Inside the First New Jersey Cafe of Outsiders Coffee
The new Outsiders Coffee bar in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
“I aspire to be a place that offers fantastic coffee that a coffee enthusiast can come to but also have customers on the other side who want a little sugar without feeling judged.”
With its debut coffee shop now open in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Outsiders Coffee Roasters is hoping to give more people an inside view of the colorful world of specialty coffee. The 800-square-foot cafe balances familiar medium and darker roasts with a growing selection of lighter-roasted single-origin coffees intended to highlight more of their distinct taste characteristics.
A white Sanremo F18 espresso machine paired with a Fiorenzato F64 grinder sits atop the white stone counter of a slatted wood bar. A Mahlkönig EK43 handles coffee for a Fetco XTS batch brewer and manual pourovers made with Hario Switch brewers and water from a Marco Friia dispenser .
A Marco ColdBru system on the back bar produces cold brew. The menu as well includes chai, matcha and seasonal fruit refreshers such as dragonfruit elderflower and mango peach, plus a house tonic with muddled orange and honey-yuzu simple syrup.
Pastries come from Kirshenbaum Baking Co. and Balthazar Bakery . Abdon roasts coffee for the shop, online diners and a growing wholesale business on a 20-kilogram Mill City Roasters MCR-20 in a dedicated 2,000-square-foot space in Jersey City.
Abdon, a former strength and conditioning coach, turned to coffee after a torn ACL derailed plans to open his own gym. “It was a blessing in disguise,” explained Abdon. He trained with Derek De La Paz at Mill City Roasters in Minnesota in 2018 before launching Outsiders from his Lyndhurst garage on a San Franciscan SF-6.
The business’s name was inspired by his favorite coming-of-age book and film, “The Outsiders.” Abdon works with Royal Coffee for coffees from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico that he roasts toward chocolate and brown-sugar flavors, while fruitier and more floral coffees from Ethiopia and Kenya receive lighter profiles. He stated he has also begun communicating directly with makers as he explores closer sourcing relationships.
The cafe is closed for regular service on Sundays, when Abdon plans to host public cuppings and other coffee education. “I want to build a real community here and share the things that made me fall in love with coffee,” Abdon explained. “The goal is pretty simple. In Scotch Plains, New Jersey , great coffee, and a good time doing it.” Outsiders Coffee Roasters is located at 1943 U.S. 22, Suite 4. Related Posts Lardera Coffee Roasters Opening Huge Production Hub in New Jersey Melitta North America Opens State-of-the-Art M-Lab in New Jersey New Jersey Co-Roasting Business Gridworks Takes Guesswork Out of Coffee New Jersey Gets More Brews from Bleu Coffee
- Who: Scotch Plain · Outsiders Coffee · Outsiders Coffee Roaster
