From Australia to the Black Hills: Essence of Coffee

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Essence of Coffee is a cafe in downtown Rapid City.

Originally starting as Essence of Coffee Roasters in 2014, a year later Essence of Coffee Cafe would open its doors to the public.

“We couldn’t get a cup of coffee that we enjoyed, we decided ‘Hey we need to roast coffee and we need to set up a cafe.’ So, that’s really the beginning of Essence of Coffee,” said Michael Fewson, owner of Essence of Coffee.

The Fewson’s son helped run the business until 2019 when Michael and his wife Lesley came to South Dakota from Australia on a working visa.

“Our visa ran out and we were heading back to Perth to get a new visa when COVID hit, we couldn’t go anywhere,” Fewson said.

Fewson said during that time Rapid City supported them and their business.

“Once we got our permanent residency we just felt so a part of the community,” Fewson said.

Besides their unique story of how Essence of Coffee has stayed in business for almost 10 years, they also produce quality products.

According to their website, “It is in the bean – we bring it to the cup.”

“Everything that we do we have commitment to detail. Whether it be a pour-over, French press, it’s all about the contact with water, to the bean, and the extraction of that,” Fewson said.

Essence of Coffee roasts coffee beans every Tuesday.

“As our name suggests we want to bring the essence of the bean to the cup, and that’s always been our goal. So, we’re sourcing the best beans we can find,” Fewson said.

Every month they have a new flavor called ‘Taste the World’ this is a bean that Fewson chooses from somewhere around the world.

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