Poughkeepsie’s New Coffee Culture
By Amy Morse and Shannon Donohue
Sick of your same old Starbucks order? There are plenty of newly opened coffee shops around PoTown that use locally sourced, fairly traded coffee to create unique and diverse selections. While these terms can seem over-saturated at times, we found that Poughkeepsie’s coffee culture truly lives up to these standards. We sat down with the owners of four coffee shops; each with their own unique atmosphere, story, crowd and flavor.
The Ugly Mug
This location right next to the Bardavon Theater in the city of Poughkeepsie opened up just a few weeks ago. Walking into The Ugly Mug, one thing that was immediately evident was that this coffee shop places a heavy emphasis on the local Hudson Valley community. “More Good” syrups from Beacon were spotted in the back, local pastries and bagels from Fishkill lined the countertop, dairy products from Hudson Valley Fresh stocked were stocked in the fridge, and Harney & Sons tea from Millerton was prominently displayed.
Building a stronger community through coffee is exactly the goal of Ori Brachfeld, owner of The Ugly Mug. “We’re not just a coffee shop. We’re a local employment agency. I want to keep my neighbors working and by people supporting us, you’re supporting everybody that’s behind this, which is every local dairy, farm, roaster, tea purveyor. It’s as much about me as it is about every one of those partners.”
Branchfeld built these local business relationships during his time as a business owner in Beacon, a councilman in Fishkill, and a chairman on the board of Dutchess County regional chamber of commerce. During his time working in the local Poughkeepsie community, he realized the city was missing a coffee shop, which is when he decided to invest in The Ugly Mug in conjunction with a family friend, Bri.
So how did Brachfeld brew his first ugly mug? “Our coffee is roasted in Pine Planes by a small company that’s been there for about 50 years…I found them after going to these other 10 roasters. Every one of [the roasters] was better than your commercially acquired coffees because they used good beans, and they roasted them properly.” He settled on the Pine Planes pick because “I had this guy’s coffee and it literally jumped out of the cup. It was that much better than everything else I tried.”
In terms of the future of The Ugly Mug, Branchfeld hopes to get a wine and liquor license, do open mic nights, and support local artists by displaying their work on the walls and selling it through the shop.
The Poughkeepsie Grind
Opening its doors only eight months ago, The Poughkeepsie Grind was founded based on the love for a morning coffee ritual. “[Coffee is] the first thing I think of when I wake up, I get that from my parents. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be the guy responsible for starting everybody’s day,” said the owner Patrick McGuire.
This cafe’s drink menu lives up to the standard coffee drinker’s expectations, and then some. They have macchiatos, lattes, and regular coffee as well. Their coffee beans are sourced from North River Roasters, a local roasting company. The Grind also sells these coffee beans to members of North River’s Community Supported Coffee Roaster program. In addition to the coffee, “we make our own house-made lemonade in the summer,” and they have an extensive food menu.
The breakfast and lunch options were inspired by McGuire’s favorite places in Vermont, specifically Kountry Kart Deli in Burlington, VT which is known for putting hash browns on all of their menu items. Chicken & Waffles were added to the menu after McGuire received a waffle maker as a surprise gift.
One of the characteristics that makes the Poughkeepsie Grind aesthetically unique is the OBEY art pieces that line the walls. “I used to work retail so I just looked at it like putting together an outfit — black, brown, and a nice fire engine red to make it pop. All this OBEY stuff is just pieces I’ve collected from my previous job.” And the tables? “These are from the half-pipe from my wedding.” These personal touches have helped make the Poughkeepsie Grind a hub for local coffee lovers.
The Coffee Bean Cafe
Just a month shy of their one year anniversary, the Coffee Bean Cafe has been running as a family affair right next to the Poughkeepsie train station. It started when a mother-daughter duo, Carol and Stephanie, bought the location from its former owner. Carol’s husband renovated the space and since its opening, the cafe has been trying to find its “niche” in the Poughkeepsie community.
“We initially thought, with the location, the best thing to do would be to cater to the commuter community, so we opened at 5 a.m. and only had breakfast and lunch selections. That didn’t work because these commuters are very set in their routines, so we gradually backed up and opened later. It didn’t become what we intended, but we’re still working on it,” said Carol.
They also stayed true to their family values when considering what kinds of coffee beans to source. “We have Old World Coffee, which is a family owned business over in Orange County. We actually happened upon them when we went to the credit union to open up our business account. Their daughter was the girl we were dealing with, and knowing what we were doing, she gave us her parent’s information. We wanted something different, something that nobody else had.”
In terms of their menu, everything is cooked fresh on site and baked goods are imported from local bakeries. The cafe will also start selling candy from Samuel’s Candy Shop in Rhinebeck within the next few weeks.
“Like any business, the first year is the toughest. We just hope it continues to grow and people know us for what we have, that unique coffee name,” said Carol.
Crafted Kup
The name Crafted Kup has been around for about 11 years, but everything else about this coffee shop has changed under the new owner, Tanner Townsend. The space has doubled, the seating tripled, and a kitchen was added to serve soup, salads, and sandwiches. For the 21-and-up club, Crafted Kup also serves wine and beer on tap. Starting in February, Crafted Kup will also become home to an open-mic night and a spoken word night once a week.
Keeping in line with the local and fair-trade trend of these Poughkeepsie roasters, Crafted Kup sources its beans from Chris’ Coffee in Albany and Windchell Mountain, based in Pine Plains. “All the coffee I use is certified fair-trade organic, which is very important to me. Specifically the certified fair-trade part. There is a lot of history in the coffee industry of people being taken advantage of and I don’t want to participate in that,” said Townsend.
If you’re looking to try a new brew, Townsend suggests the RPG and the Cafe Miel. “The RPG is a latte that’s flavored with brown sugar, caramel and vanilla. RPG is the initials of the person that the drink was created for. The Miel is another latte flavored simply with honey and cinnamon. It’s very simple ingredients, but it’s flavored naturally.”
During the summer months, the Crafted Kup’s cold brew is a popular choice for customers. “We serve this in two ways. It’s on tap — we serve it either as a regular flat cold brew, similar to a regular iced coffee and we also serve it as a nitro, which has a smoother, rounder mouth feel and actually creates a head and cascades much like a Guinness does.”
So in playing with the name, we had to ask, how does one “Craft a Kup”?
“We don’t use a lot of sweeteners in anything we do. We try to keep it balanced, but the coffee comes first. We’re very proud of the coffee we serve.”
