Guillermo's Coffee House.(New Businesses: A Listing of Business Start-Ups in Arkansas)

Guillermo's Coffee House

Owner: Hans Oliver

Address: 10700 N. Rodney Parham

Road, Little Rock

Phone: (501) 228-4448

Hours: 7a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 7a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Startup: July

E-mail: hans@g3coffee.com

Web site: www.g3coffee.com

Five years ago, Hans Oliver began roasting coffee in his backyard. He didn't realize his hobby would snowball into Little Rock's newest coffee company, Guillermo's Coffee House.

Oliver's original opinion of coffee was simple: It all, more or less, tasted the same. But eventually, Oliver, 40, began to realize that the roasting itself greatly affected the flavor.

"Every time I would roast coffee, I would taste different places," he said. "Harrar, an Ethiopian coffee, has a blueberry taste at the end of it. So now, I'm trying to bring out the delicate notes. That's the cool part."

The 1,100-SF shop, which grew out of Oliver's previously existing wholesale coffee business, features 20 single-origin coffees that are used to blend between 50 and 75 different coffees. It also offers about the same number of flavored coffees as well as 25 varieties of loose-leaf tea. The shop sells some pastries and desserts, but the emphasis is on coffee and tea.

Oliver wants the shop's aura to be an inviting one. "Think of a bluesy atmosphere," he said. "We always have blues playing." Already, Oliver has regular customers who are quick to introduce themselves to visitors. He reports one of his visitors saying, "I've got a feeling this is a place where I will meet some old friends."

An event that brings in repeat visitors is a monthly "coffee cupping," similar to a wine tasting. "We highlight two or three coffees, bring everybody in and teach them how to taste them," Oliver said.

The Oliver family put together the necessary $150,000 investment, a substantial portion of which went toward the old-style Italian coffee roaster. The roaster, as well as Oliver's other machinery, is fairly complicated.

"If you walk into any coffee shop in the state, when they go to make an espresso, they press a button and walk away," Oliver said. "You can't do that here. It's down to the second. We're trying to get perfect [espresso] shots with a one- to two-second variable."

Accordingly, a particular obstacle for Oliver has been finding employees willing to ascend the steep learning curve of the shop's machinery.

Oliver, however, has managed to find five employees who fit the bill and hopes to increase the number.

After having sold 20,000 pounds of coffee since opening his business, Oliver is optimistic about the future."