What if coffee drinks were made with the same imagination and flair as the best craft cocktails? That’s the idea behind Sociology Coffee Bar, a specialty coffee shop that opened its own space in Folsom in 2021 after a short stint inside Escape Folsom.
“We love cocktails and experimenting with different flavors, which led us to wonder, what if we treated coffee and tea almost like our liquor?” explains Lindsey Stillman, who co-owns Sociology with her husband, Kyle Stillman.
The stars of Sociology’s seasonal drink lineup are their housemade syrups, such as cranberry-orange, rum raisin, and Manhattan spice, a brown-sugar-based concoction with cardamom, cinnamon and orange peel. Sociology’s winter drink menu features hot buttered chai, a riff on the classic winter rum drink; winter punch, akin to mulled wine but without the alcohol; and a shaken cold brew made with oat milk and mint syrup.
Surprisingly, the Stillmans had zero experience in the coffee industry when they launched their business. “We lived in Portland for seven years and fell in love with coffee and coffee culture, but neither of us were baristas,” explains Lindsey. “We just love drinking coffee and learning about it.” With dreams of opening their own shop, the couple read everything they could about the art and science of making coffee. Things got serious when they purchased a Breville espresso machine on Facebook Marketplace and got to work practicing. “Kyle would basically grab a bag of beans and spend all day long pulling shots and steaming milk and learning the craft of a good espresso,” says his wife.
Having gained confidence in their skills, the Stillmans opened Sociology. “We picked that name because we really wanted a place where people can come and be a part of a community,” explains Lindsey. 705 Gold Lake Drive, Folsom; sociologycoffeebar.com
