Anchor & Tree Coffee’s First Shop in Sacramento is Rooted in Localism

The Anchor & Tree Coffee Collective in Sacramento. All images courtesy of Anchor & Tree Coffee Roasters.

With its first brick-and-mortar location in Sacramento, California, Anchor & Tree Coffee Roasting is has introduced collective-minded approach to selling coffee and other locally sourced goods. 

Customers entering the spacious 1,300-square-foot space, a former yoga studio in the heart of the city, are treated to a selection of coffees from eight local coffee companies, plus a range of offerings from 2-year-old Anchor & Tree.  

Anchor & Tree Founder Donovan Albert.

“All the coffee that you can find within a day’s drive, that’s the coffee that we showcase in the shop,” Anchor and Tree Coffee Founder Donovan Albert told Daily Coffee News. “I believe in community, not competition — trying to help grow and build a small roasting community here in Sacramento.”

Within the bright new shop, an earth-toned mountain mural complements plenty off leafy potted plants and wooden furniture. Drawing attention to itself within the naturalistic setting is the LED-illuminated coffee bar operated by Burnside Coffee, a mobile coffee business specializing in events and popups. 

Once guests choose their coffee, beans are ground one dose at a time a Mahlkönig grinder for various manual methods, including siphon brews and espressos pulled through a pair of Flair espresso makers. 

Anchor & Tree-roasted coffees are available alongside a selection from one of the rotating guest roasters. A bulk coffee station near the shop’s entrance dispenses whole beans by six more local roasting companies.

Between the coffees, pastries, additional drink options and other items for sale, a total of 16 local businesses are represented with products for sale in the cafe. Said Albert, “It’s like a marketplace of a community collective of coffee, art and local makers.”

Highlighting Anchor & Tree’s own operations, a Bellwether roasting machine stands in full view of patrons, while playing a centerpiece for educational events. Albert guides classes on green coffee basics, while showing guests how roasting can affect the end flavors, depending on roast levels, coffee post-harvest processing and other factors. 

Workshops culminate with guests choosing a green coffee, selecting a roast profile, then witnessing the execution of a 6-pound batch on the Bellwether machine. For the shop, online sales and for the company’s 30-and-counting wholesale customers, Anchor and Tree roasts anywhere from three to nine hours per day, every day.

“My whole mission was to find a way to build and grow a community, and create this space for local makers to come and have people to chat with and bounce ideas off of,” said Albert. “Now that we have that, my goal is to continue building the relationships, but also to grow our wholesale and grow education.”

Anchor & Tree Coffee Collective is located at 1412 16th St. in Sacramento. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roasting business here.