Brazilian Specialist Peixoto Coffee Moves Upward with Second Arizona Cafe

Inside the new Peixoto Coffee shop at The Epicenter at Agritopia in Gilbert, Arizona. Kevin Brost, courtesy of Peixoto Coffee.

Vertically integrated farm-to-cup coffee company Peixoto Coffee Roasters has expanded with a vertically oriented second cafe in Gilbert, Arizona. 

With 20-foot-high ceilings, the new cafe lures guests from a 1,600-square-foot service level up to a 500-square-foot mezzanine by way of metal-and-wood staircase that connects the spaces to accommodate as many as 100 people. 

Raw and natural materials around the cafe honor both the Peixoto family’s coffee farming legacy in Brazil, as well as the agricultural legacy of the land surrounding where the coffee shop now sits, in a bustling new residential and retail development called the Epicenter at Agritopia.

“We saw this as an opportunity for us to grow Peixoto to a second location which felt connected and true to our coffee-farming roots,” Peixoto Coffee Co-Owner Julia Peixoto Peters told Daily Coffee News.

Natural stone and rock walls further reinforce the earthen theme, while coffees that reach the coffee bar and retail shelves come from a farm much further afield: Fazenda Sao Jose da Boa Vista, operated by Julia Peixoto Peters’ father, Jose Augusto Peixoto.

“We have a few artistic pieces that represent where we came from and our vision,” said Peters, noting that three hats on display represent three generations of farmers, while a six-foot acrylic painting by Brazilian artist Chris Matos is a tribute to the coffee lands and their wildlife. “We added a family photo gallery wall to the mezzanine as a personal touch showing photographs [husband and co-owner Jeff Peters] and I captured over the years when we go back to our farm to harvest coffee.”

A 13-foot concrete mural depicting a world map echoes a similar display in the company’s original United States location in Chandler, which opened in 2015. 

In the time since that opening, the company moved its 15-kilo-capacity Primo PRI-35 roaster out of the cafe and into a new 9,500-square-foot production facility and headquarters in Chandler. The machine has been joined by a 30-kilo Primo roaster and other equipment.

“In 2018, we condensed our supply chain further, achieving complete vertical integration in our business from our farm to end product, becoming importer of records and storing all our yearly purchase of green coffee,” said Peters. “We consolidated all our storage, roasting, cold brewing, packing and distribution for retail and wholesale.”

A fleet of four Mythos grinders and Puqpress auto-tampers pair with dual 3-group Sanremo Opera 2.0 espresso machines that sit on opposite sides of the mirrored bar. The setup allows for high-volume coverage while also accommodating ordering from two different points: one from the inside and one from the outside. 

Several different extraction pressure profiles are programmed into the Sanremo groups for the different styles of espresso drinks on offer.

“We have one espresso profile for espresso, another one for espresso and milk, and a third one for flavored beverages,” said Peters. “We achieve different profiles using the same coffees from our family farm, currently using our honey-processed coffee as a single-origin espresso.”

On the custom concrete slab bar, a Mahlkönig EK43S grinds for manual pourovers as well as single cups brewed by two Marco SP9 brewers. Kegged Peixoto cold brews, seasonal drinks and house-made tonics are dispensed through a tap wall with six concrete tap handles.

“We have new cultivars we have been planting and experimenting with, and every year is an adventure for us in coffee harvesting and learning what we get from those experiments in the cup,” said Peters, whose family’s 2016 planting of Gesha seedlings achieved its first full-scale harvest last year.

“Many challenged our ability to grow Geshas in Brazil, but knowing our terroir and our ability to grow high-quality cultivars with high density and complexities, we decided to move forward with it,” said Peters. “Today we have 4,000 Gesha trees producing microlots yearly, with an exciting crop coming to our shops in December.”

Peixoto Coffee Roasters at the Epicenter is located at 3150 E Ray Rd. in Gilbert, Arizona. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roastery here.