DJ Tres pours Big Omaha inspiration into (drips) in Council Bluffs

Black coffee once nursed artists, freethinkers and entrepreneurs during the Age of Reason only to be later drowned by a green, twin-tailed mermaid in a sea of milk and syrup. Now Très Johnson, the owner of (drips), is aspiring to breathe new life into it. “Lattes can go f*ck themselves,” Johnson said on a recent…

(drips) Owner Très Johnson takes first-time customer, Ton Langille, through the brewing process of the single origin Ethiopian Ardi pour-over. (drips) is a new “coffeehouse” in Council Bluffs. (Photo by James Walmsley)

Black coffee once nursed artists, freethinkers and entrepreneurs during the Age of Reason only to be later drowned by a green, twin-tailed mermaid in a sea of milk and syrup.

Now Très Johnson, the owner of (drips), is aspiring to breathe new life into it.

“Lattes can go f*ck themselves,” Johnson said on a recent Tuesday morning after spooning coconut oil into a cup of Unicorn Blood.

The pour-over coffee—with natural notes of peanut butter, walnut and chocolate—shimmered as he stirred, accenting the exposed brick, artwork and other amenities of a modern coffeehouse. Only, Johnson said (drips) isn’t a coffeehouse. It’s an installation art piece. It’s a co-working spot. 

“It just happens that I have really good coffee for people who come here,” he said.

The art gallery and shared-use space, tucked away on the fringes of the Haymarket Square District in Council Bluffs, has afforded Johnson the opportunity to make art and coffee under one roof this past year. And he has no plans to slow down either.

“I basically created something that didn’t exist out of nothing,” he said. “And it was fun and completely by my art.”

Hearkening back to a time before drive-thru coffee, Johnson said the goal of (drips) is to create a community center where people can hang out and share ideas. His space hosts art shows, yoga classes and adult-themed literary readings, to name a few events. It also doubles as a studio for Johnson to paint and showcase his own art.

As for the casual coffee drinker, (drips) has tables, couches and regular business hours. Its coffee menu boasts Dark Matter and Greenstone roasts from Chicago and Lawrence, Kan., respectively.

Johnson doesn’t have an espresso machine. Instead, he implements an artisanal pour-over method that resonates with the recent slow-coffee movement. And you won’t find milk, syrup or even a price for his coffee, either. All of Johnson’s drink menu prices are donation-only.

“My mom, when I was first starting out, played the devil’s advocate,” he said, smiling. “She said, ‘You’re never going to be able to sell a cup of black coffee in Council Bluffs for $3.’ So I thought, ‘Fair enough—donations.’ I make $5.”

Johnson said the idea for (drips) was prompted by attending SPN conferences such as Big Omaha and Big Kansas City. For years, Johnson has partnered with SPN as a DJ for its events.

“When I started DJing the events, it was just me showing up to play music,” he said. “But then all of a sudden, I started hearing all these people talking about following your passions and doing what you love, and all these messages just started bombarding me.”

The name (drips) comes from Johnson’s early fascination with the interplay between nature and man, he said. More specifically, Johnson said his creativity is rooted in the seemingly magical effect gravity had on some eggs he threw against a wall in his formative years. Many of his paintings reflect that sentiment today.

As for the lowercase “d” and parentheses, both have intended meaning, he said. The former stylization coordinates with Johnson’s Internet handle, lowercase très. The latter symbolizes the coffeehouse’s inherent esotericism.

The (drips) logo is Johnson’s own handwriting, which he hand stamps on his to-go cups.

“I’m just trying to get all this shit out, because I know eventually I’m going to die,” Johnson said. “I don’t want anybody to say, ‘He could have done more.’ I want them to be like, ‘Wow, he did a lot.’”

 

Très Johnson is a long-time partner of SPN and its Big Events. From time to time we’ll be sharing stories about some of the great people and companies who make our events a reality.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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One response to “DJ Tres pours Big Omaha inspiration into (drips) in Council Bluffs”

  1. […] DJ Tres pours Big Omaha inspiration into (drips) in Council Bluffs – Now Très Johnson, the owner of (drips), is aspiring to breathe new life into it … His space hosts art shows, yoga classes and adult-themed literary readings, to name a few events. It also doubles as a studio for Johnson to paint and showcase his … […]