Gaia Coffee brings fresh brew to Lewes caffeine scene

The aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the new Gaia Coffee shop at 108 Second St. in Lewes Aug. 11.

Owner Ben Masino and his staff were busy filling cups for customers on their second day of business. Gaia is located adjacent to Lewes Oyster House, in a space that used to be a real estate office.

Masino is no stranger to the Lewes caffeine scene, having been a regular vendor at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market every Saturday.

Masino said he knows there is competition from established coffee places in downtown Lewes, but he said, “There is a bean for every cup.”

He said he is trying to bring the specialty side of coffee to the community.

“The majority of my coffees are coming directly from farms I work with in Costa Rica and Colombia,” he said. “I’ve shaken all of my farmers’ hands, met them all, because I’m trying to connect the dots and make the supply chain smaller.”

He said he recently got a shipment of 12 different coffees from Colombia.

Masino started in the coffee business seven years ago. After college, he took a trip to Costa Rica, where he lived on a coffee farm for five weeks.

“One of the ways they allowed me to stay was if I worked at the processing mill. It gave me an appreciation for what the producers and farmers do,” he said.

Masino said as far as a coffee’s taste, it’s all in the roasting.

“I try to roast more on the light and medium side. You get more intrinsic flavor notes that come from the coffee bean itself,” he said.

Gaia is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day except Wednesday, which is Masino’s roasting day, all done in Milton.

Masino said he was able to open the Second Street location thanks to small business loans. He said the plumbing, carpentry and permits took longer than expected. But now that the doors are open, his goal is to make everyone smile.

“I’m really hospitality driven, teaching my staff to be welcoming to all the customers. We want this to be a place where people feel welcome,” Masino said.