The Black Cup Story
The Black Cup opened its driveway in January 1994. Then owned by Dale and Monique Black, The Black Cup was one of only a few espresso-serving establishments in Loveland. Located in a former roadside cherry pie stand that dated back to the 1940s, the shop was convenient and quaint. Dale had gone through training at Seattle’s Best Coffee in Seattle, Washington and used that skill to pull shots on a manual Faema two-group espresso machine.
In late May of 1994, Dale hired a recent high school graduate, Susan Dalke. Susan worked for Dale that summer, falling in love with espresso and the loyal customers of The Black Cup.
Fast forward three and and a half years and you find Dale and Monique Black closing the driveway and moving back to Seattle all in the span of two weeks. Susan had moved on to another local shop, but was sad to see The Black Cup go, as was her family. Putting their efforts together, Mike Dalke, Bonnie Dalke, Susan Dalke and Priscilla Holdeman purchased the little roadside stand and reopened the driveway in October 1998.
Since that time, the owners of The Black Cup have taken strides to improve the quality and overall experience one gets going through the drive. Upgrading equipment in the summer of 2001 to a two-group La Marzocco FB70 espresso machine gave them the capability of handling the growing line of customer cars. (Susan also met her husband this way: espresso technician and owner of Coffee Technologies, Inc., David Price.) They also helped to start a sister company, Devil’s Backbone Coffee Roasters, where Susan roasts all the coffee used at The Black Cup. (See the Coffee page) They have grown the menu tremendously, offering many of their signature drinks 100% sugar free, and offering an amazing frozen coffee concoction, the Surgelato.
In September of 2006, the decision was made to move the business and so The Black Cup relocated to 5400 N. Garfield Ave. in Loveland.
Susan has put a lot of effort into honing her barista skills and educating herself and her staff. She now pours latté art — even though a lid goes on top of every drink — and hopes to compete someday in a Barista competition.
Actually, Susan did compete in her first Barista competition! We had the first ever Mountain Regional Barista Competition on March 1 & 2. Lots and lots of first-time competitors, including Susan. We are very proud to announce that Susan took 5th out of 26 total competitors!! She has hopes of trying it again someday, just not really sure when!
Susan competed again in 2008 taking 7th place. Also we have started a whole new division of The Black Cup, The Black Cup Coffee Roaster. We have moved away from Devil’s Backbone and now roast our own coffee, which is 100% organic, though we are still working toward the actual USDA organic certification. We are very excited for the future of this endeavor.
The Black Cup takes its espresso seriously, its customers’ happiness seriously, and delights in its place in the community.
February 19, 2006 | Comment [2]
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