Coffee Spotlight: Elemental Coffee
Elemental Coffee - September 4th, 2024, Brandon Tellez.
It requires a deep connection to art to really make a subject stand out. The first thought may be to enhance the subject itself-- make it brighter, more vivid. A true mastery is reflected in transforming everything else. It’s a delicate touch, a refined skill, to achieve focus not by altering the subject, but the surroundings.
Written for Shoot the Breeze Magazine: Volume 00 - July 2024
Caffeine is either a huge part of your life, or someone you know. We all know that person who really is just a jerk until they’ve had their morning cup of coffee. Thankfully for the rest of us, Oklahoma is abundant with coffee shops. With our fast-paced lives, it takes a lot of work to stand out amongst big name brands. Small business owners can understand that struggle. So how does a business stand out, how do you make your mark in a saturated environment? I’d like to show you how Elemental Coffee does this; by shifting the focus on people and art, they are growing the community.
In the past few years we’ve gone from a viral pandemic to a loneliness epidemic. We’ve had a lot of time to be on our own, and a lot of us got quite used to it. It’s all too easy in our day and age to get caught up in our alone time. For myself I know it’s short videos, I can swipe an hour away in no time. So how do we combat this? How do we recharge and refresh? How do we take a little break from ourselves in our busy lives? Through experiencing community and art. Talking with someone about something as simple as the day, the weather, feeling what others are feeling, embracing the community around you. Maybe you’re not feeling talkative today though, I encourage you to still get out and experience some art. Someone’s raw emotion displayed proudly for you to observe, feeling what others are feeling.
Greeted by a colorful “Come as you are.”, the message is clear anyone is welcome here. There’s a sense of openness and connection as you glance into the near floor-to-ceiling windows spanning the front walls. As your eyes adjust walking through the door, you’ll find you don’t immediately focus on the menu, on advertising, nothing being thrown at you, except maybe a smile. This is where the delicate touch shines through, the structure of the coffee shop itself is artfully bland. Light walls contrasted with black chalkboards. It’s naturally modern, dark metal supporting solid wood tabletops, like the roots of a tree. This simplicity leads you to focus on the people, the artwork, the chairs hanging from the ceiling. I forgot I was ordering coffee my first time walking through that door. When you do make your way to the menu’s you’ll be treated to more pleasant simplicity. Specials highlighted on the left, easy to read while waiting in line. A clear display with the daily baked delights, always a treat to see. If you’re on the go, you’ll find a vast selection of quick grab items, water, canned coffees and chai tea (the dirty chai is delicious). Anyone who is hungry will find something suitable, snack packs, 4-5 different choices of sandwiches. A whole food menu hosted above the sweets display filled with fresh choices for any time of day.
