Caffeinated creations

Coffee drinkers, rejoice! Located at Cedar and Herndon avenues, Kauffy Shop is a gem in northeast Fresno. In May 1998, owner Ron Loza opened the coffee shop as Caffe E Via.

In January 2010, Loza changed the name to Kauffy Shop. The coffee shop appeals to more traditional coffee drinkers, Loza explained.

The menu includes two kinds of “Specialty Kauffy”: a Latin blend made with coffee beans from Latin America and an Italian roast made with coffee beans from Central America, South America, Africa and Indonesia.

“We focus entirely on our espresso so it’s a very, very high-quality product, and that’s where we differ — the quality of our product,” Loza said.

For assistant manager Zoe Poole, who has been working at Kauffy Shop for two years, the personal touch makes a difference for customers.

“We have a lot of regulars,” Poole said. “We build little relationships with them — it’s great.”

The menu extends to include holiday specials and traditional favorites like the Caramel Caffe, a caramel latte; the Black & Tan Fresco, a dark chocolate and caramel blended drink; smoothies; and iced teas of various flavors like peppermint, pomegranate green and orange spice.

The coffee shop also offers signature smoothies such as the Peach Pear, blended with pears, apricots and peaches.

“We’re so customizable that our customers can order anything they want,” Loza said. “We can make absolutely anything — and we often do. We sell a lot of hot drinks, a lot of cold drinks, a lot of blender drinks, a lot of iced drinks.”

Another signature feature at Kauffy Shop is the housemade whipped cream. In addition to traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate, the coffee shop includes a “flavor of the day” like cookie butter, banana split, Irish mocha and coconut dream.

“We’ve been around for many years and we have hopefully many more to come,” Loza said.

This story was originally published May 17, 2017 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Caffeinated creations."