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WWW.KINGSPEAKCOFFEE.COM
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Date Visited: October 26, 2019
The sun peeked out from behind the clouds the minute I pulled up to Kings Peak Coffee Roasters. I hopped out of the van and headed up to this beautiful brick building. It was kind of funny, I happened to walk into the wrong doors, I was in the Modern West Gallery. Looking around all I saw were walls of artwork. With a confused face, the gallery curator said, “The coffee shop is right next door.” We both chuckled and she told me to enjoy checking them out; she absolutely loves the coffee there.
I walked into the right door with a high expectation for good coffee now that the gallery curator gave them such high praise. The first thing you see are cement floors, hanging wireframe lights, exposed brick, and a gorgeous counter. Someone was ordering ahead of me so I kept peering around, really trying to take this place in. I normally don’t talk about the smell a place gives off but this one brought me to a very nice place. It was a comforting smell, like my dad’s fresh pot of coffee filling our home in the mornings when I was a kid. I felt very at ease here and I hadn’t even spoken to anyone yet.
It was my turn in line and I introduced myself to the woman behind the counter, Brandy, a co-owner.Meeting the owner is always fun for me because you can hear the passion they have behind everything they’ve built. Then she introduced her husband and co-owner, Garland, who just happened to be coming in from the back room. I told him what I was doing with Find That Coffee and he was ecstatic to have me try his coffee. I was very happy to hear that he roasts their coffee.
Garland went behind the counter and began pouring me different roasts to find out which one I liked the best. I tried three different kinds. First, I tried the Blacks Fork Ridge – a blend of the Columbian andHonduran. Second, and very tasty, was the El Salvador La Rosa del Viento. Lastly, was the GuatemalaFinca San Luis El Volcancito, which was also very good. He asked me which one I liked and before I could answer he gifted me a bag of all three! On top of that, he told me to pick out a hat to rock as well. I thanked him “so freaking much” and I promised to wear the hat across the whole country; I still wear it to this day.
I asked them my coffee shop questions and found out that this building is actually an old steel foundry from 1904. Garland walked me over to show me the old safe that has been left untouched. Kings PeakCoffee Roasters was named after the tallest mountain in Utah at 13,528 feet above sea level. That’s one heck of a mountain if you ask me! The coffee shop started on October 25th, 2018, and, in my opinion, it looks amazing. They offer WIFI, pastries, specialty toasts, and bagels. Their rosemary, ginger, and maple syrups are all homemade; and their most popular drink right now is the Mexican Mocha. They also sell compact grinders, Aeropress, french presses, and other camping equipment for your adventurous needs.
As we talked and I told coffee stories, I found out that their whole coffee journey started a few years ago when they took a trip to Costa Rica. They drank tons of coffee, visited a few farms, and when they came home decided to try their hand at roasting. They were quickly hooked on the whole process, so they began getting in contact with farmers that had appropriate work ethics and safe growing methods thatGarland and Brandy could stand behind. They want to feel proud of the product they serve and I think they are doing a great job at that.
Garland and Brandy gave me a tour of the entire place and we realized that it was now almost 30 minutes past closing time. I guess the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun” really is true! As I was about to head out, Garland kindly poured me a fresh cup of kombucha and we both laughed as he said, “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of coffee on this trip.” He wasn’t wrong! He told me if I wasn’t doing anything that night I should come on over to a place called Gardner Village for WitchFest; he was willing to pay me to work in the coffee trailer and gave me his phone number. I told him I would let him know.
Later that day after exploring a few more coffee shops I headed over to the WitchFest. Wow this was a crazy experience! More people dressed up for Halloween than I think I’ve ever been around in my life!Took me about 20 minutes to find the Kings Peak coffee trailer but I made it. Knocked on the backdoor and climbed on in. I met their daughter, Sadie, who was also working this event. They tossed me into the front window to take coffee orders. At this point I didn’t even know what was on their menu, let alone what was in some of the drinks with the special names. It was a great time and I caught on quickly I’d like to think. I love talking to people and meeting strangers so I kept the witches happy while Garland,Brandy, and Sadie were slinging drinks! It was freezing outside but every customer left with a smile and hot coffee or hot chocolate. Brings a smile on my face to think about, as I chuckle about the crazy scenarios I get myself into.
We packed up the trailer when the event closed and they asked if I had a place to stay tonight. “Just my van,” I said. They politely offered the guest bedroom in their house, saying a cold front was moving in and they would love to have me and hear more travel stories. I smiled and gratefully accepted the offer.We stayed up late that night drinking some local beer, telling stories, and playing with their dogs. Ended up snowing in Salt Lake City that night. I had just made friends for life.
The bathrooms in coffee shop were super clean, stainless steel dividers, tons of toilets, and two sinks.Found out these bathrooms were for the whole building so they weren’t allowed to add any personalKPCR paintings or anything in there. I am going to rank this a 9/10.
