Coffee Shop Rankings: You Can Buy Happiness
- klaufenberg9
- Feb 9, 2018
- 5 min read
PART ONE. When my co-workers gave me a bundle of 10 gift cards for Christmas to various coffee shops around the twin cities metro, I knew the rumors were false, you can indeed buy happiness. The best thing to do with gift cards? Use them - oh and write a blog about it of course. So here it is, I'm making my way around the twin cities to visit more coffee shops - and just when I thought I've visited the best ones so far, I have been gifted 10 more options.
First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever bought something from a coffee shop that was more than $4, so I figured – why not use my gift cards to the fullest and order things I wouldn’t normally get? –a.k.a. the expensive, fancy stuff (each card had $5 on it). Besides, I’ve officially oathed to try new things. Asking the barista their opinion has made this journey a whole lot easier. "What's your favorite?" is my go-to.
Coffee Shop #1: Spyhouse Coffee (Saint Paul)
Purchase: Spygirl ($5.25) – latte with honey and lavender
Thoughts: I was skeptical at first, but it was amazing! The mug had a little Minnesota logo on it, and the latte art was totally on point. It wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet, and I could really taste the honey, not so much the lavender but I might be okay with that.
Atmosphere: This was the newest location of the 4 spyhouse coffees, and I have been to 2/4 so far. Spyhouse really knows how to give their shops that calm and rustic feel. I swear every piece of furniture they have, they found somewhere in an alleyway by the dumpster. I love it though; it’s got that old comforting feeling that makes you want to sit there all day.
Rating: 9/10 coffee beans
Coffee Shop #2: Sister’s Sludge and Coffee Café and Wine Bar (Midtown, Minneapolis)
I think this is a new location, so they’re still working on getting “the look” for this place. It's owned by three identical twin sisters (hence the name). When you walk in, you go left or right - one side is the café/bar and the other side is the coffee house. Unfortunately, on my first visit here: their card reader wasn’t working and...their wifi was down – which leaves me writing this post on Microsoft Word for the time being, but not the end of the world.
Purchase: I just told him to surprise me…I ended up with the “Aztec” ($4.25) – a dark chocolate mocha, and it was good! Sadly the presentation wasn’t the best – it came out to me in a to-go cup and the whipped cream on top was looking a little sad. I did get a cookie cause it’s Friday and you only live once. It’s a brand called “kakookies” – the marketing won on the wrapper, so I was sold – the cookie was amazing to say the least (cashew blondie) yummay.
Favorite part was the amazing mural on the wall – I could hang with these women.
Rating: 6/10 coffee beans
Coffee Shop #3: Quixotic Coffee (Saint Paul)
Whoever is in charge of advertising here, good job. Great atmosphere, menu, coffee, and plug ins are always accessible (highly important since my laptop dies within 30 min. without one). I got a vanilla cappuccino (homemade syrups). It was delightful ($4.75). My boyfriend came along - this is rare - and he got a breakfast sandwich (which he made me try because he liked it so much -$5.25). We stuck around for 4 hours and it never really slowed down, plus I was cold due to the door always open from people coming in and out constantly, but it's a weekend, and it's Minneso(cold)ta.
There were many baked goods to try, plus they have a full menu. I forgot to mention, they have beer and kambucha on tap - and they have wine too (bonus points). I've already been here so I have another post about this place, but I definitely didn't mind coming back.
Rating: 8/10 coffee beans
Coffee Shop #4: Angry Catfish Bicycle and Coffee Bar (South Minneapolis)
Unique coffee shop in a cute neighborhood south of Minneapolis. This coffee shop serves as both a bike shop as well as a nice place to enjoy a cup of joe. Since moving here, I've noticed a large bicycle culture - and this coffee shop seems to do it's job at keeping Minneapolis happy.
Despite what I imagined, there was plenty of room for those who are not interested anything bike related a.k.a. me. I got a latte made with their in-house vanilla molasses syrup ($5.25). A+ on the latte art. I have been sitting here for almost three hours; it has great vibes and seems to bring in a lot of people. I sat by the window and noticed a lot of people passing by carrying small paper bags or loaves of bread and that's when I knew there had to be a bakery near by. I have like this 5th sense for it.
Thanks to GoogleMaps (my muse) - I found a bakery two shops down - and obviously had to take a field trip. It's called A Baker's Wife - a pastry shop. I got a large oatmeal cookie (my weakness) - It was amazing and perfect and I'm so thankful I came across this little nook of the metro area. Needless to say, I'll be back!
Rating: 7.5/10 coffee beans
Coffee Shop #5: Penny's (Downtown Minneapolis)
Now this is what I call a city coffee shop. There needs to be more of these - coffee shops in the heart of a bustling city. Penny's is surrounded by windows to look at my favorite kind of view - Minneapolis. It's located on Washington, so a little close to the river. I'm picturing the perfect summer day already. An iced tea at Penny's, then a walk down the the Stone Arch Bridge, and of course - hit up the farmer's market.
So here's what I got - do you know what matcha is? Okay good, me neither. I've always wondered what the hype is all about so I went for the matcha latte. It's green and to be honest, it tastes like a forrest. If you love the taste of nature; go for it folks. I'm just laughing at myself because my drink came with a stick covered in chocolate. I had no directions on what to do with this stick? Was it even chocolate? Am I supposed to eat the stick - wait, is it made out of wood? I just assumed it was for stirring, but believe me, the thing looked like a large toothpick and definitely not edible. While stirring, the stick broke off into my latte and this is when I knew it couldn't be made of wood - I tasted it and sure enough it was like a yummy little stick cookie.
That was probably too much information. But this may be vital to you in the future, and this was definitely a learning experience for me. Also, Penny's is known for their homemade crepes! Shoulda, woulda, coulda. My $5 gift card got me a green beverage, and that's okay. Life is good. Thanks to Penny's for your cute tables, chairs, lighting, and succulents.
Rating: 8.5/10 coffee beans