Capitol Caffeine: Anchor & Tree

Coffee is an indispensable part of life around the Capitol. This is the first in a series of profiles of some of the more interesting coffeehouses in and around the Capitol community.

Location: 1412 16th St.

From the Capitol: Approx. 0.5 mile |10-15-minute walk.

Sacramento has no shortage of places to get a cup of coffee.

Around the Capitol, a walk of just a few blocks can take someone past national chains, longtime Sacramento institutions and an increasingly crowded collection of independent cafes and specialty roasters. For Anchor & Tree Coffee Roasting Co., standing out in that landscape has meant building something that extends beyond what is in the cup.

Owners and husbands Donovan and Casey Albert want their Midtown shop to be a place where customers can learn about coffee, discover Sacramento artists and businesses, hold a meeting or simply become a regular.

“We want to remain the place where it truly is that family feel,” Donovan said.

That philosophy has helped turn Anchor & Tree, at 16th and Q streets, into one of the coffee shops most frequented by people who work in and around the Capitol. It also helps that state and Capitol workers receive 10% off food and drinks seven days a week.

For one Capitol staffer, who asked to remain anonymous due to the rules of their office (we’ll caller her Staffer X), Anchor & Tree has become a favorite for both its coffee and the community the owners have built.

An avid coffee drinker who keeps a French press and pour-over equipment at work, she especially likes Anchor & Tree’s co-fermented coffees, but said it’s the welcoming atmosphere that keeps her coming back.

“It feels like a family,” she said. “This place makes me feel like I belong somewhere.”

But Anchor & Tree’s roots stretch well beyond the Capitol.

Casey grew up in the Bay Area before attending UC Davis and McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He stayed and eventually practiced law, but left full-time legal work two years ago to join Donovan in the coffee business.

“I wanted something just more community-based, less of an office job,” Casey said.

Donovan came to Sacramento from the Modesto area and has worked in coffee since he was 16. He began his career behind the counter as a barista and coffee shop manager before moving into coffee-roasting technology, working for Cropster, a software company that helps roasters perfect their process.

Donovan decided to turn his passion into his own business. Anchor & Tree launched in late 2022, initially selling roasted beans directly to customers before expanding into wholesale.

The operation started small, with Donovan roasting coffee for months in a tiny rented space in Seasons Coffee Roasters’ warehouse.

He joked that his workspace was so small he was “the first gay person to put himself back into a closet to start a business.”

Then an unexpected opportunity came along. Donovan said the space Anchor & Tree now occupies “kind of fell into our laps,” allowing him and Casey to open the storefront in January 2024.

The roasting remains central to Anchor & Tree, as does the owners’ commitment to sustainability.

The company uses fully electric, software-driven roasters, and Donovan said Anchor & Tree is building out its roastery with a new Norwegian-made ROEST machine, equipped with cameras that let staff monitor the beans as they roast. He said Anchor & Tree will be the first Sacramento roaster to use the machine

Anchor & Tree sells co-fermented roasts and coffees, in which coffee is fermented alongside fruits and microorganisms to develop flavors during processing. Donovan describes the larger mission as making high-quality coffee approachable, not intimidating.

“Our project is creating a beautiful cultivated coffee experience for our community and a place for community, but without the pretentiousness,” he said. “I’m really just trying to make coffee accessible.”

To make things easy, instructions on Anchor & Tree’s coffee bags include brewing measurements, and the owners hope to expand classes that teach techniques such as pour-over brewing.

For Donovan, that education also offers an opportunity to explain the long journey coffee takes before a barista hands over the finished drink. He has made that journey himself, traveling to Colombia to visit a coffee farm that supports more than 500 families and supplies the shop’s co-fermented beans. The owners also prioritize sourcing from women-owned farms and cooperatives.

“Our baristas are the final transaction after hundreds of hands that have touched the coffee before it got here,” he said.

Donavan and Casey said Anchor & Tree coffee is now sold in roughly 30 grocery stores, along with restaurants, hotels and other wholesale accounts. Prelude Kitchen & Bar, across from the Capitol, is among the businesses serving its coffee.

The company has also expanded into the Crocker Art Museum, where Casey runs a cafe featuring a full breakfast and lunch menu. Ther is also a new partnership with Sacramento County’s Soil Born Farms, which now supplies about half of Anchor & Tree’s produce, they also make syrups using local herbs. Amanda Poore, founder of Poore Man Bakery, has also joined on as in-house pastry chef to develop a pastry program.

“Our project is creating a beautiful cultivated coffee experience for our community and a place for community, but without the pretentiousness.”

Still, Casey said growth comes with a balancing act.

“It’s all about just scaling at this point while staying true to our roots of community focus,” he said.

The same local-first philosophy is visible throughout the 16th Street café’s decor.

Anchor & Tree features products from 43 Sacramento-area small businesses. All proceeds from work sold go to the artists, and the front wall rotates regularly with local artists. Some of the artwork currently hanging there was painted using coffee from the shop itself.

That commitment to local businesses also resonates with Staffer X, who said she tries to support businesses that reflect her values.

“I like to use my dollar as a way to support the things that I care about,” she said.

Over the next year, the owners want to host more gatherings, from Capitol-related organizations to book clubs, and further establish the cafe as an event and meeting space.

For Staffer X, that sense of community extends beyond the cafe.

She recalls stopping by Anchor & Tree’s booth at the Midtown Farmers Market one Saturday and finding Donovan working alone. She offered to stay and help, spending some time chatting with customers and watching him work.

“It was so nice to just spend time with him,” she said. “It’s easy to want to support people like that.”

And even as Anchor & Tree expands its wholesale business, adds locations and invests in sophisticated roasting equipment, Donovan said the ambition isn’t to build a ubiquitous chain.

“You come in, you feel welcome,” he said. “You are in a place where, regardless of the day that you’re having, you can leave with a smile on your face because of the way that you’re treated here.”

Reporter’s note: I’m in a committed relationship with iced Americanos, no milk or sugar. In fact, it’s just about the only thing I order at coffee shops – just ask my editor. At Anchor & Tree, I’ve consistently found the Americano to be smooth and without the harsh bitterness that can sometimes come with drinking espresso. I also love their assortment of cups, from hobnail glassware to ceramic mugs. It’s a small detail that adds to the shop’s personality.