The most recent wave includes a trio of cafes that continue that trend. From Filipino flavors at Coffee Sarap, Japanese matcha and Indian flavors at Panda Coffee House and Latin American pastries and drinks at Cafecito, there seems to be an uptick in specialty coffee shops celebrating a diverse range of flavors and the cultures and customs surrounding coffee from other continents.
Coffee Sarap
This shop began as a coffee pop-up in 2022 when friends Hannah Cambronero and Chelsey Solemsaas transformed a hot dog cart into a coffee business that served at local farmer's markets and other events in Castle Rock. It gained in popularity quickly, motivating the duo to pursue a permanent home. In October, Coffee Sarap took over the lease at the former Lekker Coffee in RiNo and the shop officially opened in January. The walls are adorned with wooden artifacts — things they would find in their lola's houses.
"We don’t get our beans from the Philippines, but all of our flavors that we infuse and use are all traditional flavors like ube and pandan," says Cambronero. "We share our Filipino culture in any way that we can, and have it be a little cultural lesson, too — even in the names of our drinks — just to get the conversation going."
The horchata, for example, is named Mestiza, a word that is used in the Philippines to refer to someone of mixed Filipino and Caucasian heritage. The Palawana and Boracay Dreams lattes get their names from Filipino islands that are popular vacation destinations.
Baked goods offer another way to try Filipino flavors. Coffee Sarap partnered with CakeHeads Bakery to provide some traditional options like solvanas, buttercream sandwiched between cashew butter wafers and crusted with cashews. Pandesol, a bread that is a staple breakfast item in the Philippines, is also on the menu, along with challah and pastries with calamansi, a Filipino fruit that's a mix between lemon and orange.
"It's definitely stuff that we’ve Americanized it because we wanted to put a twist on it, and have people try flavors they've never heard of," says Cambronero.
Coffee Sarap is located at 3460 Larimer Street and is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit coffeesarap.com.
Panda Coffee House
This shop joined the 20,000-square-foot FlyteCo Tower in Central Park in January with a menu focused on matcha. Owner Vinay Patidar became interested in the matcha trend and sampled over fifty different types before settling on a ceremonial-grade version from Japan."The menu, I curated based on things that I like," says Patidar. All the syrups are made in-house, not using pumps of any sort, with a one-to-one sugar-to-water ratio. "Our drinks are well-balanced — you can taste the milk, the coffee, the sugar, so it's coffee or matcha forward first and the flavor of milk second. And we weigh everything from syrup to milk to make sure everything is coming out the exact same."
In addition to coffee and matcha, Panda has its own house-made spicy chai from Patdiar's mother's recipe, served with two Ritz crackers because that’s how he and his mom always had it.
Panda is just one part of FlyteCo Tower, which also hosts a brewpub, mini golf, an arcade, a bowling alley, axe throwing and much more.
"There are endless amounts of space — so many tables large for groups, work from home etcetera — it's the opposite mentality of most coffee shops," notes Patidar. "A bunch of things they can do, from a full restaurant, hit some arcades or go play on a [golf] simulator. It allows people to spread their day apart all within one building."
Panda Coffee House is located at 3120 Uinta Street and is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. For more information, visit pandacoffeehouse.com.
Cafecito
This recently opened shop in Montbello is a welcome local outpost in a sea of chains. Cafecito bills itself as a home away from home for Latin Americans, celebrating coffee and culture from Latin and South America."Why not make the delicious drinks originating in these Latin American countries and offer them to not only the large Hispanic population in Colorado but also anyone in search of a unique, yet authentic way to experience a cup of coffee," says its website.
Drinks like cafechata (caramelized sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and oat milk with coffee), cafe con leche and cafe con ola are popular, traditional menu items. The shop also offers bites like pasteles, tamales and burritos.
Cafecito is located at 4818 Chambers Road and is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit drinkcafecito.com.
