Everybody wants to know your name at Coffee Dog!
When Bastrop’s first coffee shop opened August 27, 2005, Christine Mensch was one of the original employees. She learned the business from owners Guy and Kerri Rousch.
“I didn’t know anything about it when I started,” she said. “When Guy started the business he put an ad in the paper looking for employees. I kept looking at that ad thinking that would be fun, but I had been a stay at home mom for years so I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Finally one day I said I’m going to do it. I trained with Guy for three weeks and then we opened.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Christine, who bought Coffee Dog when the owners put it up for sale. “I like working here. When I interview for new employees I tell them it’s like Cheers because we know a lot of our customers by name. Some of them have been coming in here since we opened in 2005. I know them, their spouses, their kids, where they work and they know me and my family.”
Remembering those early days, Christine said business started out with mostly Austin commuters stopping by in the morning, but now the shop is busy all day long. The electric outlets at every window booth attract the tech-savvy with laptops – lawyers, students, business people and those just looking for a friendly atmosphere to get some work done or just while away some time.
They come in to enjoy the freshly roasted in-house brewed specialty coffees like Bastrop Blend, Lost Pines Dark, Honduran Decaf and a Coffee of the Day. Or they might try the extended drink menu of espresso, frappes, tea, chai, smoothies, sodas and hot chocolate. But there’s also a pretty full menu:
You can enjoy breakfast with a choice of fresh baked pastries, sausage kolaches, bagels, English muffins, or some morning specialties like:
Loblolly Oatmeal, an old-fashioned oatmeal with brown sugar, dried Fuji apples, Craisins, almonds and cinnamon
Granola Parfait, a homemade granola with vanilla yogurt
Breakfast Tacos, with a choice of three – bacon, sausage, egg, potato, cheese, beans, and onions – with jalapeno garlic or smoky tomato salsa
Breakfast Panini, a hot grilled sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese.
Quiche, chicken-spinach or bacon-jalapeno
For lunch and dinner, Coffee Dog offers baked potatoes, specialty sandwiches, fresh salads and quiche. There are delicious special items like Chicken cilantro Panini Sandwich, made with chicken, mozzarella, parmesan, spinach and cilantro pesto; Mediterranean Salad, a mixed greens salad with red bell pepper, olive relish, pastrami, mozzarella, Craisins and balsamic vinaigrette; or Bacon-Jalapeno Quiche.
“We do all the baking and cooking in house and we make things that are seasonal,” said Christine. “We’ve been doing that since Coffee Dog opened nine and half years ago – and we also have ice cream.”
The coffee is the star, of course. Coffee Dog roasts only specialty grade Arabica coffee beans selected from the top four percent of coffee crops produced. They roast them in small batches on-site. Artisan roasting like this allows the roast master to bring out the optimum flavor profile for each variety or blend. Careful monitoring and control of the roasting machine generates the best flavors and aromas. Small batch roasting also helps guarantee that the coffees are sold ultra-fresh to the consumer. Grinding and brewing the coffee fresh result in the finest coffee drinking experience.
“We’re the only roaster in the county,” said Christine. “The coffee roaster is custom built. Primarily we do Central and South American coffees. We do blends and single origins. The coffee beans are roasted to different temperatures to achieve different levels of bean development and taste. You have to really focus when you’re roasting, but it’s really cool.”
Their most popular coffee is called Zombie Defense Serum.
“It’s the lightest roast we do so it’s the most caffeinated,” said Christine. “But I think a lot of people like it for the name! People love it in the mornings – they pull up to the drive through and ask for Zombie.”
You can also buy their roasted coffees online at http://www.coffeedoginc.com/store. Their blends and single origin coffees are available for shipping anywhere. The website also has some fun “Obscure Coffee Facts” like:
All coffee is grown within 1000 miles of the equator.
Coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity behind oil.
Consuming one cup of coffee provides the same amount of antioxidants as 3 cups of orange juice.
Like their Facebook Page to keep up on their monthly drink specials.
Coffee Dog is located at 49 Loop 150 W in Bastrop, TX and is open M-F, 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sat 8-6 and Sun 8-4; catering is available.
“We’re always trying new blends and new recipes,” said Christine. “We’re hoping to have a booth at Yesterfest and you might be seeing some Bastrop roasted coffees in the local area restaurants soon. We love talking to old friends and look forward to making new ones – so come on in for cup of coffee.”
