Pure Intentions has a new facility, barrel-aged coffee -- and big plans for the future

“It’s like going from a Cessna to a fighter jet: Sure, you still know how to fly, but it’s so different.”

Pure Intentions Coffee owner Matt Yarmey used those words to describe adjusting to an upgraded coffee roaster, but he could be talking about the operation as a whole. Much has changed for Pure Intentions lately, including its address.

For starters, it’s significantly easier to spot the new facility at 2215 N. Tryon St., wrapped in a vibrant mural and sporting a garage-door-sized sign. Aesthetically, this couldn’t be further from the former spot’s function-over-fashion warehouse chic, where signage was a luxury and units bled into each other.

Considering Yarmey hopes to offer to-go cups at the new facility in the fall, this place succeeds at being seen. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves; let’s get back to that coffee roaster and other new playthings.

A whopping 65 pounds of green coffee beans can be roasted in each batch, a dramatic improvement from the 12.5 pounds Yarmey’s former roaster afforded (and miles away from the half-pound portions that Yarmey started with in his hobbyist days). He’ll need all the capacity he can get: Pure Intentions became the exclusive coffee provider for all five Amelie’s locations May 11.

“When we landed the Amelie’s contract, that was the kick in the pants to get us in this new space,” Yarmey said.

Packaging ready-to-drink cold-brew coffee is the newest Pure Intentions venture, with 12-ounce cans starting to hit the Charlotte market alongside the usual bags of roasted beans. A two-head manual filler makes the canning process labor-intensive, with each can getting a small dose of liquid nitrogen before they’re sealed to ensure shelf-stability.

“It’s the most expensive piece of equipment that does the least,” says Yarmey, of the single-purpose nitro-dosing unit.

Then there’s my new favorite obsession: barrel-aged beans. Following in the path of a rum-barrel-aged batch that released last winter, these green coffee beans slumbered in A. Smith Bowman bourbon barrels for six months before being roasted. Pre-roasting, the beans soak up the flavors and aromas of whatever they’re around, like little flavor sponges.

Once this current bourbon-barreled run wraps, expect several further barrel-aged releases in succession. Already 150 pounds of beans patiently wait in a second bourbon barrel. Red and white wine variants plus Nicaraguan rum will soon follow.

Prior to Pure Intentions’ move on April 7, this space was a cubicle farm. Now it’s bursting at the seams with bean storage and a training room jockeying for space, and Yarmey is already contemplating a further expansion.

Charlotte’s thirst for locally-roasted caffeine-laden libations is certainly keeping the small six-person team busy.

“When I started out, I thought I was making a sacrifice to dedicate all my free time to my hobby,” explains Yarmey. “It’s taken six years of continued focus, passion, hard work, and support from those who care about me and this company to get to this point.

“We do what we love.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 1:01 AM with the headline "Pure Intentions has a new facility, barrel-aged coffee -- and big plans for the future."