Bitters, Barrels, and Warm Welcomes

A Menu Built for Everyone

At Five Watt Coffee in Minneapolis, the goal is to strip away the intimidation factor that often surrounds specialty coffee. “Any beverage in a specialty coffee shop might not be what someone’s looking for; I understand that,” co-owner Lee Carter admits. “We aim to have a broad enough offering to cater to everyone’s needs and desires, but doing that in a way we are really proud to stand by.”

The result is a deep lineup of signature drinks that showcases the careful experimentation of baristas. These staff members are trained much like bartenders, learning to balance unexpected flavors by combining local bitters with house-made syrups.

Cocktail Craft Meets Coffee

“I was really inspired by the cocktail movement,” Carter explains. “Every bartender was once a barista.” A shelf displaying locally produced bitters—from Fee Brothers, Dashfire, Bittercube, and the shop’s own Big Watt—welcomes guests near the front of the bar. These artisanal bitters are paired creatively with the house-roasted espresso blend (also called Big Watt), Big Watt cold-press, and occasionally tea.

To ensure consistency, baristas use cocktail jiggers and Japanese bitter bottles for precise measurement. They also get the chance to develop their own drinks, some of which earn a spot on the menu.

The Five Watt bitters collection.

A barista adds honey to the miel latte, which also boasts walnut bitters and cinnamon.

The Tim Curry and the People Behind the Bar

During our conversation, Carter points out that the newest barista created the drink I was sampling—the Tim Curry. It combines cocoa, red curry powder, house-made simple syrup, espresso, and milk. “I think he did a great job,” Carter says with a smile. After a few sips, I had to agree: the ten-ounce latte is smooth with a touch of sweetness and a spicy kick.

Still, mixology skills aren’t the primary criterion for hiring. Co-owner Caleb Garn believes personality can’t be taught, but barista skills can. Garn himself learned about specialty coffee after managing a Caribou franchise. “Caleb is the perfect personality guy. He’s good at what he does behind the bar and he has the right people skills to be a manager,” Carter says of his partner. Carter admits that bringing his coffee skills up to specialty-level precision was “easy enough,” and Five Watt baristas are trained in both traditional and specialty drink preparation. Above all, the staff should enjoy themselves and foster a non-judgmental atmosphere where customers feel comfortable trying something new.

“Caleb and I try to let people know we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Carter says. “We want everyone to have fun.”

Serious About Quality

What they do take seriously is drink quality. They’ve built a loyal following for their specialty menu, which features perennial favorites alongside new seasonal offerings every three to four months. After drip coffee, the shop’s bestseller is the Kingfield—and it’s easy to see why: house-made vanilla syrup, coriander bitters, espresso, milk, and black Hawaiian sea salt create a balanced, palate-pleasing drink.

Big Watt cold-press, the owners’ second venture, plays a starring role on the menu when mixed with fresh and unexpected flavors. The Gin Basil Smash combines cold-press with basil simple syrup, Big Watt gin bitters, and cream. The May Day adds salted lavender syrup and grapefruit bitters to the cold-press base.

Why Diverge from Purity?

Given that much of specialty coffee culture emphasizes purity, why devote so much effort to these creative drinks? The answer is straightforward: “We just want to make it enjoyable. We’re proud of our drinks and we’re broadening our customer’s horizons on what specialty coffee can be.”

The Gin Basil Smash.

Business Sense and Customer Response

While the extensive drink menu was a deliberate strategy to help customers ease into specialty coffee, it also makes good business sense. The popular lineup drives sales and brings people through the door. After all, where else can someone order a miel latte with walnut bitters and cinnamon? The depth of flavor turns the standard honey latte into a destination drink for many patrons, who Carter says reflect a cross-section of the local population. “Our biggest demographic is females in their twenties. We also have a lot of young families and people with kids, late twenties to mid-thirties,” Carter explains, citing survey results.

The positive response to the signature drink menu has encouraged Carter and Garn to think creatively about their other offerings as well. “Part of Five Watt’s deal is breaking the rules of specialty, but doing it in a way that creates a product that’s just as good, and we are just as proud to put on our menu,” Carter says. Their alternative to single-origin coffee is a line of single-origin featured blends. He notes that they’re still working out the exact parameters, but the blends will be around 80 percent single origin. “I’m not too proud to say that single-origin is not likely to be a perfect cup of coffee.” He believes a blend is more pleasing to the palate—and that’s his goal.

“We’re being intentional about all our choices. We want to make coffee really easy to enjoy,” Carter says. “Specialty coffee shops get a bad rap for being intimidating and pretentious. We want to stay away from that and make coffee fun.”