Aslin Opens Its Door to Beer and Coffee Lovers on 14th Street in June
/
Photos courtesy of Aslin Beer Company.
By Tim Ebner | Edible DC
Aslin Beer Company may be better known as a craft brewing juggernaut brewing out of Alexandria, Virginia, but more recently, and thanks to a strategic hire it has made a quick expansion into coffee.
Industry veteran and sommelier, Danielle “Dani” Moreno is the force behind Aslin Coffee is readying to officially open in Logan Circle with a new coffee bar and beer garden concept.
Moreno has spent time in the coffee industry in Hawaii, and believes the passion around conscious consumption in the community will help support sustainable and ethical labor practices and reduce the environmental impact of the coffee industry overall.
“Coffee brings people together, it’s accessible to everyone,” said Moreno. “We’re creating a space for the community to inspire innovation and drive conscious consumption. You’ll also see a lot of influence from my background through the house-made syrups and various Asian and Latina menu items, like Filipino cookies, Yuja tea, Gongfu tea service, Dulce de Leche, and Mexican and Southeast Asian coffee beans.”
Edible DC recently talked to Moreno to learn more about her passion for coffee, plus some tips to use at home to up your coffee brewing game.
EDC: Aslin is known first and foremost as a brewery, when did you start roasting coffee and why did you start doing it?
DM: I started roasting back in 2018. I have always been interested in any “terroir” driven product — coffee, wine, chocolate, sugar, tobacco — because they are all so similar to me. They all are uniquely different in that they are a snapshot of that time and place in the world which is just beautiful to me.
It was definitely a pride thing at first since coffee people started coming into Dio Wine Bar on H Street, where I was the general manager. The tasting notes were so much more pin-pointed. I asked to hang out with them to learn, and then it was all a giant snowball effect after that.
EDC: Tell us a bit about your background in coffee?
DM: I don’t think I have the necessarily “traditional” path of a roaster. Of course, I worked as a barista in and out of high school and college, but how I have really gotten here is centered around my food and beverage experiences.
The foundation came from The Culinary Institute of America for pastry, but I learned balance as a pastry chef. Those were my first experiences creating full composed dishes and menus. The wine world definitely gave me the ability to organize all the knowledge and tasting notes, like a filing cabinet, so I could continue to compare flavors.
Candy Schibli from Southeastern Roasting in Baltimore really taught me all my first roasting experiences and how I kind of really know how to roast, from a small 2 kg. manual roaster to 30 kg. drum roaster. After leaving Dio during the pandemic, I moved in with my family in Hawaii where I worked at a coffee farm and experienced what a high-volume roastery looks like. I look at coffee the same way as I have been looking at each agricultural product I’ve worked with, I’m just another liaison.
EDC: What are some things a person can do to up their game with coffee making?
DM: I think a way for people to up their game in coffee is to use it as a vessel for self care. People already use coffee as a morning ritual or to help them get through their day. So, how about we actually utilize this medium to its fullest? Take that time to actually make it a ritual in the morning by spending 5 minutes to focus on just one thing, your pour over coffee. Use that mid day coffee as a moment to pause and restart your mind and focus on the flavors. Eventually you’ll learn to hone in your pour over to exactly how you like it and instead of guzzling down a black coffee, you’ve learned a little more about yourself.
EDC: What are some of the sustainable practices you are doing?
DM: For Aslin Coffee, sustainability is about the earth and people. Currently, for the earth, we only use compostable packaging with all our bags, stickers, cups, and lids. When it comes to shipping, we also only use compostable shippers and labels and are working towards carbon-neutral shipping as well.
We hope to establish more local partners when it comes to composting as well. For people, we make sure to do as much research as possible regarding farm labor practices through transparency reports. Labor practices aren’t as regulated, so proper research is key. Regarding our own employees, Aslin offers health, vision, dental, and matching 401k.
Aslin will serve traditional espresso beverages, pour overs, and teas and will be open Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 3:30pm and weekends from 7:00am to 3:30pm.
Visit Aslin Coffee and Aslin DC starting in June at 1740 14th Street NW. Aslin Coffee is also available at the Aslin Beer Company’s Alexandria and Herndon outposts and online at AslinCoffee.com.
Tim Ebner is an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle writer based in Washington, DC. Follow his adventures at @ebnert
