About this video
Created for Oval’s 2025 launch at Sprouts Farmers Market, these three short films follow Bowling Green, The Natural, and Riverside through Lower Manhattan. The 69-second montage brings their coffee rituals, city settings, and original music together.
Three coffees, three New York City perspectives
Bowling Green · Noon mood
A park, a station, and a family connection
Bowling Green was filmed mainly in Bowling Green Park and Bowling Green subway station. Co-Founder Andrew Itzkowitz’s children appear beside Dr. Jonathan Saraga on the station bench as he plays trumpet, bringing a personal connection to the coffee’s city namesake.
Bowling Green is Oval’s Women-Grown light roast, developed for clarity, sweetness, and clean structure. Women-Grown describes its sourcing attribute.
Watch Bowling Green →
The Natural · Morning mood
From the barbershop into downtown Manhattan
The Natural’s film moves from coffee-making at Culture Founders Barber Shop at 11 Broadway into downtown street scenes and a waterfront-side subway approach near The Battery. Its morning mood comes from the production brief’s creative direction.
The coffee is a fruit-forward Natural Process light-to-medium roast. Natural processing means drying the coffee with its fruit surrounding the seed; it does not mean added fruit flavoring.
Watch The Natural film →
Riverside · Golden-hour mood
A slower rhythm on the SeaGlass Carousel
Riverside was filmed mainly on the ocean-themed SeaGlass Carousel at The Battery. Its curves and movement support the unhurried atmosphere imagined for the film in the production brief.
Riverside Half Caff is a light-to-medium roast made with a 50/50 balance of caffeinated coffee and decaf. It still contains caffeine.
Watch Riverside →
Morning, noon, and golden hour describe the creative moods in the shoot brief, rather than the actual filming times.
The shared filming day
Lower Manhattan as part of the story
The launch-film shoot took place on April 7, 2025. The brief called for an artsy, museum-inspired approach: close attention to hands, coffee beans, opening the filter, and pouring water, followed by oval shapes found throughout the city.
The filming day connected Culture Founders Barber Shop with Bowling Green Park and station, The Battery, the waterfront, Wall Street, South Street, and the South Street Seaport area. Harbor views toward the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island extend the setting beyond the streets. The montage also includes the National Museum of the American Indian, as described in its scene notes.
Across the films, Dr. Saraga’s trumpet performance, the carousel, subway movement, and the intimate coffee-making scenes place the products within everyday New York life. Each individual edit draws on a different part of that shared filming day.
Creative credits
Film by Sweetstory Media. Original music by Dr. Jonathan Saraga.
- Production, filming & editing
- Annie Woo of Sweetstory Media.
- Original score
- Dr. Jonathan Saraga, who composed an original score for each of the three launch films.
- The coffee & NYC perspective
- Oval Coffee Roasters, with Co-Founders Christopher Alspach and Andrew Itzkowitz.
The montage brings the three film identities together. The individual watch pages offer a closer look at each coffee; the Oval homepage uses a looping montage to introduce the brand.
NYC-roasted coffee, told through Lower Manhattan
Oval develops and roasts specialty coffee in New York City. Christopher Alspach, Co-Founder and Director of Coffee, brings sourcing, roast development, and production quality-control experience to the coffees shown here.
Meet the Oval team, explore independent coverage and retail announcements, or read customer perspectives. To connect the film with your own cup, explore the Women-Grown, Natural Process, and Half Caff guides.
Film synopsis
An editorial overview of the coffees and setting featured in the montage.
Oval Coffee Roasters in New York City. A montage filmed across Lower Manhattan shows Oval packaging, coffee beans, Pour Over Single Serves, hands-on brewing, and the city around The Battery, Bowling Green Park, Bowling Green subway station, the Hudson River waterfront, SeaGlass Carousel, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Bowling Green represents Women-Grown light roast coffee with clarity, sweetness, and producer story. The Natural represents natural process coffee with sweetness, aroma, and fruit-forward character. Riverside represents Half Caff coffee with a balance of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. The film connects sourcing, craft, New York City, and the Oval Coffee Roasters line Intention, Poured Over.
Light roast coffee in New York City
Oval roasts in New York City with an emphasis on clarity, balance, sweetness, and the character of each coffee. Explore Bowling Green Women-Grown light roast or compare the complete Oval coffee collection.
Whole bean and pour-over formats
The film shows coffee for fresh grinding alongside Pour Over Single Serves made with real ground coffee and a built-in drip filter. Learn the method in the brewing tutorial.
Share Oval beyond the film
Compare all three profiles through coffee variety packs, or pair one 8.82 oz whole bean bag with eight matching Pour Over Single Serves in a Discovery Set. Explore coffee gifts, corporate and event gifting, and hotel and hospitality coffee for different occasions.
