Nothing beats that first cup of coffee — the smell, the taste, the ritual of it all. For many Life Time members, that cup often happens at the club, just before a workout or on their way out after. That daily habit helped inspire something different at LifeCafe: Earlier this year, Life Time introduced a brand-new coffee program at approximately 165 LifeCafes nationwide.
The rollout includes light and dark roasts, plus an espresso blend that’s used in signature espresso drinks. Each blend was chosen with quality, taste, and member appeal in mind.
“The coffee we serve at the LifeCafes across our clubs felt like an opportunity,” says Rachel Cortis, manager for LifeCafe program execution at Life Time. “So many of our members start their day with us, and they deserve to do so with a great cup of coffee from the highest grade beans. We know a large percentage of our members drink coffee daily, and we want to give them something they would really enjoy drinking in our spaces.”
Partnering Up for an Improved Brew
Getting to the final light and dark roast blends took time, attention, and the right partnership. Life Time teamed up with Intermix Beverage, a Minneapolis-based coffee distributor, and European Roasterie, a family-owned roaster in Le Center, Minn., to identify blends that could deliver a premium coffee experience across clubs.
“We did multiple rounds of testing,” Cortis says. “We tasted some 10 different blends multiple times until we found the ones that were perfect for Life Time.”
European Roasterie primarily does large-batch roasting, with a small section of their roastery reserved for high-quality, small-batch roasting. The Life Time coffee blends are roasted in the small-batch section.
The light roast combines Brazilian and Honduran beans, while the dark roast combines Colombian, Guatemalan, and Sumatran beans. Both are grade-one specialty blends, the highest ranking in coffee, and they’ve met those standards for quality and flavor.
“We’re working with some of the highest quality coffee,” says Cortis. “Before it’s roasted, the beans are sorted to ensure there are no significant defects. This is an important step in the process to uphold quality as well as consistency across all the clubs we’re serving it at.”
LifeCafe also launched signature coffee drinks featuring Life Time’s own espresso blend. “Our espresso blend uses beans from Tanzania, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Sumatra.”
Cortis and the LifeCafe team worked closely with Barnaby Holmes, lead educator for Intermix Beverage, to train team members nationwide on the new service. “Barnaby is also a head judge for the United States Barista Championships, which is basically the Olympics of latte making — he has an incredible wealth of knowledge,” says Cortis. “He and I traveled to all major markets and conducted trainings for our LifeCafe leaders — which is about 100 leaders in total — to educate on the backstory of the beans and how to properly brew this coffee and make the espresso-based drinks, including proper coffee and espresso handling procedures.”
Updated With Members In Mind
These coffee blends were intentionally chosen with Life Time members’ habits in mind — specifically, their exercise routines. “We see Life Time members typically drinking their coffee either right before or immediately following their workouts in the morning,” says Cortis. “This is a crowd that prioritizes fitness, which is why we chose blends that are lower in acidity.”
During exercise, the body diverts blood flow away from your digestive system to your muscles; if you’ve consumed something highly acidic, it can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort. The lower-acidity profile means LifeCafe’s offerings are gentler.
What’s on the Signature Coffee Menu
Beyond the two new roasts, LifeCafe also launched a new menu built around Life Time’s own espresso. In addition to classic coffeehouse drinks — such as lattes, americanos, and cappuccinos — look for these new signature drinks:
- Vanilla Cold Foam Cold Brew, featuring 20 grams of protein from vanilla LTH Prime Collagen Peptides
- Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso, made with Monin spiced brown sugar and oat milk for a lightly sweet, creamy kick
- Hazelnut Mocha, made with Monin hazelnut and rich, dutched cocoa powder (which has a smoother, milder taste), and milk
- Caramel Oat Latte, blended with Monin caramel and oat milk
- Lavender Ube Matcha Latte, which uses ceremonial grade matcha with Monin lavender, Monin ube (featuring notes of fig, vanilla, and cinnamon), and milk
(The Monin products contain no artificial ingredients or preservatives.)
Coming Soon: A Holiday Blend!
A new, limited-time holiday blend will be in LifeCafes in November and December.
“We went through additional testing rounds of three or four different roasts because we wanted this holiday blend to taste and feel unique from our current light and dark roasts,” says Cortis.
The team landed on a medium roast from the Kembata zone in Ethiopia. “It’s a really small crop, traditionally processed on dried raisin-like beds,” explains Cortis. “The coffee tastes slightly fruitier than the light and dark roasts. It has a bit of raspberry, blueberry jam, and raisin flavors.
“We didn’t want to do something flavored, like with vanilla or hazelnut, for example, because those blends often contain artificial flavors. At LifeCafe, we don’t serve anything that contains artificial flavors. We’re really excited about this blend — it tastes ‘holiday-esque’ and was a clear winner.”
The holiday blend will be available to purchase by the cup in LifeCafes nationwide starting in November.
The changes in coffee offerings are just the beginning of the program’s evolution and growth, according to Cortis. “Our members have shown us that they’re really interested in our coffee, and we’re eager to continue best serving our members.”
