Iowa’s Euphoria Coffee Finds a Happy Home in Calmar

Drinks at the new Euphoria Coffee shop in Calmar, Iowa. All images courtesy of Euphoria Coffee.

Jubilation comes in the form of fresh-roasted coffee at the new Euphoria Coffee shop in Northeastern Iowa.

A few miles north from Euphoria’s original location — which is now under new ownership in nearby West Union, Iowa — the second shop spreads out in an 1,800-square-foot space in Calmar, designed to feel like an instantly familiar Midwest hangout spot. 

Euphoria in Calmar.

“What we were going for was somewhere between an old classic restaurant or steakhouse and your grandma’s basement,” Euphoria Coffee Founder and Calmar location owner Nick Yost recently told Daily Coffee News.

Green hanging lamps over black upholstered booth along one wall are reminiscent of diners of yesteryear, with warm light bouncing off 70s-style wood wall paneling. The same panels line the front of the bar, where baristas work with a La Marzocco Linea Classic AV paired with a Mahlkönig E65S grind-by-weight grinder. A Curtis G4 ThermoPro generates batch brews. Fiberglass bowling alley seats add to the shop’s vintage appeal. 

Euphoria in Calmar.

Coffees for both Euphoria locations are roasted by Yost in a 15-kilo Genio roaster, which sits in plain view of guests at the original, more modernistic original cafe in West Union. At that shop, potted plants, including local prairie grasses and flowers, liven up a mostly black and white interior. 

Yost recently sold the West Union cafe to its longtime manager, Nicole Havenstrite, who is maintaining the coffee program, working closely with Yost.

The Euphoria roaster in West Union.

“Back in the day, we leaned into more minimalist, neutral branding,” said Yost. “We’ve really focused more on authenticity in the last year and a half, and this [new] shop is really an extension of that.”

Yost maintains additional production space near the West Union cafe, where stored green coffees from a number of coffee importers focused on long-term relationships with producers, including Collaborative Origins, Lohas Beans, Crop to Cup and others. 

The West Union location.

“You can call it direct trade. I guess I focus on relationship coffees. I’m not huge on buzzwords,” said Yost. “We work directly with some farmers. Even when I do a more traditional route of working with an importer, it always comes with the request for access to the farmer. I have found over the years that importers who are willing to be like, ‘yeah, here’s Don Santiago’s number, call it,’ they have earned my trust.”

Euphoria roasts of an anaerobic-natural-process coffee from Colombia recently won multiple medals at the Golden Bean roasting competition. While future Euphoria endeavors may include more industry competitions, the roasting company is focused primarily on operations at home. 

Euphoria in Calmar.

“I’m very much a ‘take opportunities as they come’ kind of person. I’ve never really been able to force growth, so we’re just wanting to organically grow,” said Yost. “I would love to open up maybe two more locations in the next five years, but the right opportunities are going to have to present themselves.”

Euphoria Coffee is located at 110 Maryville St. in Calmar. Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here.