Spoons - Baltimore

Location!

A May 2020 Remote Review

Spoons Cafe is located at 24 E. Cross Street, Baltimore, MD. Spoons is a small cafe with a lot of personality, it is definitely one of Federal Hill's hidden gems. Spoons offers breakfast, lunch and brunch. The coffee that is served here is served right and is in-house roasted and made by expert baristas by hand -- not to mention the coffee here is bottomless.

Spoons cafe has been in business since 1999 and is known to have the best biscuits in Maryland. Breakfast is served all day and there is something on the menu for everyone. Theyoffer buttermilk, pumpkin, apple, walnut and Brie pancakes. Although the cafe is small, it has a lot of personality. There is a nice small bar area and a decent amount of tables. During the week customers can seat themselves but during the weekends it gets pretty busy and the wait time varies but can be pretty long but the food, coffee and service is definitely worth the wait!

Spoons does not take reservations but does offer curbside pick up, delivery and carryout.

Spoons cafe has a very nice and welcoming atmosphere with very polite and respectful staff

that will make sure all of your needs are met. If you are ever in the area I strongly advise you

to just stop in and check it out, you won't be disappointed!


-- Kathleen Yanchuk

Food!

Atmosphere!

Coffee Maven note: Charming cafes like Spoons are often signifiers that a neighborhood has "arrived" in terms of economic development, sometimes signifying that the fine line between revitalization and gentrification has been crossed. Federal Hill is a neighborhood I visited frequently during the 1980s, when it was just starting to benefit from the economic revitalization of the nearby Inner Harbor. That project was led by James Rouse, known also for his efforts at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

For the location map, I have taken the liberty of showing how to walk to the café from the site of my 1987 wedding. I have not walked that exact route, but I have walked just about every part of it -- and in the late spring or summer it would be a lovely walk indeed, passing by not only the Inner Harbor but also past the ramparts o'er which the Star-Spangled Banner once waved.

Second Best Coffee - Kansas City, MO

A May 2020 Remote Review

The coffee shop I chose was Second Best Coffee which is located at 328 W 85th St, Kansas City, MO 64114. Second Best Coffee is a brew to order shop where they specialize in drip espresso and cold brew coffee, they also provide regular hot coffee as well. Second best Coffee has a socially diverse atmosphere that brings in hipsters, cyclists and many others. The café itself is designed based off of modern minimalism that helps create a friendly social atmosphere inside. They sell their own coffee in bags from Costa Rica, Burundi, and Ethiopia. The company has also been in the news locally for its delicious coffee twice.

I would recommend to others despite not actually ever visiting myself based upon the outstanding reviews and news footage of the café. The employees are very friendly and sincerely love coffee. I would love to eventually visit the café in person someday.

- Bruno Tamburrini

Professor's note: When my student shared a map depicting this coffee shop, I realized that it was not terribly far from where I went to high school for just 10th and 11th grade. This was 1978-1980, almost 20 years before my interest in real coffee began. But I'm hijacking Bruno's post to show the connection to a shop that I strongly doubt existed at the time. Kansas City, is by the way, one of the largest cities in the United States by area -- sprawling as several separate cities across a major river and a state line.

The Blind Tiger, Tampa

A May 2020 Remote Review

The coffee shop I chose to research in Florida is called The blind Tiger. There are six total locations of this cafe, all located in Tampa, Florida. Founded by Roberto Torres, He started his company a couple years back.

The atmosphere of his website looks welcoming and a warm atmosphere, including the mission statement, “The Blind Tiger Cafe is known for its atmosphere. When you step into one of our cafes, you can feel it instantly. The perfect getaway for work or study complimented with great tasting coffee.”  According to the website, it is clear that the customers are first in their approach.My first impression of the cafe is that it is meant for the coffee to be socialized, and expanded upon.This is due to the spacious room the cafe is found in.

They also serve artsy coffees, coffees that are meant to be pictures before they are dranket, showing a touch of art in the coffees they create. There is a drop down menu, which includes a variety.The menu includes Iced coffee, Nitro Tapped, Kombucha, Flat-White hot, Cafe Cordadito, Cafe con Leche,Cafe Bombon,Cafe Caramel, Cafe Mocha,Espresso Bombon, Latte,Espresso, Cappuccino,Americano,Hot Chocolate, and Teas. There is a whole list to pick from. As far as pastries go, breakfast sandwiches and desserts are also located at specific locations.Each drink can be ordered at each size, which is standard.While there is a focus on coffee, they also have a secondary position in coffee marketing.Selling coffee supplies is another one of their specialties. Out of everything on this menu, I would like to try the Iced Coffee, just so i can compare it to iced Dunks Coffee.While prices are not listen, I imagine the prices are quite standard. While I would like to try the ice coffee, I’m sure the other items are delicious too.

