Michael Thomas Coffee - 1111 Carlisle Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM

 For serious coffee in ABQ, this is the place!

 Crowded with chatty caffeinated customers.

The Deidrich coffee roasting machine.

Michael's busiest time of the day roasting is between 8 am until noon.

 Coffee cups created by Patrick, a local potter.

You come for the coffee and linger for the camaraderie.

Baked goodies are brought in from Santa Fe’s Chocolate Maven.

Black t-shirts for employees with the Michael Thomas Coffee logo.

Barista Kate, an anthropology/biology major, arrives for her afternoon shift,

The chairs came from a Bandelier ES fundraiser that Michael attends each year.

Now Brewing: Michael Thomas Coffee

It’s late afternoon on a sunshiny Thursday in spring and Michael Thomas Coffee (1111 Carlisle Blvd. SE, just north of Gibson in Albuquerque, NM) is crowded with chatty caffeinated customers. Though some are quietly clicking away on laptops, most are sipping their brews and engaging in age-old face to face dialogue. It’s a cozy, petite (much smaller than I thought it’d be) place, augmented by outdoor seating, where I find the owner, Michael Sweeney (he’s the Michael part of Michael Thomas Coffee), working solo behind the counter, making drinks, bagging coffee, ringing up customers, and simply schmoozing.

It becomes a working interview for Michael, a retired elementary/middle school teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools. He’s serving another Michael, who’s a regular customer. He’s ordering coffee by the pound. His favorite coffee is a dark roast called Highland Hornet, named after the APS high school mascot. (As I write this piece, days after my interview with Michael, about one of my favorite subjects, coffee, I am drinking a deliciously dark cup of Hornet Roast).

When this reporter asks Michael, the customer, what he likes best about Michael Thomas Coffee, he says, “It’s the great coffee, but I also come to see Michael, who’s very honest.”

Some honest-to-goodness coffee connoisseurs seem to have a hard time finding this diamond in the desert the first time around; maybe it’s because the roaster/café is set back from the street in what used to be a two-car garage. Next door, with a lovely garden in between, is The Source for Creating Sacredness, offering massage and acupuncture, Salubrio Natural Health Care, and Soul Resources, which features Reiki and Hypnotherapy.

When my wife, Alicia, and I first traveled to Michael Thomas Coffee, driving north on Carlisle up from Gibson, I drove right past the adobe structure; fortunately Alicia saw it and alerted me to turn around. Once found, people are hooked on this cocoon of a coffee place, which has free Wifi access; they can’t say enough positive things about Michael Thomas Coffee, which is open Monday through Friday 6:30 am to 6 pm; Saturday 7 am to 2pm; and closed Sunday.

On Yelp.com there’s a buzz about Michael Thomas Coffee: Erik E. espressoed, “This is hands down THE BEST COFFEE in Albuquerque‼! If you’re looking for serious coffee in ABQ, this is the place. This is as close as New Mexico comes to Portland’s Stumptown Roasters or Oakland’s Sweet Maria’s.”

Kira E. percolated, “We walked in and were greeted by the smell of delicious coffee, good background music, and Kate, a spunky young girl, one of the owner’s daughters. I learned it’s a family run local business (which scored major points with me) and that they roast their own coffee. They have their very own Deidrich right in the middle of the coffee shop… I think this may be one of my favorite places in Albuquerque.” (For those not in the know, a Deidrich is a coffee roasting machine, not the famous German actress, Marlene Deitrich!)

Colin G. brewed, “This is one of those coffee shops where I would actually choose where I live based on its location. Fantastic all around.”

As I’m conducting the interview with the establishment’s sole owner (Thomas Selby, the Thomas part of Michael Thomas Coffee, retired from the business in 2008), I find myself in an unscheduled group interview. There’s input from a variety of coffee/tea drinking persons who populate this place. This, I surmise, is what makes Michael Thomas Coffee a favorite destination. You come for the coffee and linger for the camaraderie.

One such coffee comrade is Debbie, a Chicago transplant, who is a teacher of art in the moment. She compares Michael Thomas Coffee to Intelligencia (a chain in Chicago) “It’s very close,” she says, acting like the consummate critic. She’s been coming to Michael Thomas for a year now and first happened upon it quite accidently.  She came for the yoga class next door and meandered into Michael’s for an after-yoga latte. “It’s good quality coffee and I like the feeling of the place, which is close to home.” She adds, “Starbucks is boring and not always ecological.”

