Denton coffee lovers brewing subculture

by Melissa Crowe of North Texas Daily

Without nicotine-scented Astronaut specials, Karma Café's former patrons and employees have wandered Denton since the coffeehouse closed on Avenue A last Halloween, or so the guys of Undergrind believe.

Sure, there's Art Six, Banter and Jupiter House on the Denton Square, but the culture of coffee, cigarettes and thought-provoking intellect was lost with the closing of Fry Street's caffeine hangout, David McCorquodale said.

That's when he, Nick Groesch and Ronnie Pelton came in and reinstated the social and political aspects of coffee.

As front men for the coffee community, they were dismayed at the impersonal, secluded direction coffee drinking was heading and feared the loss of kinship among patrons.

"You have bars that make you stupid and coffee that stimulates thought," McCorquodale said.

McCorquodale and Pelton, former employees of Karma, adopted the café's coffee-roasting techniques and fan base. Soon after their first "coffee party," Undergrind Roasters and Café was born.

"It's a tasting party for Undergrind," Groesch said. "Just having friends over and having coffee."

For small donations, friends and coffee addicts savor what Undergrind claims is the freshest coffee in Denton from noon to 9 p.m. Sundays on the back porch of 1831 Panhandle St.

"You can't get fresh coffee at Starbuck's," Pelton said. "It's like the Wonder Bread of coffee."

McCorquodale wants to convert people away from coffee that needs cream, sugar or syrups for flavor.

"Coffee is historical; it tells a story, and when you add sugar or cream, it's not telling you anything," Pelton said. "When you add syrup and flavors, you get, 'Hey, here's what you associate with strawberry.'"

The flavors of the "blood and sweat" that went into one coffee bean are lost when sweeteners are added, he said.

Undergrind was set in September to exclusively partner with Funky Eclectic, a coffee shop and bakery, until the business closed four days after opening.

"That brought us down, but the season has changed," McCorquodale said.

Roasted on demand, the coffee is brewed within the four or five days of the flavor's peak. A half-pound bag of the roasted beans costs $5, and if you live within biking distance, they'll deliver.

"We're trying to get back to the way coffee should be done," Groesch said.

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