Overall, this coffee shop looks like a treat to visit. The warm  atmosphere of the baristas, along with the welcoming space of the lounge creates for a great experience.One bit of information that makes this spot extra cool is why it is called the “Blind Tiger." The reason this cafe is called the Blind Tiger is due to referring to “an establishment that illegally sold alcohol and asked patrons to “speakeasy” while inside to help avoid exposure. Our name pays homage to those who kept the immigrant workers fueling those trades well-oiled and ready to conquer another day.” Having family from Colombia, it was cool to have them include immigrants in their statement.One thing i think the website should include is their prices, as customers have more knowledge before stepping into the store.Another thing would be to include what each drink is like, as I have no clue what some of the drinks are made and taste like, for example the Cafe Bombon.Lastly, they should include where their coffee is sourced, to ensure good quality.Their website also includes apparel, which shows they have a growing market. If I visit Florida again, the Blind Tiger is a cafe that I want to visit.

 -- Brian Damon

Verve Roasters - San Francisco

A May 2020 Remote Review

The coffee shop that I have chosen to research is called Verve Coffee Roasters, and they have ten locations in California, but also two international shops. Verve was co-founded by Ryan O’Donovan and Colby Barr and their company CEO is named Mike Eyre. O’Donovan was chasing the best tasting cup of coffee that he could roast from home, when his college buddy Barr, called him out of the blue suggesting they start a roasting operation. O’Donovan was all on board with the idea. Barr had been introduced to farming from a young age, and during his college years developed a passion for coffee.

For this assignment, I will focus on their Market Street location in San Francisco, California. The thing that drew me into this location the most was that they incorporated green plants into the atmosphere of their shop and it pairs great with the wooden floor and interior. They feature six brilliant photographs of their shop, but the first one at the top of the collection shows the shop from the inside, showing how spacious the shop is. In this photo particularly, they have some of their merchandise for sale set up on the wall right when you enter the shop. My favorite image provided in this collection features people working on their Macs, as well as others socializing, but the way that the hanging ceiling plants as well as the other plants in the shop pair with the lighting and wooden interior is remarkable. Aside from these photos of this particular shop, when you click “Shop coffee” up at the top of the website, it dropsdown with eight different types of coffee they provide. This tells me that they strive to have a wide variety of coffee to reach as many different consumers as they can.

I decided to select the menu of their Market Street location, and it brought me to a very minimal PDF, with a black background and white font in all caps with the names of the beverages, as well as their complete food menu, which is served daily from seven in the morning to two in the afternoon. I really like the basic aesthetic of this menu, with the Verve logo at the top of the menu, it looks very minimal and clean.  They offer a large variety of coffee and tea beverages, seventeen to be exact, they also offer add-ons like espresso shots, flavor shots and dairy alternatives. What struck me the most was that they offer hemp milk as an alternative for an additional seventy-five cents. Having had almond milk and soy milk and with my caffeinated beverages, I now need to have hemp milk to see what they hype is all about. I typically get a cold brew black with an espresso shot from my local coffee provider, which runs me about $4.11 or so, and their “nitro flash brew” which I assume is the most similar to my order costs $5.25 before tax. Another thing I find interesting about their menu is that they do not list different sizes for their beverages, which is normally a must have at coffee shops.

Overall, I would like to visit any of these Verve coffee shops. I like how they have multiple locations, and each location provides an entirely different ambience. Prices at the Market Street shop specifically seem rather high to me, and being a Dunkin employee, I find it very odd that they do not offer different sizes for their beverages. I am sure that these prices are high because they locally roast their own beans in Santa Cruz with vintage Probat coffee roasters, and the fact that this whole process is done by hand to ensure great consistency. Their website also features an area where they shout out all of their farmers, letting them know that their work matters and they are appreciated greatly.

 Here is the link to their Market Street location, so you can check out the photos of their shop, or even order some coffee through the main Verve Roasters website.

-- Jake Anderson
https://www.vervecoffee.com/pages/market-street

Rabble Coffee - Indianapolis

A May 2020 Remote Review

The coffee shop that I chose to visit is called Rabble Coffee and is located in Indianapolis Indiana. The shop opened in 2015 and is owned by Josie Hunckler, Kindra Hunckler and Jon Nolan. The website is very simple and has two tabs one labbed “about us” and the other labeled “coffee". 

