Counter Culture Coffee Tasting at Ten: Navigating the Community Series

In the first post in the Navigating the Community Series, we went to Tasting at Ten by Counter Culture.  Navigating the Community Series will take a look at places in our local community (Durham, NC and surrounding areas).  We will show you what it's like to navigate those experiences and what you should expect to encounter based on our time there.

This was our second time attending Tasting at Ten.  Counter Culture opens their Training Center on Fridays at 10 AM for one hour. During that time you get to try one or two coffees, learn about the coffee, hear more about the company and enjoy a new experience.  This visit was different than my first visit in content, but similar in all other aspects.

staircase up to porch with ramp in front — The parking lot is mostly gravel. There are stairs to walk up or a ramp.

Patio with 3 picnic tables and imbrellas — Patio before entering has a few picnic tables. Great if you ned a break!

Front glass door on brick building with 2 planters. Counter Culture written on door — Front door for Counter Culture to get to the Training Center

The building is located in a warehouse area, so the parking is in a gravel lot. Be sure to watch the signs as there are many "no parking" areas.  There is a small staircase or a ramp to get up the porch.  We enjoyed seeing several picnic tables out front as they would be a good location to take a break if the event gets too loud or crowded.  There is a glass pull-handle door to enter the building.

Door open to open room with people drinking coffee and walking — Once inside the glass door, you enter the Training Center to your left.

Single-occupancy bathroom with wheelchair accessibility — Two restrooms are located straight ahead once you enter the front door.

Desk with front door windows and bench — As you are leaving the bathroom, you have the glass door in front of you and the Training Center door to your right.

The Training Center is to the left as soon as you enter the building and is an open space that is welcoming.  They have 2 handicap accessible bathrooms straight in front when you enter the front door behind the desk.

Bench seating with 3 levels and Count Culture emblem — Stair-step seating is available directly in front of the demonstration table.

Room with bar table and chairs, information about coffee on tv screen — A TV screen provides information throughout the presentation. Additional seating is provided via bar stools.

High ceilings with hanging lights and red colors — The ceilings are high and slanted with natural light and hanging lights.

Once inside the Training Center, the floor is polished concrete and the room is very open with high ceilings.  The lights are all hanging and there is natural light from the windows.  Seating is on the stair-step bench or on bar stools.  Standing is allowed as well.  In the back, there are training stations with more barista machines.  There is a garage window into the warehouse as well as a smaller glass door.  You are able to see people as they are working to roast, sort and package coffee.  

The room has some background noise from the warehouse.  Both times I've been, it's a mixture of white noise, hissing, low motor running or vacuum sound.  If that may be distracting, it would be best to sit near the stair-step benches as the closer to the glass garage door you get, the louder the background noise.  The room has an echo to it, but once the presentation starts, most people quiet their voices.

We really enjoyed both times we went to Tasting at Ten.  The first time, they let us try one of the roasts and gave us the flavor wheel to discuss the flavor profile.  We learned about the best way to grind and roast coffee for flavor.  This time, we tried 2 different coffees, and a new chocolate.  We discussed the flavor notes but focused more on answering questions related to where the beans come from, how they are roasted, how to make decaf (one of the coffees we tried) and how the company decides on beans.  

Coffee is served in small ceramic mugs that will then be returned to a bin at the end.  There is a drain in the presentation table if you need to dump your coffee for any reason.  There are also water dispensers for rinsing cups.

Both experiences allowed us to learn more about coffee and at just an hour long, it's a short time commitment.  This event is free and open to the public.  There is an option for virtual tickets, but no one checked mine either time.

This would be great for someone wanting to learn about coffee, for friends to attend together who both have an interest in coffee, or just as something new to try on a Friday morning.

Have you tried to navigate a trip to Counter Culture?  Do you have anything else to add?  Let me know in the comments!

More information on Tasting at Ten here