Coffee Chemistry: Former chemist Kevin Cassil becomes coffee connoisseur

A chemist and former environmental consultant, Cassil says he did “a lot of research” before opening Cassils Coffee Café in April 2005.

“Coffee is the most complex beverage on the market,” he says. “With more than 900 flavor components, it’s more complex than wine, actually.”

The quest for quality led Cassil to contact coffee industry leaders such as consultant Bruce Miletto and master roaster Mauro Cipolla. “Both were in the 25 Most Influential People in the Specialty Coffee Industry,” he said.

Cassil said Cippola, designated a master roaster by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, blends all of the café’s coffees for a particular flavor profile and adjusts the blends to compensate for seasonal and other factors that can change flavor. “If you taste our ‘Meaning of Life’ trademarked house coffee six months from today, it will taste exactly the same,” Cassil says.

Another contributor to the café’s coffee is Bronwen Serna, the 2004 U.S. Barista Champion. “Barista” is Italian for “coffee bartender,” an honored profession in many countries.

Serna trained Cassils barista Andrew Rodriguez, who in turn has trained other Cassils staff.

“I’m not going to say people always rave about the coffee,” Rodriguez says, “but we get a lot of customers who come in and are surprised by the quality.”

Espresso is at the heart of the café’s specialties. Brewed by forcing very hot water at high pressure through finely ground coffee, espresso is thick and rich, with a highly concentrated flavor ideal as a base for caffe latte, cappuccino, mocha and other drinks.

Cassils’ menu features unique wraps and sandwiches. Also on the bill are breakfast wraps, soups and salads; bagels, scones and other pastries; desserts such as imported Italian tiramasu; and frappes and coffee drinks.

Cassils’ employs Brandon Moore as sous chef, the chef in charge of food preparation.

The café at 2925 W. Republic Road is 3,000 square feet, allowing for what Cassil calls “sub-environments.” Customers can sit at the coffee bar and chat with the baristas, take a table in the main room, relax in a cozy alcove with a sofa and loveseat, dine on the patio, or settle in the “stateroom,” a room with subdued lighting, tables and chairs and an overstuffed sofa and easy chair. The stateroom, Cassil adds, can be rented for private parties, meetings and other gatherings.

In the main room, a wrought iron rack is stacked with Forbes, Bon Appetit, Golf Digest, ESPN, Newsweek, Good Housekeeping and Family Fun magazines, games such as Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Scrabble, Scattergories, backgammon, checkers and chess, and even crayons and coloring books.

“We get a lot of family business,” says Cassil. “In Springfield, we needed to be more than just a coffee shop to be successful. We wanted a community-slash-neighborhood environment. We want families to feel comfortable here. We want businesspeople to feel comfortable. We serve a very broad spectrum.”

Rebecca Ott, a sales trainer for J.P. Morgan Chase, favors the house coffee, the atmosphere and the congeniality of the staff. “Their service is so personable,” she says. “This is a good place, and if you just want to relax, it’s very comfortable.”

Cassils also caters. “We’ve catered events for as many as 200 people and parties as small as 10,” Cassil says. “We’ve catered business conferences and birthday parties. We’ve done business lunches and breakfasts and events for churches and doctors’ offices.”

Cassil’s future plans include adding curb service “for the morning traffic,” expanding offerings at the current location, and “in the not too distant future” adding a second location in Springfield.

Summing up his new career as a restaurateur, Cassil smiled and said, “This has been the toughest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

Q&A with Kevin Cassil

Can you tell us something about your background as a chemist?

“I have a degree in chemistry from Southwest Baptist College. I worked as a process development chemist for Syntex in Springfield. It’s now Clariant on West Bennett Street. Syntex was heavily involved in the dioxin issues in Missouri. I became the environmental manager for Syntex. Then I went into a consulting practice. From there I worked for two companies, McLaren-Hart, located in Hammons Tower, and then I worked for the Forrester Group, both environmental management consulting firms.”

What inspired you to start Cassils Coffee Café?

“I’ve toyed with lots of ideas for many, many years and just thought the timing was right to give some of them a try. I did a lot of research, and the coffee restaurant was the idea that seemed to come together best, through contacts and timing of the venture.”

Who are your typical coffeehouse patrons?

“We have people who come and use the free Wi-Fi for studying. We have businessmen who use the Wi-Fi for some pretty sophisticated business applications. We have an international business consultant who is a frequent customer who does international video conferences from our patio. If you come in the afternoon, you’ll probably see a guy out there speaking Russian. It’s pretty cool.”

Cassils Coffee Café

Founded: April 2005

Owner: Kevin Cassil

Address: 2925 W. Republic Road, Ste. 112, Springfield, MO 65807

Phone: (417) 851-1104

Fax: (417) 882-7282

Web site: www.cassils.com

Services: Coffees and specialty drinks; casual gourmet foods; catering

Employees: 10[[In-content Ad]]