Photo courtesy of Sarah Kocher

There is a new language that almost everyone learns to speak when they reach adolescence or early adulthood. It’s a subtle immersion at first; a person may use a term here and there to test it out, to see how it feels on their tongue. It almost never takes long, however, before it becomes as natural as breathing.

The language of coffee is growing, and more often than not, the people at Coffea are fluent.

Coffea’s two locations, downtown on Phillips and further south on Louise, serve double duty as roasteries and coffee shops. And according to owner Bryan Kegley, part of its mission is to grow the language—and, really, the culture—beyond what it is now.

“Coffee has the unique challenge of being incredibly accessible to people while at the same time being largely misunderstood,” he said. “I grew up thinking coffee was just the brown stuff in a can…. Coffee deserves the opportunity to be respected equally alongside every other culinary endeavor, be it high-end wine or scotch, and Coffea sees bringing those kinds of coffees to the public to be our purpose.”

And while Coffea serves as a kind of Sioux Falls mecca for coffee, it also serves a decently-sized portion of student regulars who come for more than what gets poured into a mug. According to college students Naras Prameswari and Abbie Blank-Libra, it’s just as much about the atmosphere.

“It’s super comfy there, so I want to stay for hours and hours,” Naras said.

While Naras prefers the downtown location for its windows and smaller, intimate atmosphere, Abbie prefers the spaciousness and warmth of the Louise location.

“I try to come once a week when I’m really loaded on homework because I know I’ll do it here,” Abbie said. Some of this may be the coffee. Some of it may be the space itself. But there’s more to it than that.

“They don’t know it, but the other customers keep me accountable,” Abbie said.

Bryan said Coffea’s atmosphere is naturally conducive to students not only because of its relaxed environment, but also because the business highlights “the intellectual nature of enjoying good coffee.”

Photo courtesy of Sarah Kocher

“We want to create environments where people have the opportunity to enjoy some of the best coffees grown in the world, but even more so, to create environments where people can enjoy everything else that they’re doing.”

(He also chalks it up to the caffeine.)

However, Coffea’s perks transcend age groups: Naras and Abbie both cite the staff friendliness as part of its draw.

And then, of course, there’s the coffee.

Naras, who prefers the caramel latte, calls Coffea’s handiwork “creamy and strong.” Abbie, on the other hand, opts for the barista’s choice.

“I Know that I’ll get something good because I like them all,” Abbie said.

And very recently, Coffea has given us one more thing to like: a layout update thanks to a light remodel that occurred last week. Bryan calls the new space open, bright, and minimal.

But most importantly? The increased visibility of the roasting and drink preparation allows the coffee conversation to continue on, gaining speed and affirming its place in the hearts of fluent speakers throughout Sioux Falls.

“If we don’t allow you access to the final stage of a coffee’s journey before you drink it, we’ve deprived you a large part of the enjoyment of coffee,” Bryan said.

See the chart below for the favorite drinks of Naras, Abbie, and Sioux Falls contributors Sarah Kocher (that’s me) and Kaylyn Deiter:

Graphic courtesy of Sarah Kocher