But First Coffee

January, 14th, 2011

By Amy Strodl

Number 1. If you live in Vegas, go to Sambalatte in Boca Park and have some coffee. You are sucky if you don't support this place. Best cup of coffee I have had outside of Spain. Number 2. How cute are these lounge chairs I found on Esty? They were reupholstered in coffee bean sacks and I think they are so flippin cute! Now go get a cup of joe with your sweetie this weekend.

Coffee cafe caters to connoisseurs by making each cup fresh

By JAN HOGAN 
VIEW STAFF WRITER 
October 5th, 2010


Sip. Savour. Socialize. Those are the catch words painted on the wall. Maybe another should be added: samba.

Sambalatte Cafe has opened in Boca Park at 705 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 9. Coffee beans are not ground until the customer places his order.

Owner Luiz Oliveira is a native of Brazil, where coffee reigns. He said he wanted to raise the bar with his cafe, a dream that began gaining momentum five years ago.

"I saw that Summerlin was missing a true coffee bar," he said. "If you go to Europe, this is the kind of place you see."

The decor uses coffee colors such as an earthy brown, accented with vibrant red -- chosen to reflect the coffee plant's berries. Coffee beans actually are considered the "pits" of the red berries. A world map depicts the prime growing regions for coffee.

Don Anderson of Colorado River Coffee Roasters said each coffee bean has its own characteristics, just as grapes do for wine.

The coffee is brewed in a variety of ways. One of them is the cold drip system, which depends on gravity. It uses a tall hourglasslike apparatus with glass chambers that remind one of beakers.

"It looks like it's a science experiment," server Jessica Boothe said.

A single cup takes two minutes to filter down through its various chambers.

Regular coffee costs $1.75, and iced black tea is $2. Cafe latte is $2.50. A chalkboard has the beverage menu handwritten on it.

The cafe's sandwiches also have a European touch. The ham sandwich, for example, is made with Black Forest ham and Brie cheese and is served on a baguette for $6.50. Not in the mood for a brewed beverage? Sambalatte also offers fruit smoothies for $4.25.

Organic and sustainable are key words at Sambalatte. It has joined forces with the Rainforest Alliance and is committed to conserving resources for the good of the planet. Food is served on porcelain china. Those on the go receive environmentally friendly disposable cups.

No coffee lounge and espresso bar would be complete without desserts. Chef Megan Romano's pastries are available for those with a sweet tooth, and Patrice Caillot brings the flavor of his native France to Sambalatte with gelato creations. Like the food and pastries, those also show pride in craftsmanship. The pistachio flavor sees him hand-grating the nuts.

Sambalatte plans to offer chair massages on Mondays. Its upper mezzanine includes a lending library and a flat-screen TV for those who like a little television with their brew. The sound system plays soothing music to complement the relaxing atmosphere.

But it's the coffee products that take center stage.

"Our philosophy is to make one cup at a time," said barista Paul Skinner. "It better showcases the potential of the bean ... to do it justice."

Otherwise, he said, you are "cheating yourself of the experience."

Hours are from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, call 272-2333.

Contact Summerlin and Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.

A Great Coffee Deal

By Max Jacobson | December 1st, 2010

Serious coffee is served at Sambalatte (750 S. Rampart Blvd.). I’m impressed. For $2, the café grinds and brews coffee to order—100 percent Arabica beans from Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Sumatra or Ethiopia. The beans are roasted locally, by Colorado River Coffee Roasters.

It gets better. Sambalatte’s Flat White (halfway between latte and cappuccino) is a bargain at $2.75. The espresso used to make it is a blend of Ethopian Harrar for boldness, Brazilian for creaminess and Colombian for balance.

This is also one of only two places locally to get coffee made with a siphon (the other being Social House at Crystals). Water is heated in a bubble-shaped vessel and filters back down into a round globe, creating a clean, intense brew. The $10 charge produces coffee for four. Get more information at Sambalatte.com, or call 272-2333.

Coffee Shop Review - Sambalatte

Thursday, Oct 14th, 2010
by John Grouchy


I heard about Sambalatte about 2 months ago.  At that time it was still not open but they had a teaser Youtube video of the layout of the store that intrigued me.  From the short clip you can tell this unlike any other coffee shop that Las Vegas has seen.  It's located in the Boca Park shopping complex in Summerlin and has been open about a month now.  It's a two story store with the lower floor containing several tables and a few lounge chairs in a very lounge type setting.  The second floor contains more seating and a small library of books.  The decor is beyond your typical Starbucks or Coffe Bean and strives to be upscale but casual at the same time. 

