Small Town Joe

Small Town Joe: Inside Eugene’s Local Coffee Shop, Cush

            In a serene garden full of luscious, soon-to-be-ready herbs and vegetables, Joshua Henrickson peacefully taps his feet on a vintage coffee roaster. The white noise created by the rotating beans in the roaster is a noise all too familiar to Henrickson. For multiple hours, three times a week, Henrickson spends his time manually roasting batches of coffee with a simple tap of the foot. He then crafts these fresh batches of coffee into personalized drinks at his local coffee shop, Cush. Each cup is customized and carefully crafted with a style and ease that is unique to the shop and the state of Oregon.

Cush, however, is more than just a coffee shop. It is also a place of solitude, comfort and a place to “inspire people daily by creating as a community”, according to Henrickson. While all of the ingredients and items served at Cush are local, the real treats are further back in the shop, which appears to be an old house. Down a couple of hallways is a large room, which typically serves as a venue for live music, art displays, or poetry readings.

Cush separates itself from other local coffee shops by not only producing artisanal coffee, but also serving as a venue for live music, art, and poetry, attracting families and a vast array of people to come together and inspire each other.

When you add all the components of Cush together, Henrickson feels like his ultimate goal and satisfaction in life has been met. The Eugene community has quickly accepted the business, and although there have been minor complaints along the way, as in any small business, Henrickson’s success has been one of surprise and gratitude. He even notices a happier and enthusiastic demeanor regarding life from his clients and friends after they leave his shop. Henrickson has created a space that allows for families to unify in time of need while also aligning with other local businesses to bring the community and people from broad spectrums together sharing the beauty that is life. He does this by sharing the fundamentals and growth of the arts at Cush to further prevent the evaporation of free expression that, he feels, has been far too prevalent in today’s society. His love for the arts and cultural expansion has led him to educate, with open arms, people in the community who are willing to learn while also being able to do the one thing he loves: roasting his own coffee.

The process of roasting coffee is rather personal to Henrickson as he attempts at having the most control over the roaster while also being as respectful to the bean as possible. At Cush, Henrickson prides himself on providing his customers with “the ultimate experience” when it comes to his coffee by only importing the best beans from around the world, as well as paying special attention to the beans throughout the entire process. He strives to enhance local and individual co-op farms by producing their coffee due to the strict coffee growing rules that prohibit Henrickson from growing his own in the state of Oregon. The transfer from roaster to cup is just as important as it signifies the love and care that is uniquely put into each mug after the long roasting process. Henrickson’s particularity with each cup of coffee is vividly shown with the time and detail it takes to physically produce each cup to his customers.

Henrickson’s love for coffee was sparked when he felt the need to provide the best coffee to his customers and the people. He opened his first small business in 2010 after many years of working with coffee and developing unique techniques regarding coffee. Henrickson set off with the sole intention of engaging the world with the true principles and art of coffee and how it should be processed and served to the public. His first shop, “The Last Stand,” named after Henrickson’s personal and unique roast, later moved to its current location, Cush. The move, which took place ten months ago, was a mutual agreement based on financial decisions.

With Henrickson’s current success at Cush comes the possibility for even greater prosperity in the future, not only for his shop but for others like it in the area. Henrickson would eventually like to see more small local coffee shops follow in his footsteps and control as much of the production process as possible. For now, though, the small group of roasters that primarily dominate the coffee realm in Eugene, OR, create a sense of perseverance and motivation in Henrickson’s mind as he can continue to confidently provide the local area with coffee that is pure and cared for. Until then, Henrickson will continue producing his coffee in a personalized and hospitable way, with hopes to continually change and affect the lives of customers and families, while also providing a space of comfort and love at his local coffee shop: Cush.

Team Reflection: After completing the entire multimedia project, our team got a deeper understanding regarding the work and effort it takes to manage, operate and own a small business. We were amazed at the variety of personable connections that were made from each coffee shop compared to the lack of connections that seemed to be more prominent at larger, chain coffee shops. Each coffee shop we visited had its own unique story that resonated in the way the business was operated. There seemed to be a small presence of an allied force between the local coffee shops that made them all very respectable and cohesive, while still standing out in their specific ways. The collaboration of our team made this project run smoothly while attempting to gather as much information and insight regarding the subject at hand. Overall, this project has made our team really respect and appreciate local businesses far more than we could have ever imagined.