• Courtesy of PK Coffee

After an on-and-off residency at Commodities Natural Market in 2015 and guest appearances around town, Stowe's PK Coffee moved into a permanent space earlier this month.

Located at 1880 Mountain Road, the new café serves espresso drinks and drip and iced coffee from Durham, N.C.-based Counter Culture Coffee, known for its efforts in responsible sourcing and general coffee education. PK customers can try batch-brewed drip coffee or single-origin roasts brewed to order using a pour-over method or Aeropress, which gives the cup a silky mouthfeel between drip and espresso.

The café also serves pastries, soups and sandwiches, most of them featuring local ingredients. A grilled cheese oozes with housemade chipotle-tomato spread and Cabot cheddar, tucked between slices of Elmore Mountain Bread. Even the milk for the coffee comes from West Glover's Sweet Rowen Farmstead.

Baked goods, such as crumb cake, muffins and quiche, come courtesy of baker Jessica Wright, whose Hender's Bake Shop & café will open in Waterbury later this year.

The business represents a first for co-owners Katrina Veerman and Matt Carrell; she previously worked in alternative energy, and he was a teacher. Like many cafés, they say, PK grew out of a personal love for coffee and a fascination with the bean-to-brew process. "I've always loved coffee," Veerman tells Seven Days, "and we take our coffee really seriously. The customer experience is No. 1, and then it's making sure our coffee is exceptional."