However their focus on the decor did not take away from the quality of the coffee that they serve.  They use beans from Colorado Roasters in Boulder City and serve everything freshly ground.  They only brew coffee one cup at a time and use either a siphon pot or a pour over into the cup.  This gives them the ability to offer beans from many different regions and you are secure in the knowledge that the cup of coffee you are drinking was not sitting in a brew pot for an hour.  They also serve pastries, sandwiches, smoothies, and gelato.  All of which looked really good.

Overcome with the amount of choices offered I only ordered a cappuccino because I figured if I didn't like the way that was made it would be waste of time to try anything else.  After ordering I sat at a table to take in the decor and watch the barista prepare my drink.  I was very happy too see that she knew her way around an espresso machine.  The cappuccino was served on a tray with a glass of water and a little biscuit (very posh).  The cappuccino was well made and tasted good.

Overall I am very impressed by Sambalatte and look forward to my next visit to try more of what they have to offer.  I just wish they weren't located all the way across town.

Look Out Starbucks: Sambalatte Packs Them In

By John V. Donovan
Las Vegas Is Talking

Now this is a coffee house.

When the first question I asked the owner, Luiz Oliveira, was what type of fuel he was using, that should be a hint this is not your typical cookie cutter coffee shop.

I cringed when Doug Taylor, Manager of Bet On The Farm Farmer’s Market, suggested we meet at this Boca Park coffee house out in Summerlin for a quick business meeting.  It’s about 30 miles from my location in Southern Anthem.  When I say Southern, my neighbors are two big horn sheep. But hey, why not, tis’ the season to be jolly! It’s late December, it’s dark out, the wind is blowing about 50 knots and the rain is coming down in buckets.  I just love a nice Sunday drive in Vegas.  But no doubt it’s better than being stuck in London’s Heathow Airport right now where 200,000 people are stranded due to, ‘inclement winter weather’ and few will reach their holiday destinations.

I’d heard rumors about this place and that it was already packing in a great supportive crowd, even though it’s been open for only three months. Believe me, they’re not rumors.

My first thought when entering and scanning the crowd is that this was not Vegas. It has a New York or San Francisco look and feel. Third sense perhaps, or maybe it was the young crowd reading the Sunday Paper, playing chess and some even using those, oh, what do we call those things that our parents used to use a long long time ago way back in 2009? Oh, my memory is so bad. Now I remember. They were called books. That’s it. They were reading books, real books, you know, when they were actually made out of paper. Imagine, they didn’t even have lithium batteries in them!

So I arrived early to scout out a table near a power plug for my PC only to find that 90 percent of this crowd had the same idea, but only they arrived before me. Near the front entrance is a cool bench-like arrangement with multiple power outlets with eight people, facing each other, all plugged in. I soon got lucky and found a table open up near the back of the store on the first level. This was perfect and would save me some embarrassment. This place resembled a mini Apple store, so slinking to the back with my Toshiba PC still hidden away and out of site was a great way to save face. Actually, I think this whole PC/Mac thing is a bunch of bull. OK, my PC did unexpectedly decide to reboot twice in the next 45 minutes, but who’s to say this isn’t a technological advantage?

Luiz serves coffee from Colorado River Roasters, which is located out in Boulder City. An amazing operation, CRR purchases only the finest and rarest of beans from international suppliers. If you visit Bet On The Farm farmer's market on Thursdays, you can usually find Don Anderson, a warm, entertaining and very knowledgeable individual with a display of his high-end product. They’re packed in one pound clear plastic-like containers that have a neat built in air valve. Just one push on that bag expels that delicious aroma and you’ll be in coffee heaven. …and become another CRR customer.

So, Doug orders one of Don’s blends and Luiz sets up what looks like a chemistry experiment on our small table. Four young customers at the adjoining table notice what’s going on, immediately pull out their mobile devices, and begin streaming live TV to the world. First, a container of clear pure water, about three inches in diameter, is suspended in a metal base over a small high-tech butane powered burner. A larger glass container roughly 3 inches in diameter by 5 inches high contains the ground coffee beans and is securely attached to the lower water filled bowl via a rubber stopper. The fun begins when the burner is lit and, after a few minutes, the pressure of the expanding gas above the water forces the water up and into the container of coffee. With the burner still chugging away and with the all the water now in the upper chamber, Luiz uses  a wooden stick about twice the width of an ice cream stick to gently stir the mixture. As he did, we could see three separate and distinct layers of various viscosities almost magically appear. Then the heat source is turned off, the lower bowl cools just a degree or two, creating a vacuum, and the pure dark coffee makes its way to the lower chamber and is ready to be poured.

