DRAWING MEDIA RAVES--Don’t
go into Dark Horse Coffee Roasters coffee bar looking for a latte. Renaissance man, world traveler, musician,
carpenter, marketing guru and owner of DHCR, Daniel Charlson is quick to point
out his place reflects his taste for only organic cold and hot pour over and
French press offerings. Lattes and
espresso drinks “just aren’t me,” he’s told the coffee media since he opened
his shop a few years ago on Adams Avenue in San Diego’s Normal Heights
neighborhood.
Here’s a bit about 30-something Charlson from his website: “...I grew up on Kauai, a small island in
Hawaii where I was surrounded by coffee fields, that's certainly where my
passion for coffee culture was planted. I
have always had a fascination with good coffee and being from a tiny Island,
community has always been massively important to me.
“For part time jobs,
as a kid I'd work in coffee shops, ever expanding my knowledge on coffee beans
and their origins. I started to
remember back to my days in Kauai how local farmers would pick the coffee beans
and bag them for export. I learned more
on real coffee and how it was an art and craft.
It wasn't long before I wanted to try my hand at coffee roasting, doing
it the real, local way. I bought a small roaster and began experimenting. After a lot of trial and error, I was making
the best coffee I'd ever tasted.
“That's when Dark
Horse was born. I invite you to come try
our coffee experience. From smelling the
beans roasting right there in our shop, learning more about how we brew, to our
exclusive Dark Horse only beans - you'll feel the Kauai experience from the
moment you step inside.”
Dark Horse Roasters is hugely popular in rustic Normal
Heights. The local media is raving about
the coffee in this cool, but tiny establishment. On a recent day, we enjoyed seats at the
window and watched a staffer patiently stamping the company name on dozens of
12 oz. cups, while Brian the coffee roaster kept bringing out warm bags of
coffee from the roasting operation in the back.
Needless to say, the aroma was terrific.
The location supports a laid back operation like Charlson’s
because he wisely opened in laid back Normal Heights and that neighborhood is a
lot like the Haight, Castro, Potrero and North Beach ‘hoods in San
Francisco.
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| New Dark Horse location 30th & North Park Way |
And, if you want to talk “coffee” you’ve come to the right
place. The baristas are more than happy
to discuss what they roast and how they serve it. They haven’t an attitude when someone asks
for a latte. They patiently explain why
the don’t serve espressos and suggest a wide range of alternatives. No one seems to mind or walk out empty
handed.
Soon there will be sister Dark Horse outlets in Golden Hill
to go along with its coffee roasting places now open in North Park (next door
to Waypoint Restaurant 30th & North Park Way) and open since summer is a Truckee, CA location.
Dark Horse Coffee Roasters
3260 Adams Ave.
619-344-6962
Truckee, CA:
10009 W. River St.
530-550-9239
OTHER NEWS:
Here’s an obsessed with coffee operation in San Diego that
puts out a ton of information and images:
http://www.sdcoffeenetwork.com/blog/
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