Pair Cupworks

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Pair Cupworks
Location visited: Mesa, AZ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Cafes that open for but a few hours have either mastered supply and demand, or they hold defiantly to old convention. And since few shops that have lines wrap around the block for a truncated AM rush, I would postulate that most cafes are letting prime real estate sit unused the majority of the day. 

But creative solutions are out there to maximize retail space. One solution I see more and more is a coffeehouse and bar team-up, where the coffee people open the space in the AM and around 3 or 4 PM, happy hour begins for the bar. Of course it requires a good fit, but such fine examples like Pair Cupworks, who shares the space a cidery, exist what seems like a good symbiosis. 

My personal experience with Pair Cupworks began one morning when I found the Mesa location of Pair Cupworks in the back of their large shared space. The shop is voluminous, with the coffee portion operating in a truncated portion of the bar. As for coffee that day I went with an African and Colombian blend of theirs for espresso and a pour over of a single origin Rwanda. The espresso, pulled short/medium with brown crema, smacked of cherry, chocolate, grapefruit, caramel, cornbread and some sweet corn, proving bright and sweet. The pourover also proved delightful, with vibrant notes of sugar cookie, Asian pear, snap pea, pink lemonade and a little romaine.  

This visit was one of the few times I was able to sit and languish with some friends, and even after sitting and sipping for a good hour, I could have definitely stuck around longer. If you're in the Phoenix area and looking for good coffee in a nice space, check out a Pair Cupworks location.