When I moved to Sacramento three years ago, I knew nothing about this town other than it was a little bit dangerous, dry and hot for a large portion of the year and about an hour and a half away from “the city.” It didn’t take me long to discover the things that make this town unique: And really, all I mean here is that it didn’t take me long to realize we have some amazing food and—most importantly—coffee. Lots of it. I found myself spending hours at Temple Coffee after work, getting to know the baristas and the regulars and drinking my weight in coffee. I was the new kid in town, and Temple quickly became my own version of Cheers. Turns out, this is a darn good town to live in if you dig coffee.

Is it even a secret at this point? Sacramento consistently ranks high on the national lists of places for coffee lovers to caffeinate themselves silly. In Sacramento, the craft coffee shop is king. If you work or live near the grid, you have a multitude of options for snagging a well-crafted cup of Joe (I’m convinced the “coffee break” is the new “smoke break,” am I right?!). And chances are, you’ve been to one of the shops that helped spearhead the movement: Temple Coffee.

Just celebrating its 10-year anniversary, Temple Coffee has become one of the default go-to spots for gatherings of all kinds—from study sessions, to business meetings, to book clubs, to first dates—and at the helm of this empire is Sean Kohmescher, the guy who took his life savings, sold his rare 1948 Harley and 1958 VW Beetle to open up shop on 10th Street downtown.

Originally from Oklahoma, Kohmescher moved to San Diego and instantly fell in love with the coffee culture there, where he felt inspired by the community of folks that gathered for the sake of coffee, sand and days at the beach. Eventually he decided to migrate north and get a graphic design degree in San Francisco (where he also worked in the dining industry) before moving to Sacramento to pursue the coffee business. He went to work for Naked Lounge and lived with its founder, Chris Pendarvis, along with his other buddy Jason Griest, the owner of Old Soul. With their energy, passions and support of each other’s ideas, Sacramento coffee was on the brink of becoming something special.

“Sacramento … It was a little cooler back in the day,” Kohmescher says, “cool/uncool. Now it’s more ‘mainstream cool’ but 10 years ago it was underground cool. It was like a little rockabilly town.”

He and his friends would hang out at spots like Benny’s, Java City and go see rock shows at Capitol Garage. “That was it, that was Midtown,” he said. And when Temple opened its doors in 2005 (you now may recognize it as the Insight Coffee location near 10th and J streets), Kohmescher had few specific goals in mind for his business. “My goal? To be able to eat. To pay rent …” he laughs, “to live.”

Temple Coffee hit the ground running in their first year and became the first coffeehouse in town to offer single-origin coffee. Their coffees consistently receive top ranks in Coffee Review, which ranks coffees all over the world for outstanding quality. Temple also established “Farm to Cup” sourcing, where their director of coffee, Eton Tsuno, travels to the coffee farms themselves to establish relationships, ensure quality and purchase beans in a sustainable way. In fact, Temple recently set the mold by publishing their financials via “Return to Origin” reports on their website, in an effort to accomplish the most transparent and fair trade business practices with their farmers, perhaps in the hopes that other shops will be nudged to do the same.

Ten years and five locations later, Temple Coffee’s newest digs in Midtown (on 22nd and K streets) represents not only the culmination of their success in Sacramento, but also a nod to the history of Midtown.

“We try to build [our shops] around what is existing in the space. We try not to make it something that it’s not,” Kohmescher said of the new location, which combined new and old to match the “old world” Sacramento with the new, modern and contemporary buildings popping up around town. “We wanted a space in Midtown that was very ‘Midtownish.’”

If you’ve been to the K Street location, you’ve probably noticed a few of its strange features, like the penny floors and the motorcycle parked in the middle of the cafe. “It’s kind of an autobiography as far as accents in the space,” says Kohmescher. “We did a lot of combining that old, rough, raw old-school wood aesthetic with walnut, modern, clean lines.”

While Kohmescher is proud of the barn-like ceilings, it’s the penny floors that capture the most attention (pretty sure it’s Instagram famous, at least), and the motorcycle perched in the seating area is a throwback to the Harley that Kohmescher sold to finance the first shop.

But it isn’t all about the looks—the new location on K Street offers a few special things that the other locations do not, such as custom dessert pairings from various bakeries around town, and Kyoto slow-drip coffee (previously only offered at their Davis location). The seating is cozy, offering a large community table flanked by smaller tables with warm lighting and a large sofa (and I can’t help but think of Friends/Central Perk every time I see that sofa). There’s also cheery outdoor seating in front and large, surprisingly comfortable, rocks to sit on around the corner of the building, offering a great view of surrounding Midtown. It’s the kind of place you’d want to meet up with a friend and chat about your week, your new favorite book or maybe even the coffee shop you hope to open one day.

To celebrate the K Street location’s grand opening and Temple’s 10-year anniversary, head roaster Jake Deome created a special three-bean blend utilizing Nicaragua Jaime Molina, Nicaragua Ana Maria Albir and Costa Rica Las Lajas Estate—a delightfully sweet and exotic mix that the shop only offered for the week. Deome said they were excited to be working on a few “premier” coffees (“these are small lot, like the geishas,” Deome says) to gear up for Temple’s busiest season of the year leading up to Christmas.

As for Kohmescher, he’s not sure what’s next. When asked if he planned to expand business to other cities or states, he said maybe—but only if the time is right, and if his team is ready for the growth and added challenge. And if Temple went anywhere, it would probably be down the California coast. But he’s in no hurry; he really just wants to spend more time at home with his family.

