale to individuals, that’s nice and I really like that, however there’s no management of the tip product. While you promote issues to individuals on-line, you may make suggestions, however there you’re not controlling the tip product,” Sara Gibson, who co-founded Sightseer with Kimberly Zash, lately Every day Espresso Information. “So that is our thrilling second to be like,’Look what we did with this shit. Take a look at this loopy shit! Isn’t this enjoyable?!’”

Seasonal drinks, which Gibson stated will typically be named in reference to musicians and artists, presently embrace the Teaches of Peaches, a chilly brew espresso with peach nectar and mint syrup, shaken over ice and garnished with Tajín and a chili lime peach ring.

Gibson’s private favourite is the Fade Into You, a maple-syrup-sweetened latte with black walnut bitters and black lava salt.

The makings of the Fade Into You.

These and different liquid delights are crafted on a single-group La Marzocco espresso machine and a Mahlkönig grinder within the small cafe adjoining the South Austin bakery Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop.

“It’s tremendous tiny. It allowed us to be scrappy in sure methods — like, we obtained a used espresso cart and re-stained it, and we purchased shelving off of Fb Market,” stated Gibson. “What we splurged on was the grind-by-weight [grinder] and the GS3 [espresso machine], as a result of we simply needed to verify the essential issues might shine.”

Illuminated by a mid-century fashionable starburst chandelier, the little black bar stands upon a black and white checkered ground and in entrance of a busily wallpapered accent wall.

“We take the espresso actually significantly; we simply don’t take ourselves too significantly,” stated Gibson. “Our luggage at the moment are this brilliant yellow colour, the labels are tremendous colourful and type of foolish at instances. We needed the area to really feel that means too — just a little trippy, just a little ‘in your face.’ It’s enjoyable and it’s the stuff that I believe simply makes us completely happy. That is our vibe.”

Gibson and Zash launched the roasting firm in late 2021. They’re additionally the co-founders the Rising Tide Roast Collaborative [RTRC] co-roasting facility, the place Sightseer has grown as a tenant. 

Sightseer roasts most of its coffees on a 25-kilo Diedrich CR-25 at RTRC, the place further tools presently features a 10-kilo Mill Metropolis Roasters machine, Showroom Espresso Arc800 and Arc S roasters, a 180-gram-capacity Kaffelogic Nano 7 roaster and extra.

A grand opening celebration for the cafe is deliberate for June 29, together with prolonged hours, 50% off all drinks, 20% off luggage of espresso, free baked items from Sugar Mama’s and a restricted variety of free “chilly usual” cocktails. There can be a DJ set and a raffle to profit Out Youth, a Central Texas nonprofit supporting trans and queer youth.

Following that, Gibson stated the Sightseers plan to proceed increasing their meticulous inexperienced espresso sourcing and roasting practices, whereas introducing a guide pourover program at that cafe.

“We wish to continually deliver it again to, for lack of a greater phrase, our North Star, which is ladies espresso growers, high quality in espresso, and the way an individual defines high quality in espresso. Is it only a taste profile and a rating or is it much more than that?” stated Gibson. “We are able to have all this enjoyable and be goofy dorks, and we will also be actually intentional in regards to the espresso that we’re shopping for and issues that we supply and the way we’re doing issues, in order that we are able to really feel actually, actually good. We’re supporting gender fairness at origin. We’re doing our, granted, very small half, however we’re doing our half to make a distinction and make issues just a little bit extra truthful, we hope, for everybody, at each step of the best way.”

Sightseer Espresso Bar is situated at 1905 S 1st St. in Austin. Inform DCN’s editors about your new espresso store or roastery right here. 

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