Brioso Coffee

Brioso Coffee is a pioneering specialty coffee roaster and cafe that has been serving Columbus, Ohio since 2001. Founded by Jeff Davis, the company began as Cafe Brioso with a mission to spread the value and rarity of a truly special coffee experience in downtown Columbus. The company motto "Mean Coffee, Nice People" perfectly captures their approach - they take coffee seriously so their customers can take it easy. Operating with the philosophy of maximizing value by focusing on sourcing flavor profiles and quality aligned from producer to barista, Brioso has built long-term partnerships with importers like Cafe Imports (17 years) and Royal Coffee (10 years). This commitment to established relationships helps streamline their supply chain and ensures consistent quality. Brioso specializes in experimental small batch roasts, viewing their roasting process as purely an extension of their sourcing philosophy. They strive to bring out the natural profiles of their coffees by finishing the wonderful work their producers started. The team cups each coffee together to determine the best characteristics and ensure customers receive the best possible iteration of beans they can create. When evaluating coffees, they reference the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel to better describe flavor attributes using language from the Sensory Lexicon. Originally located at the corner of High and Gay streets, Brioso expanded in 2016 when they opened their second location - the Brioso Roastery & Coffee Bar in the Discovery District at 329 E Long St. This roastery location houses their 15-kilo-capacity Giesen roaster and features an open floor plan that promotes interaction between customers and the roasted coffee production process. The roastery almost exclusively features single-origin microlot coffees, engaging customers in the cupping process and focusing on differentiators such as growing region, coffee varietal, and processing method. Today, Brioso operates two locations in Columbus: their original coffee bar at 53 N High St in central downtown Columbus, and their roastery and coffee bar at 329 E Long St in the Discovery District. The company has evolved from having to constantly explain the value of specialty coffee to focusing purely on execution, reflecting the growth of coffee culture in Columbus over their more than 20-year history. Brioso uses top-of-the-line equipment including a Sanremo espresso machine, and their staff is trained to make exceptional shots of espresso, cups of coffee, and specialty drinks. The company has been instrumental in raising Columbus' coffee profile, often hosting regional latte art competitions and maintaining some of the best-trained baristas in the city. Their tagline "Locally roasted. Globally sourced. Universally adored." reflects their commitment to bringing the world's best coffees to their local Columbus community, establishing themselves as a cornerstone of the city's specialty coffee scene.