The facebook page is where I learned most about the shop. The coffee shop is very involved in the community, for example they teamed up with a local trade school so that teachers could hold classes after hours inside the shop.

The close relationship with the community adds to the shop and helps promote a positive environment. The menu is built around three specific things “dialed-in espresso, solid cold brew, and batch brew that offers both complexity and approachability”. The coffee is roasted locally at a company called Tinker Coffee Co and is brewed on site so that it is as fresh as possible. This shop gives off a really friendly and inviting environment and I hope one day to be able to go to Rabble Coffee shop and experience it for myself.

 - Tayla Sypek

Culture Espresso -- New York

A May 2020 Remote Review

We all know the Big Apple known as New York City is known for being a busy place full of busy Americans who run on coffee in their daily lives. As much as I had wish I could have experienced the busyness of the city and the aesthetic of the coffee shops in and around the city, I had been unable to visit a coffee shop due to COVID-19. But, I was able to virtually visit the Culture Espresso independent coffee shop originally located in New York, New York through their online website, Instagram page, and online reviews.

Culture Espresso is one of three coffee shop branches located in New York. It is within range of plenty of other coffee shops and therefore you might be asking yourselves why I picked this coffer shop to view virtually.

Firstly, this independent coffee shop is pleasing to the eye from both the outside and the inside. As you can see for yourself in the pictures below.


(Image from: Eat This New York



(Imagine from: Spoon University)

It doesn't scream coffee shop in your face at first glance but it truly looks like an art shop from the looks of it. Coffee must be their form of art based upon what I have seen throughout my research.

The coffee shop has such a welcoming environment and an artist aesthetic feel to the shop. It is well known for its espressos and their delicious home-made chocolate chip cookies! Coffee and cookies may not be everyone's go to but in my opinion it is a perfect combination and I hope that I can try both of them from this coffee shop one day.

Coffee is the culture in American and Culture Espresso is the perfect marking name for an independent shop to get the attentions of busy Americans.

-- Shaniely Fernandez Chico

Sawada Coffee - Chicago

An April 2020 Remote Review

The coffee shop that I have chosen to research is called Sawada Coffee. There are two locations of the restaurant; one location is in New York, the other is in Chicago, Illinois. The founder of the restaurant is named Hiroshi Sawada. Hiroshi is a famous barista and “latte art expert."

The atmosphere of the website is warm. My first impression is that the coffee shop is quaint and rustic.The first thing I saw on the website was marvelous photography. The entire backdrop of the website is pictures from the restaurant in scroll style. First, there is a picture of the indoor setting, then an elegant cup of frothy green tea and then artsy looking coffee. There are also pictures of people laughing and having a good time with one another, and a lot of food. The images on the screen are the only thing that can be seen, other than three dots indicating a drop down menu.This shows the website’s visitor that Sawada Coffee associates take pride in the products they make, and the friendships that they facilitate. 

The drop-down menu allowed me to click on “Food and Drinks Menu," which led me to an impressive menu full of things that I would love to try. They have a section in their menu for Espresso, Coffee, Matcha, Tea, Boozy Steamers (which is alcoholic coffee), Doughnut, Morning Snacks, and Sweet Treats. Each menu section has numerous items that can be ordered in different sizes, which is pretty standard for a restaurant menu. The restaurant’s main focus is Coffee, so that should have been clear to the guest by viewing the menu, but it is not. They have so many things on their menu that it could easily get overwhelming while ordering in person. On this menu, I would love to try the Matcha Latte under Matcha, which costs $5.70. This drink intrigues me because it is so expensive, and it is something that I have never tried before. Another thing on the menu that I would like to try is the High Five Mocha under Espresso. That seems like an interesting treat, and I would like to try it because I want to find out what the High Five is in the drink! 

Overall, I would definitely like to try this coffee shop. The restaurant could have made its coffee sources more well known to the consumer, so that way they can make a conscious and educated decision while buying their product. Prices are extremely high at this place, and I would like to know if it is because of the quality of the coffee, and if it is, why don’t they share with their guests where the coffee comes from? If I ever go to Illinois, I will be sure to stop in. 

Here is the link to the website in case you’d like to research it and potentially try it someday! 
http://sawadacoffee.com/chicago/

-- Mackayla Gouvia

Coffee Maven Postscript: My son lives in Chicago, so Sawada is on my list to visit as soon as travel is possible.