As sunshine pours through the skylights and traces the cinderblock walls and concrete floors of Beal Beans Roasting Co. in Sunnyslope, the sounds of coffee tumbling through the roaster gently fill the shop. Exposed ceiling trusses, wooden design elements, and the sounds of Miles Davis or Khruangbin on vinyl warm the cozy space.
The cafe is run by Blake Beal and Pashlee Grimmett out of a passion for “chasing the best cup of coffee we’ve ever had.” Before coffee became a vocation, Blake, who grew up in Berkeley, was exposed to it from an early age. He fondly recalls visiting the original Peet’s Coffee with his father growing up. Later, his love of coffee led to a personal obsession, if you will, where Pashlee joined in on sourcing green coffee, roasting it at home, and doing cuppings to dial in an unbeatable mug full.
After learning a great deal about proper sourcing and roasting—initially preparing their coffee in a popcorn popper—things took a big step. At a certain point, the pair knew they were on to something special. Blake reflects, “There was a bit of imposter syndrome at first, it was like ‘How can this taste this good?’”
Following the loss of both of his parents, Blake sharpened his focus on coffee and shifted his goals a bit. Opening up about that moment in his journey, Blake shares, “In the same way that the finite number of cups of coffee left in our lifetimes compels [Pashlee and me] to seek the best cup always, losing my parents showed me that there wasn’t any more time left for me not to be in my purpose.”
With that, the duo decided to take a stab at sharing the product of their devotion at the Arrowhead farmers market a handful of years ago. Pashlee describes their experience at the farmer’s market, “We built our business one super fan at a time.”
These days, things have evolved, but the heart remains the same. The coffee itself is fantastic. No one is going to dispute that. However, that’s really just the ground floor of the experience. Before any cup is brewed, a highly intentional curation takes place. Beal Beans typically offers two single-origin bean varieties at each roast level—light, medium, and dark. This makeup allows Blake and Pashlee to really dig into their sourcing, something that is crucially important to their roastery and deeper personal values.
It’s somewhat rare to find a coffee menu highlighting only single-origin beans. But because of the manageable scale of their operations, and the pair’s commitment to thoughtful partnerships with the farmers who grow their beans, it is at the foundation of what they do. Those beans may include farms that Blake has visited in Guatemala or others, like a Rwandan single-origin from the woman-owned Dukunde Kawa Cooperative
So what follows the bean selection and roasting? At their current station at the Uptown Farmer’s Market, Beal Beans serves two options: pour-over and cold brew. Sounds simple enough? Well, not quite. When it comes to pour-overs, they certainly aren’t the easiest way to serve a large crowd, but they do create a unique experience. Unlike most coffee shop services, interested guests who order a pour-over wait patiently while being treated to a breakdown of their selection as their coffee brews. This brief time spent connecting with each guest is a major part of what has led to a deep bond between Beal Beans and its patrons.
If guests opt for a cold brew, they are lucky to choose a drink with a shocking amount of love and labor poured into the perfect coffee. Beal Beans uses Yama Coffee Towers to make their cold brew. The process involves a 12-hour brew time, in which, instead of soaking the ground coffee in water overnight, a single drop of water dribbles onto a bed of coffee at a rate of one drop every 1.5 seconds. This incredibly time-consuming method brews a truly standout cup of cold brew, setting Beal Beans apart from simpler processors. Blake shares that generally he believes that movement, specifically the slow trickle of a pour over or the even slower drip of the Yama brewed coffee, is key to an incredibly smooth cup. After trying a Beal Beans coffee, it’s hard to disagree.
Located on Hatcher Road in Sunnyslope, their brick-and-mortar coffee shop sits in a unique neighborhood near where Pashlee grew up. Opened in July of 2025, the space expands on the pour-over and cold brew focus to include espresso and milk drinks alongside sweeter seasonal options. Guests can also enjoy tea and trendy matcha drinks that are just as good as the coffee.
At the shop, Pashlee has also developed a small but mighty food menu. Pop-Tarts, egg sandwiches, quiches, and more baked items are all produced from scratch. Whether it’s the pop tart filling, the tomato jam on the breakfast sandwich, or the English muffins, Pashlee painstakingly constructed each recipe to perfection. In an effort to make space for everyone on the food menu, she caters as best she can to gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan needs. Besides a hand-crafted beverage and a bite, the location is also a great spot to grab beans for home brewers, just like their stand at the farmers market.
In a world shaped by constant growth, Beal Beans is more than pleased to continue serving its neck of the woods and keep things quaint but mighty. By keeping things all in one house, they are confident they can provide the most dynamic coffee program possible and do their part to put Sunnyslope on the map as an epicenter of craft creation. Beyond normal operations, they host some events like First Fridays and have flirted with the idea of educational classes. Certainly, there will be some special food items and drinks to come as well. Their wholesale program is also reaching more businesses, bringing the love behind every cup at Beal Beans to a new audience.
With a calm, focused demeanor, Blake shares, “We’re just so ecstatic to be in this neighborhood. I can’t emphasize it enough. I really wouldn’t want our coffee shop to be anywhere else in town. It just feels like this is where we’re supposed to be doing this work. I’m very thankful.”
written by: luke irvin
photographed by: luke irvin
𖡡 509 west Hatcher road, phoenix, arizona 85021
Be the first to comment