Community falls for Halloween-inspired flavors at Nova Coffee in downtown Warren
In downtown Warren, there’s a coffee shop by Courthouse Square where you can get thoughtfully-made espresso drinks that are unique, as well as freshly made cake donuts and soon, chocolate chip cookies.
Ashley Olejnik manages the coffee shop’s scheduling, dialing in coffee for the perfect brew and creating unique flavor combinations for the menu.
“My boyfriend and I, we went on a walk, and I walked into this place and sort of talking with the owner,” Olejnik said. “He started going into detailed things about coffee. Back then, I didn’t even know what a latte was or espresso. I thought coffee’s just coffee. But then I walked in, got a lot of knowledge on it. I loved the plants, the atmosphere and how friendly the staff was, and thought, ‘I would love to work here.’”
Owner John Ramsey opened Nova Coffee Company in 2017 at 112 N Park Ave. in Warren.
Olejnik has worked at Nova for six years.
For the fall menu at Nova, Olejnik created the Witch’s Brew, which is a pumpkin spice iced latte with charcoal powder and brown sugar cold foam.
“Customers have been very intrigued by it; it’s all natural and it looks a little like spiderwebs in a scary, but cool way. I started by using the vanilla drizzle in the cup and saw the charcoal powder, which has a lot of health benefits,” she said. “Then we add our natural food dye into our cold foam to turn it green, and then it looks super spooky for Halloween. I know if I was walking around and saw someone with our drink, I’d want to ask them what are you drinking?”
There’s also a spiced apple cider that has a sprinkle of cinnamon and butter pecan flavor added.
“What makes Nova unique is the environment and our community,” Olejnik said. “Here, we like to make everybody feel like a regular, whether they’ve been in here once or 10 million times. We like to be very original and find inspiration in outside sources. I’ll have a dessert, then start thinking this would be great as a coffee. How do I create this dessert into a coffee and pair it well with coffee? It’s like a science experiment.”
