Clint Vaught situates a glass mug and a ceramic funnel onto a shiny white scale. He fits a filter into the mouth of the funnel and rinses it with hot water. Then comes the freshly ground coffee. Then more water in a steady, precise stream designed to extract the complexity of each ground.
This is the attention to detail in one River City Coffee Co. pour-over. Add an espresso bar, brewed coffees, a host of teas, and an assortment of house-made syrups, and you’re at 223 Main St. in the back of River City Mercantile.
Clint and Heather Vaught opened the coffee component of their shop in September, after eight years of wanting to bring handcrafted coffee to the heart of Downtown Evansville.
Heather enjoys lattes, specifically inventing flavors and perfecting presentation. Clint’s a plain coffee guy, sticking to traditional brews and pour-overs. Together, they recognize each visitor has a distinct taste.
They keep their menu simple to focus on the quality of each beverage, but they also keep a small variety of regular and seasonal syrups, like vanilla and maple spice.
All of their beans come from Quills Coffee, a roaster based in Louisville, Kentucky. People often ask if their products are organic or fair trade.
“It’s actually exponentially better than that,” says Clint. “A lot of the guys from Quills have flown to Ethiopia and Guatemala, met the farmers, and ensured they are being treated properly, that the coffee is being grown in the correct manner.”
Clint and Heather have done traveling of their own, taking classes at Quills and visiting café after café.
Now their shop, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, is a compilation of the best facets they’ve encountered, tinged with their personal brand and passion for quality coffee.
For more information on River City Coffee Co., call 812-550-1695 or visit rivercityevv.com/coffee.