I did mention that this was not your typical cookie cutter coffee house, didn’t I?

The marketing plan that Luiz developed using his years in the restaurant and hospitality business is very simple: Offer the best possible quality of product and service, nothing but the best, spare no expense, and those who appreciate the best will find you and support your business. 

They have and they are.

Sorry, I didn’t mention the amazing pastries and other goodies.

Sambalatte Torrefazione Las Vegas

By JoAnna | December 1st, 2010 

Just like any city you might encounter, Las Vegas has its fair share of coffee shops. You know, those places where you walk in, order a cup of Joe and wander out, enjoying your coffee but probably not remembering much about the experience?

One of the Las Vegas’ newest coffeehouses, Sambalatte Torrefazione, is rewriting the way coffee is served, experienced and remembered. Owned by Luiz Claudio Oliveira, this Summerlin-based cafe was inspired by years of world travel and education on coffee farms and at coffee conventions. Only then did Luiz open Sambalatte, a welcoming coffee shop that greets visitors with several umbrella-covered tables and large glass windows, which offer plenty of sunlight throughout the shop.

Sambalatte is washed in rich earthy hues and has several comfortable seating areas, including tables, chairs and lounge couches both downstairs and in an upstairs loft area. Several bookshelves throughout Sambalatte are packed with books, magazines and newspapers. If you start a book while you’re there, ask for a bookmark to keep your place so that you can pick up where you left off when you go back again.

Free wifi is available at the coffee shop, and there are several outlets to keep your gadgets fully charged during your stay. In fact, unlike other coffeehouses where spaces feel cramped and seating is at a premium, Sambalatte provides plenty of space for people to spread out, plug in and work for hours at a time on whatever pressing project requires concentration … and a little caffeine.

Which, of course, is what draws people to this coffee shop in the first place. Sambalatte’s menu not only features common coffee drinks, but the beans served at the shop are culled from all corners of the earth, and the drink selection is unlike those found other places. In addition to regular brews, mocha, lattes and cappuccinos, Sambalatte’s menu also offers drinks such as afogato, a coffee beverage mixed with a scoop of gelato, and granita, an Italian-style iced coffee drink.

In addition to coffee, Sambalatte offers an extensive selection of fresh pastries, tarts and cakes, sandwiches, smoothies and specialty frozen drinks.

Of particular note is how affordable the selections are. In addition, all are created behind an exhibition barista area, so you can can see how your drinks and food are handled. Drinks are delivered with coffee art on top. If the time to create a leaf or heart doesn’t say that care has been put into the process, I don’t know what does.

Located at 750 South Rampart Boulevard, Suite 9, in the Boca Park complex in Summerlin, Las Vegas. Hours of operation are Sunday 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday and Tuesday 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Sambalatte by Max Jacobson

By Max Jacobsen

I live in Green Valley, and begin most mornings with a coffee klatsch at the local Starbucks. The only other choice around here is the Coffee Bean at the District. Call me a captive audience.

But now, I’ve had Luiz Oliveira’s coffee at Sambalatte, so I’m actually going to Summerlin once a week to drink it. It may be the only serious coffee in Las Vegas. The twenty plus mile drive is worth it.

Starbucks over roasts; I’ve never quite gotten used to the burned taste. Their CEO, Howard Schultz, boasted at a lifestyles meeting that “milk is profit”, in the coffee business. Ever since, I’ve been doing their tall coffee for $1.62, diluting the hell out of it with soy milk or Half and Half. They charge $3.50 for a Grande cappuccino. I pass, thank you.

But consider what you get at Sambalatte, located at 750 S. Rampart, for $2. They grind and brew your coffee to order, 100% Arabica beans from Rio Verde, in Brazil, or ones from Guatemala, Colombia, Sumatra or Ethiopia. Order to go and it will be served in a paper cup. If you are going to drink it on premises, you get a porcelain one.

This is delicious coffee, intelligently roasted. Beans are roasted locally by Colorado River Coffee Roasters, some of which is available at Mario Batali’s Farmers Market. If you haven’t tried them, you should.

