Mid City’s latest temptation
Las Brujas brings air-roasted coffee, pastries, produce to Government Street
Government Street has another new business, but Las Brujas Coffee aims for more than espresso drinks. Owner David Villa describes it as a bodega, with coffee at the center and a broader mix of goods meant to make the place part neighborhood stop, part daily ritual.
The details: Villa says Las Brujas will sell local produce, meats, flowers, bread from San Bruno and baked goods. When it opened this week, all of the pastries were gluten-free.
Background: He named the shop after his Colombian hometown, where he spent part of his childhood in a cabin before moving to Louisiana. His father is part Colombian.
After graduating from Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Villa worked locally before spending seven years in New Orleans. There, he worked in grocery stores, restaurants and coffeehouses, picking up the mix of skills he now brings to Las Brujas.
What stands out: Villa also connected with Ed Kuhlman, a coffee roaster who approaches the craft differently. Kuhlman, who had been based in Slidell and recently moved near Ponchatoula, air-roasts his beans rather than letting them tumble against hot metal. The idea is to avoid the scorching that can bring bitterness.
The payoff shows up in the cup. The cortado at Las Brujas is notably creamier, without the burnt edge that ruins so many coffees.
The location: Villa says the first space he saw was the one he chose. It puts Las Brujas in one of Government Street’s more established stretches, on the block with Elsie’s and near a built-in afternoon crowd: more than 3,000 students at Baton Rouge High, Catholic High and St. Joseph’s Academy.
Bottom line: Las Brujas opens with coffee, but it also stocks the kind of local goods that should do just fine with the Mid City crowd. Go for the cortado. Leave with cookies, bread and, before long, wine and produce, too.