Sitting with Debbie are her friends, Michael (He’s the third Michael I meet this afternoon; it must be a good sign!) and Donna who perks up, “Coffee is happiness and it’s made by a goddess.” I’m not sure if she’s referring to one of Michael’s two daughters (Kate and Alyson), both UNM students, who work part-time at the coffee roaster/shop that’s now in its seventh year of operation.

It’s an operation that was reviewed by Maren Tarro on Alibi.com: “This tiny shop is [ ] nestled in with several businesses who aim to perk up both body and mind. Michael Thomas doesn’t simply pour coffee and pull shots; it works from the bean up. Peek behind the counter, past a collection of mismatched mugs, and you’ll see and smell a roaster turning away, bringing those beans from green to every roast, light to Spanish. The aroma made my head spin … Baked goodies are brought in from Santa Fe’s Chocolate Maven, so while they aren’t fresh from the oven, they’re local.”

Comfortably seated in a corner of the coffee shop is UNM Education major, Aubrey, who’s working on her laptop. She says she’s been coming to Michael Thomas Coffee for at least a few years. Her favorite drinks include the Cherry Mocha and The Tony, a caramel infused mocha.

I’m served a Café Mole latte with red chile in the drink and sprinkled on top with whipped cream. Michael describes it as “a little rich, but not overwhelming.” He credits Hilary, the one non-family employee, as the creator of the drink. “It’s a simply excellent drink.”  

It’s not a drink I’ve ever had at Starbucks or Satellite Coffee. I’m transported to Coffee Heaven and I’m already thinking about all the other fascinating coffee drinks on their extensive menu board that I will no doubt be back to try again and again.

Of their espresso, Man Seeking Coffee said, “Their espresso is distinct, if not entirely unique, and their baristas are skilled and knowledgeable.” http://manseekingcoffee.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/michaelthomascoffee/

Barista Kate, an anthropology/biology major, arrives for her afternoon shift and Michael boasts to me that this daughter created the Red Dragon tea, which is made with ginger, strawberry and a basic red tea. I ask Kate about employment in a family-run business and she responds that “it works well with my college schedule and I get to have my dad as a boss.”

You can tell that father and daughter work well together and Michael proudly states, “Kate knows the job really well. She handles herself well in all situations and is an excellent barista.” Referring to both daughters, he adds, “Because they’re my kids, I trust them explicitly with the business. They’ve also gained tremendous people skills working with our great customers.” (On this particular day, I don’t get to meet Alyson, who’s working towards a paramedic degree at UNM.) He tells me that Kate started working at 15, but was part of the business prior to that, helping out at the store as a part of her family chores. Two sons, Andrew and Seamus complete Michael’s and his wife, Melissa’s progeny profile.

There’s a delivery of coffee cups created by Patrick, a local potter, and then black t-shirts for employees from another vendor. Both items come with the Michael Thomas Coffee logo on them. I sit drinking my delicious Café Mole latte, savoring each sip. I notice the hodgepodge of tables and chairs with painted designs like turtles and Dr. Seuss characters. The chairs came from a Bandelier ES fundraiser that Michael attends each year. There are high stools and counters by the window for people to nest. I marvel at how small this coffee roaster/shop is, but Michael prefers it this way. He’s not interested in supersizing the space; nor is he interested in created a chain of coffee houses. He’s a big believer in the small business concept.

I can hear Michael talking to Patrick behind the counter. “I think they’re awesome,” he says of the batch of coffee cups that Patrick is delivering. They’ll join his eclectic, colorful mix of cups, some from visitors around the world, which sit perched on top of the Astoria Rapallo espresso machine that glows a dreamy blue on the counter.

With Kate working the counter, Michael takes time out of his busy schedule to sit down and talk. He recalls the ten years he worked as an APS 4th and 5th grade teacher at East San Jose Elementary and then as a middle school teacher at Wilson MS. Something was brewing during those years and he eventually decided to pursue his dream of owning/operating a local coffee shop. He gradually left teaching altogether because he disliked the constant federal/state mandated testing and was fervently against No Child Left Behind legislation. When he and Melissa’s uncle, Thomas Selby, a retired therapist, started Michael Thomas Coffee in 2004, he was still teaching fulltime. That was followed by a year of long term subbing in PE at Bandelier ES and collaborating on the development of writing programs for APS. He wasn’t teacher free until 2006.

