Swing's Coffee Roasters Prepares New Cafe

M.E. Swing’s Coffee Roasters will officially open a cafe at its new facility on E. Monroe Avenue in the next week or so, according to Mark Warmuth, Swing’s president and CEO.

The cafe, anchored by a long bar and featuring a variety of repurposed furniture, will offer Swing’s signature blends of coffee, seasonal espresso drinks and a limited menu of non-coffee drinks.

The bar includes cold-brewed iced coffee on tap.

“We will be featuring pastries and a few savory items, but will not be doing any food prep,” Warmuth said. “Look for items from Alexandria Pastry Shop for starters.” 

Swing’s opened its new roasting facility at 501 E. Monroe Avenue in January, and the focus is squarely on coffee.

• See: M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters Opens New Facility in Del Ray

Neil Balkcom, a licensed Q-grader overseeing coffee quality at Swing’s, will be hosting coffee cupping events each Friday at 10 a.m. at the roastery, which has its own room built specifically for the purpose of coffee tasting.

Balkom will show visitors how to properly evaluate a coffee’s taste by sniffing brews and slurping small doses to assess body, acidity and flavor. He’s also happy to discuss the geography of where the beans are grown and how they pair with others to form Swing’s blends.

“If you pull back the curtain, you’ll find coffee is subject to the same kind of geekdom as wine,” Balkom said.

Swing’s currently has a coffee house on G Street in the District that does well with White House and World Bank staffers. Warmuth will be bringing some District cafe staffers to get the new Del Ray spot going.

In June 2012, Alexandria City Council approved the cafe for operating hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Warmuth said the cafe would open its doors for a soft opening beginning the week of May 6 to work out the kinks before an official grand opening.

• See: Swing's Coffee Set to Make Move to Del Ray

And just in case you were wondering: Yes, the new cafe will have wi-fi. 

You can follow Swing’s on Facebook and Twitter.

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