Raising a cup to good coffee

A couple thinks of fresh coffee as a comfort food.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Mitch Lynch is spreading the word about coffee.
People, he says, should "recognize coffee for what it was meant to be."
Many people think of coffee as an eye-opener or a buzz, weak or strong, or hot or cold.
But Lynch and his wife, Patricia Tinkler, are selling beans at the Friends Roastery, 474 E. State St., to make coffee that tastes good.
No artificial flavors, no homogenized blends, no instant. Just good coffee.
Lynch says proudly that some customers tell him that they are drinking less coffee now that they are buying beans because the result is more satisfying.
"It's a question of quality over quantity," Lynch said.
A sample cup at their business backs up that claim. No caffeine jitters, no bad aftertaste, just a clear head. Without being snooty, Lynch and Tinkler compare drinking good coffee to developing a palate for drinking wine.
Worldwide sources
They've educated themselves on the world of coffee. The store buys and offers beans from the world's major coffee bean-producing areas -- South and Central America, Africa, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.
That means customers buy a specific bean from a specific area, such as Guatemala. The store can make blends of different beans if asked.
The couple is also building a Web site to sell coffee over the Internet. Coffee can be quickly shipped from Salem to much of the northeastern United States, Lynch said.
Lynch and Tinkler roast the beans in the front window in a large red oven. People can buy coffee in half-pound, pound, or two-pound packages. A pound ranges from $8.50 to $12.
Lynch urges people to grind the beans at home for a really fresh cup of coffee.
"For us, it's like a comfort food," he said.
Historic building
The store itself is a comfortable place. Works by local artists are for sale, and a second-floor room is being readied to display even more art.
The building, which dates to 1858, was once a private bank belonging to the Greiner family, they said. Their renovations uncovered the teller's cage at the rear of the building, where Lynch now whips up pastries for the customers. The bank closed in the 1920s and became a newsstand, complete with special cases for cigars. They continue to sell newspapers, magazines and tobacco.
Lynch and Tinkler met in Palm Beach, Fla., where Lynch was training as a chef. Tinkler comes from Youngstown's North Side. Lynch is from Bergen County, N.J.
They moved here from San Francisco, in part because of that city's sky-high real estate prices.
Another reason for the move was that after observing life in upscale locales, Tinkler said she learned, "Money does not buy happiness."
But for many, happiness is a fresh, hot cup of coffee.
wilkinson@vindy.com