Adobe Stock/ Nik_Merkulov
Coffee Labs Roasters is a tranquil café celebrating 20 years of being the first locally to serve delicious, relationship-driven coffee.
Alicia and Mike Love opened Coffee Labs Roasters in 2003 on Main Street next to the lively Tarrytown Music Hall. From there, they began to travel worldwide to connect with coffee bean growers and build unique, high-quality coffee and partnerships.
Coffee Labs President and Partner Alicia Love says, “When we started out with Coffee Labs, we were part of a new, emerging trend that focused on the quality of the coffee and the quality that can be enhanced through the roasting process.”
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Before the Loves, in Westchester, the first wave of the coffee industry focused on factory production, with brands like Folgers and Maxwell House sold in stores. The second wave focused on café environments, such as Starbucks. The Loves became the first to bring the third wave of the coffee industry to the county. The third wave became a coffee renaissance focusing on the coffee bean itself and its hard-working producers, who strategically bring out the bean’s most delectable coffee taste.
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The Loves have evolved from their introduction to the world of coffee in the early 2000s to elite coffee roasters and baristas in the county today. They do everything from competing and judging in international coffee competitions to collaborating with top-tier roasters, proudly including Aida Batlle, who operates her family’s farms Finca Los Alpes and Kilimanjaro in El Salvador and delivers goods by wind and water.
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Not only are the Loves committed to their partners, but they are also committed to their employers and ethics. Coffee Labs was named Westchester’s first employer to earn a National Living Wage Certification Seal from Living Wage for US. The café also supports Schooner Apollonia and other organizations that work to sustainably transport cargo through wind, current, and tide on the Hudson River and in the greater New York Harbor.
As Coffee Labs Roasters begins to serve for more than 20 years, Alicia and Mike Love are set to open a highly anticipated second location in Eastchester. Mike Love emphasizes their relationship-driven coffee brand at their second location saying, “Our shop in Eastchester has been a passion project. I can’t wait to show people the interior of this space. Several surfaces have been covered in coffee wood, sourced from one of our relationship farms.” Coffee Labs also plans to expand its coffee subscription and wholesale programs.
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The Loves continue to brew and thoughtfully sort out skillfully roasted coffee beans for the most flavorful coffee and powerful partnerships. “I wouldn’t change or trade these last 20 years of coffee for anything else… Nothing,” says Mike Love. “It’s been a great ride. I’ve got a few more years in me, so let’s keep rolling.”
Coffee Labs Roasters 20th Anniversary – Westchester Magazine from Enormous Creative on Vimeo.
Coffee Labs Roasters
7 Main St, Tarrytown; 914.332.1479
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