Jump to content

Compass Coffee - Independent Coffee House and Roasters in Several DC Locations


ozgirl

Recommended Posts

On the way to La Colombe over the weekend, we passed by a new independent coffee house, Compass Coffee.   We couldn't resist not checking it out.  We weren't disappointed. The space is great - light, airy, with 2 large skylights in the ceiling, an industrial feel to the tables and chairs with white subway tiled walls.  Definitely a place for hanging out - and there was already a presence patrons with their Mac laptops surfing/working away.  

 

While we were enjoying our cortados and rosemary/garlic biscuit, one of the owners came over to introduce himself.  He and his friend, both former Marines got into coffee during their tour of duty and wanted to add to the DC coffee scene.  Much, if not all of the storage units and furniture were built/welded by the 2 owners.  Pretty impressive.

 

They are roasting their own beans and the barista on duty pulled a lovely smooth and rich cortado.  The biscuit was a bit chewier than I prefer, but had good flavour.  Compass Coffee has only been open about a month, but the place was bustling with activity.  Beans are sold in tin canisters which are treated like growlers in the way that you get a $1 discount when you bring the canister back for a refill of your next bean purchase. 

 

We are big fans of La Colombe, but are excited to also support Compass Coffee in their venture.  It's a great new addition to the DC independent coffee scene.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As the premium* independent coffee shop market in DC continues to grow impressively--now outpacing any other east coast city imo--I'm regularly awed by how new shops seem continuously able to innovate and not just be "me too" concepts.



Compass Coffee has definitely been able to advance the coffee scene here since opening four months ago.



On one hand, this is the kind of shop many aspiring coffee entrepreneurs would open if someone else was paying for it, as is the case here with family money versus the compassionate-investors-not-expecting-great-financial-returns that a lucky minority of other restaurants, bars and coffee shops manage to attract.



On the other hand, there is much to like.  I'll list three major things below.



1. Venue. In three words, expensive but fresh. Seating for more than 40 people with two big skylights, lots of square footage, plenty of light and attractive, retro but functional furniture partly purchased (the chairs) and partly built by the two twenty-something owners (tables and counters).



The shop's centerpiece is a huge $170K roasting machine made by a custom California outfit called Loring and is surrounded by a custom-built steel and glass "cube" with counter seating along one side so patrons can watch the machine work. Sort of reminiscent of Rose's Luxury's best (counter) seats but overlooking "the Tesla of roasters" versus Aaron Silverman & Co.



We know from the extensive media coverage this shop has received (thanks largely to the founders' family connections and a compelling personal story as former Marine Corps officers who served in Afghanistan), the build out was purposefully intended to avoid being "hipsterish" but I suppose their success on that depends how one defines that term aesthetically. The shop shares design elements with the much smaller Caffè Aficionado in Arlington or even the hip Wydown on 14th Street. The feel is comfortable, definitely youthful, technical**, branded and well funded. Logos, cups, tall cans with cool embossed lids for retail bean sales and most everything were professionally designed by an Austin (TX) firm. A neat "Made in DC" logo, also from Texas, adorns the brick walls and stickers free for the taking at the iPad register. Professional architects clearly played a major role. Maybe not "hipsterish" but most assuredly cool. Maybe even a little hip?



2. Product. I've been to Compass several times so have tried most of their espresso drinks and coffees, which are poured with an automated pourover system for "consistency." The coffees are very good if sometimes not as boldly flavored as ideal.***  The espresso drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, cortados, etc) are made competently with usually good espresso-to-milk ratios. Another small, local business does the baking and does it well. Biscuits, biscotti, and other sweets, both "gluten free and gluten filled", are definitely upper echelon for DC shops.



3. The Story. Have to respect the military background of the two founders, which has figured prominently in an extensive branding campaign the likes of which few shops could afford, see fit, or be able to do. From the Atlantic to a 16-part series, replete with photos and video, in the Washington Post, you can spend a few hours reading and watching about the journey of both shop and principals from major media if so inclined.



Jessica Sidman of City Paper amusingly confirmed for us on Kojo this week that neighborhoods like Georgetown and Cleveland Park are "losing relevance" in the DC culinary scene, eclipsed now by others very much including the Shaw neighborhood where Compass is located. Compass' neighbors include purveyors of great food and drink such as Dean's new Dino's Grotto, Eat the Rich, Southern Efficiency and Mockingbird Hill. Metro is nearby. Like 14th St, Barracks Row or the Atlas District, Shaw is clearly hip (but maybe not hipsterish).



Bottom line, I agree with OzGirl just above: thumbs up on Compass. Though this is a shop with clear advantages over most new, bootstraped shops, that's neither here nor there. The founders deserve respect not only for their service but also for the work that clearly went into making this one of the more exciting shops right now in the District.



*Term definition: high-end, high quality, real focus on drink-crafting technique and bean roasting technique and provenance


**Aside from the iPad POS system and automated pourer technology, the shop offers one of the faster free WiFi networks of any shop in the city at around 60-70 MBS download speed.


*** In full disclosure,  I have a definite bias toward shops that partner with high-quality roasters in the same way great wine shops or restaurants look for different, interesting and excellent producers to represent on shelves or wine lists.  This is also the result of a belief that most retailer roasters underestimate the time and experience necessary to really roast at a high and consistent level.  Qualia is more exception than rule in doing this well.


  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't been to their shop but did try the coffee at District Doughnut and thought it was quite good.  That's the only place I think I've seen Compass Coffee for sale, at least by the cup.  The District Doughnut website says they offer the Cardinal Blend and the Waypoint blend as drip coffee and those are also available for sale as whole beans by the canister.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...