Georgia Trend Magazine. Oct 2024.
For a cup of coffee to be called specialty coffee, the beans must have received a score of more than 80 points (out of 100) on the Coffee Review scale. The grading scale is set by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), an organization dedicated to make specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, and sustainable activity for the entire value chain. You can taste some specialty coffee and learn many more interesting facts about coffee at Boarding Pass Coffee in Georgia!
Boarding Pass is not just a cute Instagrammable roastery and tasting room. It is a fun family-friendly experience set inside an airplane-like atmosphere, a journey to Brazil, and a lesson in coffee.
Husband and wife duo Murilo and Christine Santos have a passion for everything travel and coffee. Murilo, who comes from Brazil, has a family farm in Serra Negra, outside of São Paulo. Christine, an American who has lived and traveled the world, met Murilo, when she was living in Brazil, working as a management consultant. Their initial dates revolved around playing tennis, drinking coffee and talking about their extensive travels. After they got married at the family farm in Brazil, called Fazenda Santana, they started a family and decided to relocate to Georgia.
In 2020, they opened the first Boarding Pass. Today, they offer a farm-to-cup experience at their four Boarding Pass locations – in Gainesville, Milton and two spots in Alpharetta, one of which is a drive-through.
Similar to a first-class seat in an airplane, the décor includes armrests, tray tables and plenty of leg room, but without the exorbitant ticket price. Take a seat (from a real airplane) and look outside the oval windows into retro posters of tropical destinations like Hawaii and South Isles. Your eyes may spy a plane wing or a world map, and you may find yourself dreaming of your next vacation.
This flight has a lovely aroma too – that of roasted coffee beans from Brazil, Costa Rica, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, brewed and crafted to make a cup of cappuccino, iced coffee, pistachio dream latte, and honeybee matcha latte, to name a few. Pair it with a homemade breakfast sandwich, Brazilian cheese bread, or a Danish pastry, and you’ll be fueled up for your trip. The menu appears on a screen that you would see on an airport, and at the counter, you can pick up a boarding pass booklet that looks like a passport. It’s your access to join a monthly coffee club where you collect visa stamps and earn a free t-shirt. Make sure to take some whole beans from Fazenda Santana Farm home, along with a postcard photo of the farm and information about the destination.
At the Boarding Pass Milton, Murilo offers in-depth coffee tasting and sensory courses that can turn into longer passionate conversations. You can book a seat at the communal table to taste five different specialty-grade coffees with your friends or colleagues or for a celebration. Murilo himself researches lesser-known coffee regions of the world and sources different kinds of beans that fuel his curiosity.
If you are interested in learning more about how to make the perfect cup of coffee, reserve a virtual or in person seat in this unique class. You’ll get a brief background on coffee, learn about the different kinds of coffee beans, the roasting process (light, medium, dark, balancing duration and temperature), and how to pour it (such as brewed in a traditional coffee pot, pour over, French Press, pod filtration, Cold Brew, Turkish coffee, etc.). You’ll also refer to the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel, developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America to discover subtle notes of nutty, fruity, sweet and spicy flavors. You may just discover your own personal coffee palate and soar into a moment of euphoria!