Acoustic Java Café Visit

On Friday, March 11, 2022 I visited Acoustic Java Cafe and Roastery located at 6 Brussels St. in Worcester MA. This cafe is located in a more secluded area of Worcester, down an older cobblestone path and in an old mill building. I visited from 9:45 to 11 AM, but the coffee shop is open from 8 to 4 every day.

 

The cafe environment of Acoustic Java was very welcoming and warm. Calm music was playing on the speakers and books lined the walls of the entire store. There was outdoor seating being set up while I was there and plenty of tables filled the store. There was a busy flow of people coming through the store and most customers sat in and enjoyed their coffee while only a few did takeout. Tables were filled with mostly college students doing homework in groups or individually, due to the location being near Holy Cross, Clark, Assumption, WPI, and Worcester State.  There also seemed to be a large amount of regulars not only chatting with the staff but also with other customers.

There was a wide variety of coffee available at Acoustic Java. While I only ordered a caramel macchiato made with skim milk and a plain bagel with cream cheese, there were so many options. Hot coffee, iced coffee, cold brew, espresso drinks, and basically any kind of coffee you can think of was available. They were offering coffee blends from different places such as South America, Africa, and Asia. Acoustic Java looks for coffees that are specifically fair trade, organic, bird-friendly, rainforest alliance, carbon free, women produced and high-scoring. One of their missions is to help with global climate change, underdeveloped infrastructure, and widespread poverty. The coffee that I ordered was very good and I could tell that it was made with attention to detail and care.

Acoustic Java is also very active within their community. At the shop, they offer food and pastries made with bread from Birch Tree Bread Company located in Worcester and in return Birch Tree Bread Company uses beans from Acoustic Java. Bags of Acoustic Java coffee beans are also sold at different locations throughout Massachusetts including NU kitchen in Worcester. Coffee beans from Acoustic Java are even used in the Blizzard of 78 Brown Ale by Wormtown Brewery. They also sell a variety of their own Julie's Teas and host hot tea tastings on the third Saturday of the month.

Acoustic Java is considered a "Premiere Coffee Campus" and hosts a few different coffee classes for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). They teach you a variety of barista skills within these courses. Acoustic Java also hosts cupping events throughout the year.