For those of us who sometimes get homesick for the South, seeing Counter Culture coffee on any menu is a pleasant surprise. The Durham, North Carolina-based coffee roaster is winning converts across the city with their commitment to direct trade and their free cuppings every Friday. And soon you’ll be able to find their coffee at the border of Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy at Stonefruit Espresso + Kitchen. The farm-to-table cafe, which will also source ingredients from the Fort Greene Greenmarket, the Brooklyn Grange and the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, needs your help in raising the final funds needed to get it up and running. Check out their Kickstarter to get a glimpse of the menu and floor plans.
Founder Laura Sorenson also hopes to offer cooking and baking classes in the kitchen. A longtime educator, she plans to teach some of the baking courses herself. “I’d also love to invite specialists from the community. Some ideas for class include cheese-making, cookie decorating, kombucha brewing, pour-over, cooking and baking for kids, fermentation, composting, the ideas can go on forever.” She’s also hoping to start a (cook)book club.
Laura’s commitment to sustainability isn’t limited to direct trade coffee and local sourcing wherever possible. She’s also planning to compost food scraps and offer incentives for reusing cups. One of the Kickstarter incentives is a cute Stonefruit tote bag featuring a peach illustration (a literal stone fruit). Our favorite reward? Donate $100 and get unlimited drip coffee for a year after opening. If you live in the neighborhood, that’s a cup of coffee for 27 cents per day. And if it’s Counter Culture, it’s more than worth it.
