Presta Coffee Roasters has quickly become a Tucson staple with its rich coffee blends and colorful variety of drinks. The coffee shop serves Tucsonans from two locations: one on First Avenue and Grant Road, and the other in the Mercado San Agustin on Avenida del Convento.
Founded by Curtis Zimmerman, Presta has earned a name for itself with local coffee enthusiasts. Named “Best Coffee” by Food & Wine Magazine earlier this year, Presta offers a simple yet flavorful menu of drinks, proving quality over quantity is best.
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Presta offers espresso classics like lattes, cappuccinos and macchiato mixes, while also serving a variety of teas, cold brews and fruit drink blends.
Tucson food blogger Adan Enriquez said the reason why he thinks Presta is so highly rated is because of the drink quality and taste.
“I can see why Presta was named ‘Best Coffee’,” Enriquez said. “I’ve always said the coffee from here is one of the best I’ve tasted in a very long time.’’
The “Peachy Boi,” a tea with mix of lemon and peach flavors and grenadine, is Enriquez’s favorite.
“The coffee is award-winning, obviously, but they also have other cold drinks that I don’t think get as much attention but are just as good,” Enriquez said. “If I’m not drinking coffee that day, I’ll grab a Peachy Boi because it’s so refreshing and has a different taste to it.”
The shop also sells its own custom blends in various flavors, available for customers who want to take some of Presta home. One customer, Anne Russell, who frequents both shop locations regularly, has purchased bags of Presta’s custom blends before and recommended them.
“I’ve tried different types of roasts they have to take home and was pleased with how good they were,” Russell said. “I recommend the bags. If people want to be able to drink their [Presta] coffee at home as well, then they need to give them a try.”
Some roasts available for purchase include a Colombian blend, which has flavors of fig, dark berries and grapefruit, and its specialty Kenyan blend, which offers a more tart, citrus taste.
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According to the Presta website, the Kenyan roast blend “is depulped using a three-disc depulping machine after being sorted and separated. The coffee is fermented overnight then washed using fresh water and spread on raised beds to dry for 7-15 days.”
Presta’s custom roasts are also available for sale online on their website, making their coffee available even for those who do not live in the area.
For those who are local, the Mercado San Agustin location has an open, bright layout, with a long coffee bar as the main seating area in a shared room with other businesses. Presta’s large windows bring in lots of natural light, adding to the clean, minimalistic layout. The ambiance is inviting and visually appealing, making it a comfortable, polished environment to study, read or work in while drinking a cup of coffee.
“Their coffee and drinks are what brings customers in, of course, but the actual place is really nice,” Russell said. “It has such a great vibe to it, really relaxed I think, and goes with the whole style of the San Mercado Agustin.”
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