Celtic Cup Coffee Brews Pots of Gold in Silver Spring, MarylandDaily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

The pipes, the pipes are calling for green coffees in the bonny glen of Silver Spring, Maryland, with the opening of the Celtic Cup Coffee roastery and tasting room.

The pipes in this case are actually vertically oriented pneumatic tubes that deliver coffees from boxes and sacks into stainless steel, 200-pound-capacity hoppers. Celtic Cup Coffee Founder and Roastmaster Doug Ilg, who designed the conveyance system, then retrieves one or two pounds at a time for roasting at one of numerous Sonofresco fluid-bed roasters behind the customer-facing counter.

Customers can either place roasted coffee orders online in advance or pick green coffees for roasting on the spot.

“As long as a customer has 20 minutes and I have a free roaster, they can have their coffee roasted while they wait,” Ilg told Daily Coffee News. “Each roast is done to the exact roast level desired by the customer. While I have a lot of flexibility in my roasting levels, many people just express a preference for light, medium or dark. Only rarely does anyone go beyond that level of precision, but when they do, I’m ready for them.”

All this takes place in an approximately 550-square-foot cafe and production facility, where up to seven full bags of coffee fit in cubbies on site, while another six 65-pound boxes fit into built-in shelves.

The Sonofresco roasters share a single smoke hood that feeds into a VortX EF-800 Ecofilter emission mitigation system. Closer to customers is a row of four Curtis Seraphim brew heads alongside a Curtis G4 Twin batch brewer and a pair of Philips 3300 super-automatic espresso makers. Bright vermillion cabinetry adds a pop of color opposite the shop’s live-edge wood counter.

“The counter not only serves as our limited seating area but creates another link between the space and our coffee product,” said Ilg. “The wood is from a Guanacaste tree from Costa Rica’s sustainable forestry program.”

All coffees are served without milk or sugar by default for the purest experience at the tasting room bar.

Ilg launched Celtic Cup as a cottage food business in 2019, roasting out of his home and expanding through word of mouth and online reviews. While Ilg does have some Irish heritage, the brand’s name refers more to the Irish dancing pastime shared by Ilg and his wife.

“The first time I made my home roasted coffee available to anyone outside of family and close friends was as a fundraiser for our dance club, the Greater Washington Ceili Club,” said Ilg. “I needed a name that fit the purpose, and ‘Celtic Cup’ came to mind. I’m a sucker for alliteration.”

A former computer scientist for more than 30 years, Ilg contributed to projects for NASA and other agencies, often focusing on systems for storing and sharing data gathered by satellites. Today, while the Seraphim brewers and Philips machines require plenty of programming to keep new coffees dialed in, Ilg takes greater pleasure in the off-screen parts of the job.

“Whether it’s just a quick ‘good morning’ and ‘have a nice day’ or a longer discussion about coffee, travel, current events, or nothing in particular, I really enjoy spending time with my customers,” said Ilg. “Since my shop is designed to be operated by a single person, I had to use all programmable machines that are as close to one-touch operation as possible, but actually operating the shop feels completely and mercifully different from coding.”

As warmer weather returns to Silver Spring, Ilg plans to add a small outdoor seating area along the colonnade in front of the shop, while hosting a grand opening celebration featuring live Irish traditional music, drink specials and giveaways.

Celtic Cup Coffee Roastery and Tasting Room is located at 8455 Colesville Rd Suite 101B, in Silver Spring. Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.