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Traveling to Alderaan Coffee in Milwaukee's Park East Neighborhood

Audrey Nowakowski

When you step into the Alderaan Coffee, you find yourself not on a planet in a galaxy far, far away, but in an intimate gathering place. The shop is industrial in its design with elements of concrete, steel and wood integrated in everything from the tables to the barista countertop.

"I'm a huge Star Wars fan so I thought I'd have a little fun with the name," says owner David Neumann. And in case you were wondering, it is legal to use the name according to his attorney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0qLzsIhUMk

Originally from Milwaukee, Neumann and his brother started Upright Coffee in New York City when they lived there for a time. But when Neumann moved back to Wisconsin to be with family, opening another coffee shop was a "natural thing to do here."

Upon returning to his hometown, Neumann quickly noticed the growth in the city and wanted to take advantage of the growing quality coffee scene in the Midwest.

Credit Audrey Nowakowski
Alderaan Coffee owner David Neumann

"As time goes on we've been exposed to a lot of much better coffee and we're raising the bar," Neumann says. "Milwaukee's growing, there seems to be a lot of growth in this area around me specifically...so we thought we'd bring that level of quality back to Milwaukee."

Alderaan Coffee in Milwaukee's Park East neighborhood is a bit different than the other cafes in the city, primarily because it showcases a rotating selection of coffee not only from local companies, but from roasters across the United States.

"We do roast our own, but we also want to bring coffees that people that are in Milwaukee don't experience," Neumann explains. 

Although, Alderaan does make its own house flavors - ranging from French lavender to salted vanilla caramel.

Although you may expect a space themed coffee shop with Star Wars posters on the walls and ships hanging from the ceiling, the inside of Alderaan is a very clean industrial, yet welcoming environment.

“The outside of the building and a lot of the other buildings around here kind of have an industrial look, so we wanted to kind of continue with that," Neumann says. "Our focus when we built this place was cement, metal, wood - the bare, exposed features... My brother and I built all of the furniture in here...and we just wanted to do something unique that kind of fit with what we thought the design of the neighborhood and the building was."

Credit Courtesy of Alderaan Coffee

The layout of the building also fits with the personal experience the staff seeks to give. There is one counter in the center with one barista working per shift.

For Alderaan barista Erin Singel, she thinks the intimate approach allows customers to learn more about the coffee they’re drinking compared to a larger café setting.

“I think it’s bringing the information of coffee to our customers. I feel like you can always tell people want to ask more questions, but in a bigger, busier setting there's maybe not the time for it. Whereas here, even people asking, 'What is the difference between just iced coffee and cold brew?'- you can kind of tell them the process and it's cool to inform them more details of what they're drinking."

Fellow barista Casey Scheuer has been working in the local coffee for four years, but Alderaan attracted him as a place of work because of the more laid back, coffee central atmosphere. For him, it is all about the beans and the personal touch.

Credit Audrey Nowakowski
The counter tops and steel frames in Alderaan are crafted by David Neumann and his brother.

“Serving good coffee is my favorite part," he says. "It's more personal because we just have a couple people at a time and you can talk to the regulars that care about coffee."

Neumann is confident that Alderaan’s approach of rotating diverse coffees and connecting with the public will secure their long term success.

“We get a lot of people that will hear we brought a certain roaster on and they'll come just for that for the first time and then they continue coming," he says. "So I think that does attract people long term, and there's always new roasters all over the country...so we'll always have a good source of people to buy from."

With no impending doom from the Empire in sight, fans can say the Force is certainly strong with Alderaan Coffee.

Audrey is a WUWM host and producer for Lake Effect.