Review: Impero Coffee Roasters (Columbus, OH)

Impero Coffee Roasters is conveniently located in the Short North of Columbus. Impero’s owner, Lucinda, and her husband, roast their own coffee, work the shops, make drinks, and are always up for a chat. They love coffee. They even named their boy “Joe.”

Situated in a somewhat small and cozy location off of the busy High St., Impero seems to be somewhat of an undiscovered gem in Columbus. I was especially impressed by all of the single cup brewing options they offer - Pourover, French Press, Siphon, etc. Lucinda happily made me a Siphon Brewed Ethiopian Sidamo while we chatted about her love for coffee, the history of Impero, and different coffee equipment. While I was there, I noticed some impressive latte art being dished out as well.

All in all, a great experience- especially if you’re looking for something more than a cup of coffee just to get you by. They do things well at Impero. Only two years in, I expect big things to come from Impero - especially as the coffee culture in Columbus continues to grow and thrive.

Stauf’s Coffee Roasters: Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio is a great city for people of all types. With a thriving art scene, a healthy arena district that pulls in top-notch shows, and suburbs full of their own unique personalities, it can compete with the best of small-market cities.

One of the things that really helps make Columbus “pop” is its coffee scene. There are some great local shops and roasters in town with plenty of diversity to satiate any coffee-related craving you could have.

For me, one of them stands above the rest: Stauf’s.

Stauf’s Coffee Roasters in Grandview Heights is my first love. It’s where every bit of love and appreciation I have for coffee started. They do a little bit of everything here: single cup brewing, specialty drinks, teas, sandwiches, desserts, and it doesn’t hurt that Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is right next door. They roast their own coffee, and have been doing so for over 20 years - before coffee shops became as trendy as they are now. So, as far as quality and technique go, its hard to top Stauf’s.

Stauf’s is comprised of a two-sided shop: the left side houses the bar where you can order food and spcialty drinks, while the right side holds most of their beans and equipment. There are barrels and barrels of fresh roasted beans and the walls are lined with top notch brewing equipment, filters, mugs, and plenty of other accessories. If you really love coffee, make sure you get a cup of coffee (pick from any barrel) made in the Clover brewer.

The clover takes everything we love about full-immersion and vacuum brewing (french press, vacuum pot) and combines them. The final result is an amazing cup of coffee that you won’t soon forget. Some have called the Clover the best coffee invention since the Espresso machine. Starbucks caught wind of the machine a few years ago and snatched up all the rights to the machine and absorbed the company who produced the machine. Not many shops are lucky enough to have a Clover machine because of this.

All in all, Stauf’s is a quality shop that sources good coffee and roasts to perfection. Now that they’ve grown a bit and have started doing wholesale for other shops, they do most of their roasting across town - but if you can get yourself there on a Saturday morning, you might get lucky and catch Stauf’s founder roasting in the old gas-fired drum roaster.

Even though Stauf’s is a little out of the way from the typical Columbus hot spots, it’s worth the trip.

Be sure to follow Stauf’s on twitter (@staufs).