Streaming cold, dark nitro coffee from a keg at 8:30 a.m. outside on a Sunday morning is commonplace for Yellow Brick Coffee.
Cold brew coffee on tap is just one of the many delicious things Yellow Brick has to offer. Siblings Anna and David Perreira are the team behind this energetic, socially conscious, and heartfelt company.
“We get coffee from all over the world,” said David. “It must be traceable, which means we can trace the coffee back to the farm or co-op it came from.”
“The point of our business model,” Anna clarifies, “is to honor and pay respect to the producers of the coffee. We can’t do that if we don’t have traceable coffee. There are times we have to turn really delicious coffee away because it doesn’t follow our philosophy.”
In 2011 Anna moved from New York to San Francisco to educate herself on coffee and advanced roasting. Meanwhile, David went to Northern Arizona University to learn about international hospitality. Soon, the siblings moved home to Tucson to join forces and Yellow Brick Coffee was born.
“We are really proud to roast all of our coffees in house. We try to keep the coffee seasonal by getting coffee from the northern and southern hemispheres during their respective harvests,” David says, a process he adds, which does not come quickly or easily.
“A direct trade takes about four months, from collecting samples to the point of selling the coffee,” Anna said. “A lot goes into it. We need to negotiate a price, have the coffee processed and shipped to our store. Then, we work on roasting it and deciding on a roast profile. Once we pick that, the coffee finally goes onto our menu.”
The Perreira’s passion for roasting is strong.
“The purpose in deciding on a roast profile is to look at an individual coffee and determine the multiple ways it can be highlighted,” David adds. “We want to showcase the coffee bean in the way it wants to be presented and it takes a lot of trials to find that perfect spot.”
Yellow Brick Coffee offers so much more than just a delicious cup of coffee. David and Anna have taken the time to learn and become experts in their field. They know how to make every cup served taste its absolute best. With that expertise comes a pure love for their business and an excitement to share what they know with their customers.
“A big pillar of Yellow Brick is to educate without being pretentious. One of the reasons I got started was I wanted to share my passion,” says Anna. “We want to try to help customers understand what it means to source and analyze coffee.”
Yellow Brick Coffee embodies the love and joy both Anna and David feel for honoring the farmers with their traceable beans and striving to make that coffee shine. The patience and care it takes to run such a business is inspiring.
Experience Yellow Brick Coffee for yourself by visiting the stand at St. Philip’s Plaza on Saturdays and Sundays and Rillito Park on Sundays. Additionally, they’ll be at the UA Mall Market this fall. Or, visit the store location at 3220 S. Dodge Boulevard.
For more information, including cupping classes and coffee subscriptions, visit yellowbrickcoffee.com.
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