New coffee shop opens in Cove

By BRITTANY FHOLER 
Cove Leader-Press 

In the shopping center next to Wendy’s, where Tops Pizza used to be located, sits a new coffee shop called The Bloom Coffee Roasters, owned and operated by B.J. and Sandy Choi. 
The Bloom Coffee Roasters opened last Friday morning and has seen a steady influx of customers filing in to get their coffee and Boba tea fix. 
Sandy Choi, one half of the duo behind the coffee and Boba shops, said that they moved from California to Killeen to be closer to family and decided to open their own coffee shop once they saw how much more affordable it would be in Killeen compared to Los Angeles. 
When they first moved to Texas, Choi said they couldn’t find a real coffee shop in Killeen at all, and were driving every weekend down to Austin to get their coffee fix. This lack of a mom-and-pop coffee shop led them to open their own. 
They added the extra items, like the Boba teas and Bingsoo, because they wanted to offer more than just coffee, Choi said. 
“People who usually drink coffee, they don’t like boba and people who love the boba, they don’t like coffee, so we keep both of them,” Choi said. 
One of the other popular items are the waffles, which Choi said they decided on offering as a sweet treat to accompany the coffee drinks. 
“Coffee always needs some sweet treats,” Choi said. 
Instead of offering store-bought muffins or pies, they decided on the waffles, which are made inhouse and are not like those offered at IHOP.
The decision to open a location in Copperas Cove came when the Chois were discussing expanding to a third location and an employee who was from Copperas Cove mentioned that she knew of many people in town who didn’t like having to go out of town to get their Boba fix. 
Choi said in researching the area, she discovered many people were interested in the type of coffee shop found in bigger cities. The interior and music playing in each location lends itself to creating a similar atmosphere, she added. 
“It looks like a coffee shop but we serve boba, so people love that,” Choi said. 
Another popular offering is the Korean Coffee Mix, which is Korean instant coffee, cream and sugar, packaged in the “perfect ratio”, that comes hot or iced. 
Also available are bags of roasted coffee beans in four different flavors such as Colombian Suprema, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Indonesian Sumatran plus the House Blend, which is a blend of Colombian and Sumatran beans. The beans are roasted in small quantities every week to make sure the flavor of the coffee is at its best. 
“Fresh coffee is always delicious,” Choi said. 
Copperas Cove marks the third Bloom Coffee Roasters location in the Fort Hood area in just as many years. The first location opened in June 2017 in the Texas Star Plaza at 2300 E. Rancier Ave, Sutie 104, in Killeen, and the second location opened in November 2018 in Heights Corner at 300 E. FM 2410 Rd, Suite 103, in Harker Heights.
In addition to coffee, which is roasted by the Chois every week, the Bloom also sells the popular Taiwanese-based Boba or bubble tea drinks, with chewy tapioca pearls added to milk teas, smoothies or frappes. There are non-coffee drinks available as well. Boba can be added to any drink for an additional charge of $0.50. There is also the option of “Popping Boba” in fruity flavors instead of the traditional tapioca.  For food items, the Bloom sells Korean instant ramen, liege waffles with various topping addons and Bingsoo, described as a fluffy shaved ice made with milk. There are different topping options to include fresh fruit, syrups and powders. The signature Bingsoo is called the Pat Bingsoo and features a variety of toppings such as mango, strawberries, banana slices, Injeolmi powder, mango, strawberry and blueberry syrup, red beans, mochi and cornflakes. 
The Bloom Coffee Roasters is located at 211 Liberty Bell Lane, Suite 121, in Copperas Cove. Their hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.