It gets even better. Sambalatte’s Flat White is halfway between latte and cappuccino, with a perfect swirl of foam, and a bargain at $2.75. The espresso used is a blend of Ethopian Harrar for boldness, Brazilian for creaminess, and Colombian for balance.

There’s lots more. Like iced coffee? Sambalatte is using a 24-hour drip to increase the intensity while reducing the acidity. Are you in the mood for tea? The store slow brews various choices.

As you enter, you’ll see a map of the world with the coffee countries highlighted in red on the main wall. Oliveira is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to coffee. Did you know Colombia is the only country in the world that has two coffee harvests per year? That’s because of the equatorial climate and high altitude at which the beans are grown.

Brazil, he tells me, produces 55 percent of the world crop. “All our beans are Rain Forest Alliance Certified”, he says. “We do almost everything we can locally as well”, he says, “from pastries (Andreas World Cake) and gelati (Desert Ice Boutique) to where we roast. This way we contribute to traceability and sustainability, and have less of a carbon footprint.”

The pastries, I’d like to point out, are terrific. I sample a mini-croissant that is buttery and flaky, and a small, streusel topped blueberry muffin. They are both a quantum leap above what you can get at Starbucks.

Now, the real show begins. As Brazilian jazz plays softly on the sound system, tiny thimbles of sparkling water are given as palate cleansers, and the head Barista, Paul, arrives at the table with a coffee siphon.

If you’ve never had coffee brewed this way, now is the time to start. The Japanese do it this way in many of their high-end coffee bars, and the method is fascinating and fun to watch. When done correctly, and that’s critical, it produces the best coffee of any brewing method.

And it’s done correctly-and vigilantly-here. At $10, you get 16 ounces of impeccable Joe, enough, says Paul, for four “European” sixed cups.  The process is old. It was patented back in 1830. Here’s how it works.

Water is heated in the bubble shaped lower vessel, and boiled until it reached what Paul refers to as the “extraction temperature”. This step is critical, lest the coffee be weak if the water isn’t properly hot. Then, the ground beans are placed in the top vessel, which has a permeable filter separating it from the lower vessel.

The water expands as steam, and as it has no place to go, it siphons into the top vessel, mixing with the coffee. An airtight seal is created. Once the heat is removed, the coffee filters back down into the lower vessel, or round globe, creating a clean, intense brew. Whew! I hope I got this right. My physics professor always liked you better.

This is really one of two places in Vegas to have siphoned coffee. The other one is Social House at Crystals, where it is $14, and where it will only serve two, at most. So this is a good deal.

Furthermore, Sambalatte serves a delicious Black Forest Ham and Brie sandwich, terrific smoothies, and wonderful desserts by Praml such as mini-Napoleons, cream puffs and éclairs. (They are, incidentally, as the boss points out, the only things in the store not bought locally.)

We told you he was serious.

For more information, visit their Website, www.sambalatte.com, or call them directly, at 272-2333. Gotta go. I’m off, unfortunately, to Starbucks.

Sambalatte Torrefazione
750 South Rampart Boulevard
Suite 9
Las Vegas, Nevada 89145Tel: [702] 272-2333

'The strip gets hip'

From the New York Post's travel section:

Las Vegas might be sexy and incredibly popular, but it’s never really had much hipster cred. To understand just how un-ironic Sin City can be, take a little trek out to the upmarket Boca Park shopping center on South Rampart Boulevard. Cute baristas, locally sourced beans and, yes, even latte art at the Sambalatte coffee bar in Boca Park.

Read the complete article and see the photos here: "The Strip gets hip"

SEVEN Magazine: 'Not Your Average Cup of Joe'

By Melissa Arseniuk

Reprinted from SEVEN Magazine

Step inside Sambalatte, 750 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 9, and it is instantly clear that this is not another Starbucks. Here, the beans are ground to order, and each cup of coffee is served in porcelain china, topped with a design in the froth and served with a sweet treat on the side. And it's reasonably priced - $2.50 for a 20-ounce coffee, $3.25 for a 20-ounce latte and $1.75 for 2-ounce espresso.

Owner Luiz Oliveira says his business model is simple: gourmet flavors at good prices.

Iced coffee is prepared in a three tier tower that can only produce 25 cups in three hours. As ice melts on the top tier, the water makes its way through a glass coil and over fresh roasted coffee beans, finally collecting in a decanter at the bottom.

Espresso is also a complex task, brewed in what looks to be a chemistry set complete with a Bunsen burner and beakers. (The setup is actually a siphon-and-vacuum coffee maker that uses expanding and contracting gases - in this case, water vapor-to brew the coffee.)

