Named after the French word for bike, Velo Coffee Roasters specializes in freshly roasted coffee beans personally delivered by owner Andrew Gage on his bicycle to your home or office downtown each week.
“I wanted to offer something new and different to Chattanooga,” said Gage. “I don’t think anyone else in town will offer such close attention to detail or transparency.”
An added benefit to Gage delivering your coffee is having the opportunity to ask him questions about the product – everything from where it came from to the best way to store it to the best foods to pair with a particular roast.
Velo Coffee Roasters owner Andrew Gage roasts coffee beans in small batches and delivers them to your door on his bicycle.“My passion is being able to educate people about coffee,” he said. “Personal relationships are important and I love being able to just talk to someone and explain or give samples.”
Customers can choose from three different rotating varieties of beans, which Gage said are sourced by a small company in California and come from all over the world.
“I would love to be the person going to Guatemala, but (the broker) can tell you everything about the living conditions or whether it’s organic,” he said. “If you know a little more about the story, it has a certain value, and hopefully I can translate that to the consumer.”
Right now Gage said he is using the company’s Facebook page to let people know which varieties are available, which in the future will also include a seasonal or monthly special.
“As I grow, I want to offer more high-end coffee that’s harder to find,” he said. “I’m trying to get my momentum going.”
Gage said he has worked at almost every coffee shop in town, and first learned to roast coffee beans while working at Rembrandt’s downtown.
The Fort Wood resident said he relishes finding that perfect balance between time and temperature when roasting coffee beans, and decided to open Velo in May in addition to his jobs as a wild cave guide on Raccoon Mountain and delivering bread for Niedlov’s.
“Every time I turn on the roaster it’s an opportunity to learn something new,” he said. “I love trying to figure out what works best with single-origin coffee and trying to pull out the more complex, subtle flavors.”
Gage’s micro-roaster, located in the Small Business Development Center, takes around 15 minutes to roast a single batch, which can be anywhere from 1 to 10 pounds.
“With coffee, there are more exceptions than rules,” he said. “Using a micro-roaster allows you to customize and change and tweak roasts without losing coffee.”
Gage said he recommends that his customers request the amount of coffee they could realistically drink in a week, which is usually anywhere from a half-pound to 2 pounds.
“When people have super-fresh coffee the day after it’s roasted, they can usually tell a big difference from what they buy at the grocery store,” he said.
Gage said he limits his bicycle deliveries to the North Shore and downtown area, but he also sells his beans wholesale to Greenlife and possibly other local stores and restaurants in the future.