"You always have a story with a cup of coffee"

A few weeks back I was looking for a local coffee shop to donate some product to an event I was helping out at. Having a couple places in mind, there was one that stood out from the rest; Overwinter Coffee. Located in the heart of downtown Buffalo, owners Ben and Josh didn’t hesitate when it came to helping the local community, just proving to me again that Buffalo truly has the best people.

Opening in May of this past year Overwinter sits on Genesee St. near the Hyatt, Rotary Rink and so many more landmarks. When I paid a visit to Ben last week I asked him an array of questions while I was sipping on the DELICIOUS cup of Peanut Brittle coffee. So here it is;

Was opening a coffee shop something you always wanted to do? he said he started roasting last fall and then him and Josh sort of just fell into it. The landlord of his building was looking for a cappuccino spot and the space was great for what they needed to do to roast the coffee beans and have a store front. It offers great traffic and was just to good to be true so they took a leap of faith and opened Overwinter.

The best part of owning your own business? Not having a boss, being able to do things without asking for permission and making the things he loves about coffee. What do you love about Buffalo? Buffalo loves Buffalo - people in Buffalo love seeing Buffalo succeed and make Buffalo better.

What makes Overwinter stand out from other local coffee shops in town? Overwinter offers single origin coffee’s, not blended. Their product changes with the seasons and they have a consistency of rotation changes. Their coffee names are more descriptive & illustrative to describe the coffee they are serving, that’s why you’ll find the name, origin and flavor notes on their menu.

Outside of the storefront, you can find their espresso at Perks Coffee Shop, Grindhaus Cafe on Allen offers their product, along with Fairycakes on Parkside, Pastry by Camille on Hertel and Maison Le Caer in the Market Arcade building downtown. Other items you can find on the menu at Overwinter are Biscotti for Everybotti along with other dessert treats.

When I asked Ben what his favorite drink is at the moment he said it depends, but sometimes he’ll treat himself to a breve macchiato, its buttery and creamery and just very good. He receives a lot of samples to taste thru and the one thing he mentioned is its “much more than coffee” - there is always a story with a cup of coffee.

If you are a coffee lover and haven’t been to Overwinter yet, I highly suggest you put it on your 2019 list of things to do. They offer classes on how to hand brew coffee which you can find here AND if you’ll be headed downtown to see the ball drop next week, stop in to Overwinter for a cup of coffee to

1. help you stay warm and 2. keep you awake to midnight

On one last note - a special thank you goes out to my friend Nelson for making the introduction for me to meet with Ben.

-B

*thumbnail photo is from Overwinter Coffee’s Facebook page.