Sunrise Coffee roasting hub takes flight as own cafe

Mothership Coffee Roasters wants to transport your taste buds to another dimension of flavor.

If you stop in for a coffee at the business' 3-month-old storefront near Trader Joe's at Green Valley Plaza, 2708 N. Green Valley Parkway, be sure to bring your spirit of adventure and prepare for something other than what you normally drink for a quick caffeine fix or to get you through a mind-numbing morning at the office.

"Our major goal is to elevate the coffee scene in this town," said Joshua Walter, who owns the business with his life partner, Juanny Romero.

Beans at Mothership come from around the globe from Fair Trade-certified importers, and chances are your palate won't recognize the flavors after they're roasted. One reason is because Walter opts against homogenizing or Americanizing the taste.

"These coffee beans come from unique places around the world, and they all have something exciting about them," said Walter, 32. "We're basically trying to roast our coffee in a way that highlights its characteristics."

The business usually carries about five types of beans at any given time. Many are sold wholesale to valley restaurants and coffee shops. Mothership staff members not only provide the beans for their clients but they offer them guidance on preparing the coffee.

Mothership took off as its own venture after Walter, Romero and their employees began roasting coffee beans about 3½ years ago in the back of the couple's other business: Sunrise Coffee, 3130 E. Sunset Road, Suite A, which opened in 2008.

"It sort of organically bloomed into its own entity," Romero said.

The coffee menu at Mothership includes espresso; nitrogen cold-brew coffee, an effervescent beverage served cold from a tap; cappuccino; latte; mocha made with locally produced chocolate; regular drip coffee; and manually brewed coffee, also known as pour-over coffee. Two types of espresso were available Aug. 10, one from Rwanda and the other from Peru.

Customer Melissa Schnell, a San Diego resident who was in Henderson visiting her sister, was sampling a glass of nitrogen cold-brew coffee that day at the business, texting her fiance in California about it as she drank. Her fiance is a chef who is interested in learning to make the beverage, so Schnell googled "nitro coffee" to find a spot in the Las Vegas Valley where she could try it.

"It's really smooth, so you really don't need any sugar," Schnell said.

"For iced coffee, it's pretty good," said Schnell's companion, Randy Sejba, a Summerlin-area resident.

The business also offers a variety of vegan and nonvegan pastries, with many ingredients consisting of local farmers market products delivered weekly.

Buying from local vendors fits into Walter's philosophy of supporting sustainable and responsible commerce. In fact, the business' name is a reference to Earth.

"It's about making sure we can feel good about what we do every day," he said. "We're not doing it just to make money."

Mothership has about 12 employees, including bakers and roasters. Baristas from Sunrise Coffee work at Mothership on a rotating basis to enhance their knowledge of coffee.

Barista Dante Cuddy was at the site Aug. 10 and said working there has been a learning experience.

"I didn't know that espresso could be made with any bean," the 28-year-old said. "Any roast can be done in such a way that it turns out to be a wonderful espresso."

The business is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Visit mothershipcoffee.com or call 702-456-1869.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email her at ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.