Birchwood Coffee Company: Serving love, passion and family recipes in Apopka

By Crystal Jacome, Interning Correspondent with The Apopka Voice

What brings your family together? Could it be a special occasion, a specific board game, or even a special treat?

For Danielle Bjork and her family, it's coffee.

Birchwood Coffee Company, located at 2107 East Semoran Boulevard, is a brand new family-owned coffee shop in Apopka that, when you step inside, you feel the love, passion, and hard work that went into this family symbol of love.

“It really didn’t matter what the occasion was we were gathering for, coffee was always present," said Bjork, owner of Birchwood. "It's very nostalgic for me. It represented a good time - coffee, family, and coming together - it was just always there and it seemed to always be surrounded by smiles. It has a heartstring for me that makes it feel warm and fuzzy.”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EldXmeNlR4A&feature=youtu.be

The desire to inspire other local businesses that may be struggling to follow the path to their dream, or getting started, or even just being doubtful that it's a good idea or that they can do it, is what Bjork hopes to do, as these are the same challenges she faced. Wanting to transcend those obstacles along her journey, Bjork turned to social media, creating a storyline to show her process in the making of Birchwood.

“[I] definitely wanted to inspire and encourage others," Bjork said. "If I can do it, if I had a dream and it became reality, so can you.”

Birchwood's family recipes are one-of-a-kind creations and well-kept treasures in the family. The recipes have been used for years in the Birchwood family, and what completes these unique recipes is that Danielle’s father is actually the “gatekeeper” of the recipe book, “so they are very heavily guarded!” says Bjork. Each recipe on the menu is named after the family member who was also its creator. These recipes include six main desserts, such as (Grandma) Ruth’s Buttermilk Pound Cake, (Grandy) Doris’ Banana Split, (Auntie) Pam’s Peach Cobbler, (Great Grandma) Loreen’s Sweet Potato Pie, and (Uncle) Andrae’s Pecan Pie.