Michael Thomas Coffee was planned for over a year and opened its doors in 2005. It was modeled after the City Café in the small town of Arlington, South Dakota, where Michael grew up. “The City Café was where farmers met every morning for coffee,” recalls Michael fondly. “My grandpa was one of those men and they’d talk and drink their coffee, which was 15 cents a cup.”

On his business card “Bring back the memories” is printed and one wonders if Michael is referring to that mid-western life he left behind. “I came here via the air force and then graduated UNM. I love South Dakota but now New Mexico is my home.” His mom and brother still live in Arlington, SD, where according to Michael, “It was a good place to grow up.”

Camera shy Johnny didn’t grow up in Albuquerque either. Originally from Steamboat, CO, he’s been a regular customer at Michael Thomas Coffee since its beginnings. He’s proud of that and now sits at an adjacent table, interested in what Michael and I are talking about. (Honestly, I feel as if I’m doing a talk show with Michael as my guest and his customers the studio audience.) Johnny, whose favorite drink is a fruit smoothie or any of the decaf coffees, listens intently to our interview. It’s apparent that Michael enjoys his company as he does the rest of his customers, who are treated more like family than clients. “I enjoy the interaction with customers,” claims this soft-spoken man, who traveled to the Pacific Northwest to learn his current roasting technique.

Music plays in the background. Michael tells me that he subscribes to Sirius Satellite and Pandora. He likes to feature news/jazz to start the day and then transition to a coffee house mix, with a variety of artists, later in the day. I’m still enjoying my Café Mole latte. It’s proving itself good to the last drop. And it’s definitely one of the perks of my present interview in which Michael tells me that the busiest time of the day is usually between 8 am and 12 pm, with roasting going on during that time.

“We have over 50 different roasts/blends,” says this teacher turned coffee roaster. “Sometimes I’ll put up two African coffees, a Tanzanian and a Kenyan.” Michael personally selects what coffees are brewed each day. It always includes one fair trade coffee, usually including a dark and a light roast. By the pound, coffee will cost you $9.50 to $12.85 and range from Fair Trade (Tanzania Peaberry and Yirgacheffe) and Blends (one called No Blend) and Conventional (Ugandan and Yemen). There’s even an Extra Fancy Kona priced at $40 a lb. and Australian at $24.85 a lb. (The last two need to be special ordered.)

He buys pre-roasted, green coffee beans as much as a year in advance from Royal Coffee Importers, just outside of San Francisco, CA. Michael educates me: “I have to buy in season. It’s hard anticipating and not being able to buy when I need it. I bought Sidamo late last summer and went through it in just a few months’ time. It’s a little stressful because I don’t want to under spend or overspend.” Michael likes Royal Coffee Importers, an organic importer of high-end coffee beans, because “we’re a little fish who’s treated like a big one.”

Being treated like a big fish has been applied to Michael’s customer base and spelled success for his family’s business. “We’re responsible to this neighborhood, where my wife grew up, and have evolved into a one-stop shop in which we meet most of our customers’ needs coffee wise. We thought about expanding but found that we like a small setting because it creates an openness you might not see elsewhere, with people sharing tables. We also decided against a chain.” Michael explains that he never bought into the larger coffee chains’ belief that “you’re either growing or dying.”

For this thriving coffee concern, 80% of Michael’s customers are from the neighborhood, called Nob Heights or Greater SE Heights, in which Michael Thomas Coffee is situated.  “And they are long term customers,” he states proudly.

If there was one thing he could change about his business, it’d be the book-keeping. “It’s ridiculous,” says Michael, who employs a part-time accountant to help out with the books, while his wife, Melissa, a second grade teacher, comes in early every morning before school to “settle the till” from the day before. “I have three employees working 25 hours or less a week and the paperwork is ridiculous.”

This mild mannered man, who has realized his dream of owning his own coffee shop, says he’ll probably be roasting coffee into his golden years. “I told my kids that I’m working longer hours now than when I was teaching, and then they reminded me how I’d be up to 10 pm when I was in school.” He continues, “It’s a much slower pace than teaching and much more enjoyable, though I loved teaching. I do miss the interaction with students.”

According to Michael, “quality, consistency and community” spells success for his little coffee company that could. “I love the social event,” says this ex-teacher who sees coffee as a catalyst. He still gets to be head of the class, educating his customer about high caliber coffees, while creating “a nice little meeting place” for all to enjoy.

Writer:Joseph A. Haviland

Editor: Alicia Frank Haviland

Copyright 2012