Tommy Lyons is on a mission to educate coffee and tea drinkers about how truly delicious their liquid caffeine delivery system can be. Along with wife Ashleigh, Lyons co-owns the recently opened HarborWalk Village location of Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille in Destin. He says that the average coffee or tea drinker adds cream and sugar in an effort to cover up the taste of badly over-processed coffee beans and tealeaves.

“When you drink micro-roasted coffees often enough you begin to recognize and enjoy the distinctive flavors, not unlike a wine enthusiast enjoys discovering the subtleties of a new variety,” says Lyons. All coffee served at Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille is micro-roasted at their roasting facility located in aptly named Coffee County, Alabama.

During the micro-roasting process, coffee beans—actually coffee seeds that are green like pistachios—are roasted in small, or micro, batches to a deep brown color. Roasting coffee beans in small quantities delivers a purer form of roast that increases the power of the bean’s flavor and aroma. “With smaller batches, you have more control of the process,” says Lyons. “At the end of the roasting process the beans are still cooking and must be cooled quickly. Larger operations can have uneven roasting of the beans and a prolonged cooling process. As a result, the quality of the beans can suffer and the coffee may have that burnt aftertaste. It’s funny, some people think that is how coffee is supposed to taste.”

Lyons praises Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille founder Ruth Alford for controlling the quality of the cafe’s coffee “from farm to cup. Ruth is the backbone of this business. Her hard work and attention to detail has helped build this business while maintaining the high product quality. She works directly with the farmers, making sure their products and processes meet our standards for quality and freshness.” Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille serves Fair Trade coffees ensuring that farm workers are paid a fair price and that established social and environmental conditions are met in the cultivation and harvesting of the beans.

The cafe is located on the Southeastern corner of the Emerald Grande property at HarborWalk Village on Destin Harbor and has an entrance that is easily reached from the outside public parking area. In good weather patrons can drink and dine al fresco while enjoying a view of the harbor from the cafe’s patio. Indoors the international, eclectic decor and furnishings give the coffee bar and eatery the look and feel of an establishment in a large metropolitan area.

In addition to the nine single origin premium coffees, five coffee blends and four premium teas, the Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille menu offers a wide variety of food items made with fresh herbs, vegetables and lean meats. The menu features gourmet sandwiches or traditional baked goods for breakfast, paninis and homemade soups for lunch or dinner, and exotic fruit smoothies and signature salads for those with lighter appetites. Appetizers include a bruschetta platter and the cafe’s very popular hummus with grilled flatbreads. Quite a few of the menu items, such as the Portofino Caesar salad, are listed as healthy choices. Of course there are other, more decadent offerings such as the artisan chocolate drinks, made with half and half, luscious chocolate and served hot, on the rocks or as a frappe.

In November, Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille won the “Most Unique Barbeque” award at the Blues, Brews and Barbeque event sponsored by the Florida Lodging and Restaurant Association by serving their Spanish pork kebabs or “Pinchitos.” The competition, held alongside Destin Harbor, had over twenty participating restaurants. Other kebabs on the cafe’s menu are marinated chicken and beef as well as vegetable kebabs.

Lyons has added music to the menu on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a jazz brunch featuring jazz guitarist Jimmy Chandler and/or Garry Chandler. Plans are to offer more jazz and bottleneck blues in the warmer months. And for guests who want to stay connected, Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille has free wireless Internet.

Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille has offsite catering services for corporate or special events. The HarborWalk location can host small business meetings or informal groups with very little advance notice.

Lyons might even be convinced to offer your group a little education with your coffee, tea and gourmet edibles. He is eager to bring “cupping” to the Emerald Coast coffee aficionados. “ You could compare a cupping event to a wine tasting,” he says. “Each participant tastes the coffees and records their impressions. There are no right or wrong answers. You’d be surprised at the unexpected flavors you can experience when you focus on coffee with no additions like cream or sugar to mask the pure taste.”

At present Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille has three locations—the Lyons’ HarborWalk cafe; in Bluewater Bay Shopping Center, Niceville; and the BX Food Court at Hurlburt Field. A Sandestin location in Grand Boulevard is scheduled to open Spring 2009. Visit www.emeraldcoastcoffee.com or call (850) 654-9000.

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