The doors to the Swiss Water Coffee Studio in New York City have closed, our contest winner has been selected, and our emails have been caught up on. Now seems like a perfect time to reflect on the whirlwind of an experience that was #ArtWithoutCaffeine.

We launched the popup with the intent of showcasing that coffee without caffeine (and without the chemicals) can still taste incredible, and that drinking coffee is a journey that can be enjoyed morning, noon, and night. After 10 days of spreading our message throughout the City that Never Sleeps, we believe we did just that.

After a week and a half of 12-hour days, it would be impossible to highlight all of our favortie memories, experiences, and stories, but for those who were in NYC, here are a few that stood out:

On their Favorite Moment:

“I helped lead an educational session on home brewing where we brewed the same coffee through seven different brewing methods- Technivorm-Moccamaster, Chemex, Hario NEXT Siphon, Bonavita Immersion Dripper, Aeropress, French Press, and a Hario V60. This experience gave me and the attendees the chance to not just drink great coffee the way it can be made at home, but highlighted the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) differences that brewing methods create.” – Mike Strumpf, Director of Coffee

“People who came in and were so thankful for the delicious coffee. A lot of customers told us that because they’ve switched to decaf permanently, they can’t find a decent cup anywhere. It was really rewarding to be able to offer them something they could walk away smiling with.” – Christine Kesler, Customer Relationship Specialist

“I don’t think I can pick just one moment, there are too many to choose from. The project as a whole has been highly rewarding though – especially to go from conception all the way through to seeing the enormous outpouring of interest. “- Aaron Braun, Cupping Room Technician

On their Favourite Customer Interaction

“My favorite customer interaction wasn’t one specifically, but something that seemed to happen a couple times a day. When explaining the Swiss Water® decaffeination process, customers were genuinely interested. I loved seeing the light bulb go off when we explained how it worked. It was really cool to talk to people who were very interested in how it worked and who took the time to truly listen and understand.” ­– Christine Kesler, Customer Relationship Specialist

The most impressive thing was seeing people have a new experience.  So many people don’t ever bother to give decaf a chance because they hold so many assumptions about how they think it’s going to taste. To present those people with a coffee experience they truly enjoyed was really eye opening for a lot of people, and that was really fun to witness. - Aaron Braun, Cupping Room Technician

On their Favourite Experience

“My favourite experience happened many times and was when someone would come in because they saw that we were offering coffee and asked if we had decaf. Their moments of relief and excitement upon finding out that all we were serving coffee without caffeine brought a smile to me every time.” – Mike Strumpf, Director of Coffee

“Working with such well-trained baristas was amazing. They were all eager to talk to customers, and explain what it is we do at Swiss Water®. It was exciting to be in a café-type environment with people who were truly psyched to be there. Working alongside each and every barista will always be a very fond memory for me.” – Christine Kesler, Customer Relationship Specialist

On the Best Thing they Witnessed

“It was wonderful to see baristas from all over coming together to present coffee to coffee drinkers who wanted a taste experience. A few of them commented to me how different it was to serve coffee without charging any money, and the customers were much more open to taste experiences because of the relaxed environment. The whole pop up was a wonderful shared coffee experience.” – Mike Strumpf, Director of Coffee

The success of the popup has given us a lot to think about, so keep your eyes peeled in 2016. We have more exciting things planned. And in the meantime, check out our locator to find #ArtWithoutCaffeine near you.