Taylor Neal says he had no idea what coffee was capable of until his team started Adventurer’s Coffee Co., which has most certainly lived up to its name. And the adventure is one that he shares with anyone who walks into their Calera coffee shop, and now their new Alabaster location too. Find their beans, coffees and more at inside CreACTive Wellness Center at 200 1st St. S. in Alabaster or at 10874 Alabama 25 in Calera.
How did Adventurer’s get started?
Some friends and I were all in corporate cookie cutter jobs and had a bad cup of coffee one morning. We looked at each other said, “We can make better than this.” We ordered a popcorn roaster off Amazon and coffee beans, and after we learned what we were doing, we ordered a commercial coffee roaster. We decided to roast and distribute coffee beans, and then we figured out we needed a place to do so and opened the café and started roasting beans in the back.
What have you learned about coffee since the Adventurers adventure began?
I used to not take into account cupping notes. There are a lot of similarities between high-end coffee and wine, and once we got into roasting it, we discovered that was less acidic and has this taste of chocolate and nuttiness and soft caramel. Our blonde roast is soft on the palette and doesn’t have a bite. There is a lot of depth and complexity to coffee that we can overlook because we just look to it for a jolt to get us out of bed in the morning.
Can you tell us more about your beans and roasting process?
We import all of our beans straight from organic fair trade farms in South American and African countries. We want to provide a premium product at a sub premium price so you can love your coffee and not just be okay with it. We have two types of Brazilian beans, two types of Columbian beans, one type of Honduran beans and two types of Ethiopian beans, and we offer a decaf Columbian. We have different roast profiles: blondes, mediums, dark roasts, espressos—all single original.
How did the new Alabaster location come to be?
The word like to use for it is serendipitous. In the middle of the pandemic, Eileen Leslie started working on opening creACTive Wellness Center. It just so happened we knew each other through mutual friends, and she decided she wanted us in there too. With our Calera location, we were going with a fantasy tavern vibe, and for the new Alabaster location it’s similar to our seating in Calera but with bright, vibrant artsy feel with a patio outside.
What’s on your menu in addition to coffee?
We do coffee, pastries, snacks, sandwiches, milkshakes, a little bit of everything. In Alabaster we do some really delicious sandwiches and salads. My favorite sandwich is a turkey with provolone, alfalfa sprouts and roasted red peppers, and my favorite salad is our antipasto with salami, ham, mozzarella, red onions and Kalamata olives.
