Revival Coffee
For today’s Thirsty Thursday, AY About You grabs a caffeine boost from Revival Coffee, one of Little Rock’s newest coffee shops.
When Aaron Long opened Revival Coffee in April 2019, he wanted to bring coffee from around the country to downtown Little Rock.
“I’ve always loved coffee and the science and theory behind it,” Long said. “We’re an inner city coffee shop, because I’m more of an inner city guy.”
Revival is a multi-roaster, which gives customers a chance to taste coffee from places all around the country. Long is a musician, and Revival’s selection of coffee creates a roadmap of where he’s lived and toured to perform his music.
Their collection of roasters changes periodically, but Long always has a relationship with each one. There’s Detroit Anthology coffee, where Long says he fell in love with coffee, and Three Ships coffee from Virginia Beach, Long’s hometown. Their newest roaster is Pour Coffee Co. in Cleveland, where Long lived before moving to Little Rock. He hopes his selection will not just allow customers to experience a wider range of coffee, but also support the people he’s met over the years.
“They’re places that do really great work that you’ve never heard of,” Long said, “and we want to be a small business that helps other small businesses.”
There’s even a plan to go international. Long’s been working on adding another roaster from Oxford, England to his lineup, but delays in shipping due to the coronavirus pandemic have put that on hold.
Revival also focuses on keeping the drinks natural and traditional. Every flavoring for the coffee is made in-house.
“Our vanilla bean flavor is made from actual vanilla beans, and we want to put flavor over sugar,” Long said.
Located downtown in the Regions Bank building, Revival was closed for about eight weeks in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. They made some of their products available for purchase online, and as people gradually returned to work downtown, Revival was ready to provide them with their daily coffee run. Customers on the go can also order ahead with the app Odeko to have their drink ready when they arrive.
One of Revival’s specialties is the coffee soda, which is a rare find at cafes in the area. The carbonated coffee drink is delivered to the shop in kegs and served on tap. They’re also serving an espresso milkshake, made with Loblolly Creamery’s vanilla bean ice cream.
Revival also has a fall favorite, the pumpkin latte, on the menu right now, and it’s made from “genuine, real-life pumpkins,” according to Long—none of the powdery stuff.
Check out Revival Coffee’s website, and follow them on their Facebook and Instagram.
Revival Coffee
Open Mon.-Fri. 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
400 W Capitol Ave Suite 100A
Little Rock, AR 72201
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