Laborious? Perhaps. Delicious? Absolutely.

Sambalatte draws its name from two Brazilian cultural institutions -- dancing and coffee -- and blends them with Italian-style artisanal coffee-making, while emphasizing fair trade, sustainable and organic practices.

FOX 5 News: 'Sambalatte Serves Up Tasty Delights'

 

Claudine Grant, with FOX 5 TV's "More Show," visits Sambalatte.

'Coffee Klatsch' with Max and John on KNPR

Sambalatte owner Luiz Oliveira recently appeared in the KNPR studio (a local affiliate of National Public Radio).

He sat down with hosts Max Jacobson and John Kurtas for a "Coffee Klatsch" on KNPR's "State of Nevada" radio show. Joining Luiz as a guest was Don Anderson with Colorado River Coffee Roasters.

Tune in and hear their informative conversation by clicking here.

The Art of Sipping

By Sambalatte

Art. The creative outlet for so many things to visually make them come alive.
But the Art of Sipping? It is true. Latte Art adds entertainment for the eyes to your coffee experience.

When a barista casts his or her magical touch by pouring and texturing, it makes each cup of coffee more enjoyable with an individual style of art. It's just like watching flair bartenders light bottles on fire and double back-flip your drink before serving it. There is something tasty about entertainment; it makes the senses come alive, and everything tastes fun.

To watch our baristas in action, visit Sambalatte: Sip, savour, socialize.

Sambalatte's Pledge for 2011

The Sambalatte staff has pledged to make 2011 the year of helping others. We start this New Year with supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas throughout the month of January by donating 25 percent of all gelato and mini-dessert sales to the club.

The Boys & Girls Clubs has a mission to enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

Toward that effort, please join us in beginning the New Year by giving back to our community. Checks, made payable to Boys & Girls Clubs Las Vegas, are also being accepted.

Thank you, one and all, for being our friends and guests.

A very Happy New Year to you from the Sambalatte team:

Paul, Taryn, Mason, MacKenzie, Jamie, Vladmir, Jessica, Jeff, Jennifer, Michaela, Liz, Tom, Jerry, and Sheila and Luiz.

Pet Friendly Puppaccinos

These days, most pet people see their furry friends as their children -- best friends for life and part of the family.

At Sambalatte, we see your pets as our guests as well. which is why we're a dog-friendly establishment. Just as Pork Chop (pictured, above, outside Sambalatte at the pet station) is. He's one of the regulars.

So, bring them along and we'll offer them a Puppaccino on the patio. We look forward to meeting them!

Coffee: Healthy? Bad for you? Who to believe

What we have found is that espresso is incredibly rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Freshly ground, gently roasted coffee bean powder has numerous brain and body health benefits.

Even caffeine has been shown to actually be good for the brain. It reduces the mental decline and diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. So what's the problem? Why do so many people think its unhealthy? It’s probably all the bad ingredients everyone adds to their coffee -- triple caramel mocha vanilla latte chocolate frapp with whipped cream! We end up drinking cheap, over-extracted, poor quality coffee with sugar, creme and sweeteners to hide the weak and flat-brewed taste. 

So, the next time someone tells you that coffee is bad for you, remember that a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder is a safe, true superfood. And when properly consumed in ideal forms, such as pure Espresso, it becomes good for you! Go ahead and enjoy the art of sipping at Sambalatte, where we serve the kind that is actually good for you!

Contraptions, devices and makers - Oh, my!

A typical trip to your local coffeeshop includes standing in line, ordering your drink and the never-ending wait to taste that roasted deliciousness. But imagine your boring coffee trip becoming an experience!

At Sambalatte, we've perfected the “Art of Sipping” by creating each cup of coffee individually and especially for you.

With unique ways to make iced or cold coffee, Sambalatte has brought back the simple joys in life. Our standard brewing system is to pour over coffee, making each cup fresh, clean and delicious, to the very last drop. Other interesting ways to choose how to brew your coffee are:

Siphon pots -- Similar to a chemistry set, using physics to make a perfect cup of coffee

Cold water drip towers -- Ice water on top, dispered by paper filters and drips into coffee grounds. Takes 3 hours to make 25 cups of amazing iced coffee

Make sure to come check out all the new ways to enjoy your daily coffee at Sambalatte. Come Sip, Savor and Socialize!

OPEN IN BOCA FASHION DISTRICT

750 S. Rampart Blvd, Las Vegas, NV