LAKEWOOD, Ohio - If you like to know the source of what’s on your plate or in your cup when you dine or drink out, then La Taza Rica is for you.
A cup of the high-quality coffee that Tony Dicorpo pours comes with a bit of knowledge, if you want. Glance at the colorful walls and you’ll see framed portraits of Dicorpo with growers all over Central and South America. He counts them as friends.
Order a cup, and he might point out the photo of Miguel Medina, comfortable smiles on each man. Medina is one of the farmers whose coffee goes from his land 1,900 miles away to your cup in Lakewood. He’s one of several connections between the growers in the field and the customers in Dicorpo’s coffee bar.
‘You can sip that cup of coffee and point out ‘He grew that,’ ” Dicorpo said.
Located next to Tick Tock Tavern and across from Pulp Juice and Smoothie Bar and Anytime Fitness, the Latin-inspired La Taza Rica aims to open Friday, Feb. 7, if all goes according to plan.
The shop’s color scheme - turquoise, yellow, purple and red - represents the varying colors of houses he sees on his travels south of the border. He wants his customers to feel the culture of the coffee-origin areas he visits time and time again.
“When they walk in,” he said, “I want them to feel transported.”
Dicorpo, who has owned Troubadour Coffee Roasters in Fairview Park for almost a decade, got his start in farmers markets after a career working in the travel-agency business.
“My focus has really been quality,” he said. “I got fed up with generic coffee.”
Dicorpo entered the coffee business at what he says is the genesis of the local “craft coffee scene.”
This isn’t coffee that sits in a pot, growing rancid, stale or overly bitter. This is high-grade coffee with complexities Dicorpo likens to wine. Each drink shares three specific acids - malic, tartaric and citric, he said.
“I wanted to help people learn,” he said.
And like wine, a little breathing time doesn’t hurt, he said. But leaving “batch brew” - that is, coffee sitting in containers - can lead to good acids breaking down. He prefers pour-over, a technique that takes about three minutes and yields a cup of fresh, hot coffee. (He will offer some batch brew as an option for customers.)
As Dicorpo sees it, coffee is an “affordable luxury” item that people are willing to pay for.
Coffee has a lifespan of about 30 days. Old coffee can lose and change its flavor. At La Taza Rica - which translates to “the rich cup” - Dicorpo wants you to take in the richness of what you are tasting, sip after sip.
Several years ago, he began seeking out direct-trade partners, which means he travels extensively to find coffee cherries - the fruit that holds the beans - from people who are using organic farming methods, staying away from pesticides, and keeping their business environmentally friendly. Harvest is peaking now in a season that runs December to May.
“I don’t consider this work, I don’t consider this a job,” he said. “I love what I do. I meet cool people. At the end of the day people can smile with what I’ve made for them. That makes it all the worthwhile.”
More info
La Taza Rica Craft Coffee & Tea is at 11514 Clifton Blvd., Lakewood, on the north side of the street. About nine tables and a couch are in the shop. It offers craft coffee (pour-over, cold-brew, nitro), quality tea made by the cup, espresso classics, aguas frescas and some pastries made in the kitchen at Troubadour.
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