“There’s people who are always looking too far ahead,” he said. “The best way to get to the top is one step at a time. And I’m one who doesn’t look a whole lot of steps farther than where I’m walking at the time. Every single step is just closer to whatever that is.”

Temple Coffee now has five locations in the Sacramento area: 22nd and K streets, and 2829 S Street in Midtown; 1010 9th St. Downtown; 2600 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Arden Arcade; and 239 G Street in Davis. You can also learn more at Templecoffee.com.

Source, Roast, Brew

In late 2011, Insight Coffee Roasters first opened their doors in the Southside Park neighborhood. From the get-go, their purpose and uniqueness in the Sacramento coffee scene was obvious. Not only did they accomplish dishing out the highest quality coffee in Sacramento and beyond, but they ensured that every step taken to produce and distribute that coffee was of the highest caliber possible. Insight has given Sacramento an enhanced and more thoughtful coffee experience.

I remember those very first pours of coffee at the Insight Southside café. The café filled a huge void in that part of town, and brought a great business to a diverse neighborhood. Their huge, notable front windows and hand-built wood interior were welcoming and crafty, and early Insight pioneers Lucky Rodrigues (who remains a partner), and Benza Cox-Lance were always bringing the coffee experience to a whole new level with a knowledgeable and approachable presence. In fact, the painting on the side of the Southside café shows Rodrigues at the roaster and Cox-Lance pulling an espresso shot. The smell of coffee roasting, especially on Tuesdays, was enough alone to wake you up. Then there was the constant sound of steam coming out of the gold-plated espresso machine and, for some reason, the faint sound of a boombox blasting in the roastery in the back. Sometimes, you would catch a glimpse of someone breakdancing to the tunes if you were lucky enough. Insight has evolved rapidly since those early days at the Southside café, but the strong aroma of roasting beans and the exhale of the espresso machine still thrive.

In four years of existence, Insight Coffee Roasters has multiplied to four locations, with the most recent opening up in the 16 Powerhouse, a new LEED certified development across the street from Fremont Park. The building was built with materials and processes intended to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible. The building is a mixed living/retail space. Chris Ryan, one of the owners of Insight, says that this was a large factor in wanting to place an Insight café at the location, even with a Starbucks right across the street.

“Despite that, we have been doing quite well,” says Ryan about the new location. “Starbucks is a completely different business and the menus are completely different. I think a lot of diverse coffee drinkers have been exposing themselves to our menu. People are coming in and wanting to learn more, and from there they learn to appreciate coffee more.”

The 16 Powerhouse Insight follows suit with Insight’s older cafés, with the exception of also serving Sun and Soil fresh juices. Ryan adds, “This is a bustling part of town, and our way of approaching coffee is really catching on.”

Insight started, and continues to grow, with three principals of focus: source, roast and brew. “Our goals are straightforward; to source quality seeds directly from producers, roast to accentuate inherent flavors and brew to highlight different attributes,” reads the company’s website.

“One of the main goals of Insight has been to spread our passion for coffee education.” says Ryan. “Education is key. Hence the name Insight. We want to offer the customer an insightful coffee experience.”

Insight’s Southside location, where beans are roasted, offers various coffee education courses, including home-roasting classes to those more interested in doing it themselves. The café openly sells home-roasting supplies, too. Almost every resource needed for the most amateur of coffee novices is readily available. Also, every second Saturday of the month, they hold a sourcing course. As the course description explains, coffee lovers of all levels can “Explore the origin of coffee and its journey from seedling to processing and roasting,” and, “Learn about our work directly with coffee growers to process quality sustainable coffees.” All courses are provided at an unbeatable price: free.

You will notice that the menus at Insight cafés lack options that have unnecessary additives. “We believe that if the coffee is roasted properly and produced correctly, then sugar and a ton of cream shouldn’t be necessary,” says Ryan. “Coffee should be produced in a way that should accentuate its natural flavors. You will never find a frappuccino or anything caramel on our menu. There are great nutritional aspects to coffee. We roast it in a way that you drink it straight up black.”

The roastery maintains a tight-knit relationship with the coffee plant farms that produce the source of seeds for the café. On a regular basis, an Insight rep—usually Lucky Rodrigues—will travel abroad to regions where the coffee seeds are grown. Rodrigues travels mainly to central America, to stay with and work side-by-side with family-owned farms that sustainably raise coffee beans. The purpose is essentially finding the best coffee before anyone else does and building a lasting relationship with their growers. This ensures that the coffee buyer gets very specific pickings, and the first and best picks at that.

“The desire for the highest quality coffee is higher now,” says Ryan, “Especially in a time where people are more interested in the whole farm-to-fork movement. It is truly about learning more and appreciating more. If you go to the source of the product and believe in that source, you believe in your product and are proud of it.”

To take the education factor to another level, the coffee company has somewhat recently come out with a quarterly newspaper. It is a small and informative collaborative effort, full of diverse coffee news and profiles. The free papers are available at every location, and go in depth about everything from the sourcing and producing of coffee, to the health benefits and groundbreaking scientific research surrounding coffee.

Ryan says that Insight plans on expanding even more in the coming months. They anticipate an expanded coffee program with the new Edible Pedal in West Sacramento, where Insight coffee has already been served in limited forms. Ryan hopes to make the full experience available to that side of town. On top of that, a new café on the 700 block of K street is in the works.

“It will be pretty close to the new arena,” says Ryan, “We are working close with developers and it’s going to be pretty exciting.”

To keep abreast of future Insight Coffee Roaster developments and other info, go to Insightcoffee.com.