Where do you go for the best cup of joe?
The economy may be circling the drain, but there certainly doesn’t seem to be a shortage of coffee shops in the Roanoke and New River Valleys. Could it be that people need their caffeine even more than ever to get through the day?
Although a couple of coffee joints have closed in the past few months, more than that have opened or plan to open soon. Coffee Time Cafe will open in the old Mojo Cafe on Brambleton Avenue. A shop called Froth will open in the old Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea location at The Forum in Southwest Roanoke County (MM&T is moving to the corner of Ogden and Starkey roads). And RT Smiths, a deli moving in at 10 Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke, will have a coffee bar.
People are very particular about their coffee. I have a friend who drives to Quality Coffee Company on a regular basis for bags of beans to brew at home, setting her coffee maker before bed every night. A colleague walks down the street to Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea every day (sometimes twice per day). Some folks are regulars in the Starbucks drive-thru lane while others have a constant hankering for Dunkin’ Donuts coffee or some other brand.
There’s also the crowd of coffee drinkers who are not particular about their brew. They’ll grab a cup at 7-Eleven or pour a mug from the office coffee station at work without grumbling. I used to fit into that category, even though I did draw the line at really bad coffee and always appreciated an extra-good cup. These days, I’m not supposed to drink coffee because it makes me feel bad. But I still do on occasion because it’s just SO DARN HARD to give it up.
So, where do you fit in? Are you a coffeeholic, a coffee snob or a sludge-drinker?
Do you drink it black? Carry special sweetener in your purse everywhere you go? Do you like a little coffee with your cream?
Finally, where do you go in these parts to get your favorite cuppa joe?
October 6, 2011 - 5:26 AM
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I am a coffee snob to the point I had to give up starbucks because I was spending entirely too much per week on my skinny vanilla lattes. I bought a keirig brewer and still splurge on the weekends on local coffee to support small businesses so I don’t feel so quilty spending the cash.
I hate to admit it because I am a big supporter of locally-owned businesses, but I LOVE Starbucks coffee. When I am having a bad day, I can walk into Starbucks and the aroma is like an instant pick-me-up. And nothing says ‘Holiday Season’ like my first Peppermint Mocha of the season! I know you can get them year round, but I wait until Thanksgiving when I am with my sister and we can enjoy it together. It brings back fun memories of being in NYC for the Macy’s parade with our mother!
I go to Mill Mt downtown. I’ve started trying the coffee at City Bliss Cafe and it’s really good too. For home brewing, the shop in the Market area, called Native Grace sells a blend called Mind, Body and Soul that is wonderful.
I generally don’t pay for regular coffee. I either make it at home or drink the sludge at work. At home I tend to use higher grade coffee beans, but I’m not obsessive about it at all.
Once in a blue moon I’ll buy a mocha or some other “fancy” coffee from MM&T or wherever is convenient. Only place I avoid is Starbucks; all of their coffee tastes burnt.
Don’t lump 7-11 coffee in with office swill. 7-11 makes good coffee.
I drink 2 cups of DD homebrew most mornings, and that’s it for the day. I just can’t see paying $2-$5/day for coffee someone else brews, & taking the time to wait in line & purchase it.
I like 7-Eleven coffee, but I’ve still had people sneer at me for drinking it.
The best coffee is coffee sweetened and creamed with Bailey’s Irish Cream!
I keep unground Kona coffee beans HIDDEN at home that I buy at Trader Joes. (I’ve wondered if Roanoke could support a TJ but I’m a little doubtful) The Kona is for special occasions. My thing about coffee is that it is a lovely common denominator- all classes drink it. I like a coffee shop where about anyone would feel like they could go in and get a cup and not feel outclassed or even outpriced. I think I liked Mojo for that reason. That and I liked drinking a coffee called “Bad Kitty Blend”. Too much of it would make you scratch your furniture and pee on someone’s new shoes.
In the NRV, Lucie Monroe’s in Christiansburg is the place to go when you need to treat yourself or someone else!
Several years ago, I bought a grind & brew coffee maker for my husband for Christmas. Fresh ground coffee is soooo much better than pre-ground. The flavors of the coffee really come through. We usually get beans from the supermarket or Sam’s, but I occasionally splurge on beans from Mill Mountain. Guatemalan and Costa Rican are my favorite roasts. One of Starbucks’ seasonal roasts is Guatemalan Casi Cielo, and I purchase a bag or 2 when it’s out, usually in late winter.
7-11 coffee is really good.
I make coffee at home every morning, but if I’m out shopping and looking for a splurge (a splurge cheaper than a new paid of boots) I like to try the holiday treats at coffee places. Love those pumpkin lattes.
don’t laugh but IMO Ronald McDonald has a great tasting regular coffee…..;
my second favorite would be the breakfast blend at Sheetz
I love Starbucks because I am familiar with their menu and most of them have a drive thru (which is a lot easier with a baby in the car). I love the atmosphere at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea.
Does anyone know if the new Mill Mountain at Tanglewood will have a drive thru?
Star City on Brambleton has wonderful coffeess, cappucino and latte. I have brewed some of their whole bean and pre-ground coffee at home and they spoiled me.
CUPS on Grandin Road!
Perfect Blends coffeehouse at Smith Mountain Lake is my favorite place to grab a cup of Joe on the go at their drive-through window, a very convenient addition. Corey Hansen and his crew serve up awesome coffee, always with a smile.
I cannot, however, forget to mention the coffee and efficient service at the Westlake Dairy Queen. The coffee is fresh, hot, and served cheerfully. Both of these places get me off to a good start for the work day!
I brew most of my at home now with a Keurig. Here’s a tip that I learned from from a friend in the restaurant business — rather than using sugar, sweeten coffee with real maple syrup. One teaspoon adds a great flavor to coffee!
I go to my other office… CUPS! It’s also about atmosphere and convenience for me!
1. Coffeeholic. Confirmed
2. Cream (preferably half and half), no sugar. BUT…I’ll drink it black over putting that icky fake non-dairy stuff in it. Ew.
3. Favorite cup? Oh…good question… home, usually. And lately I’ve been diggin’ beans from Red Rooster Coffee Roaster out of Floyd. Tried some of their “Funky Chicken” recently, it was excellent. But for a cup outside of the house, I LOVE the Coffee Depot in downtown Christiansburg.
And, of course, the best cup is shared with good company!
The coffee at 7-11 is actually quite good. It’s not just a “grab a coffee and go” anymore! Same goes for McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts.
If I’m looking for a great cup of flavored coffee and to chat with friendly staff, I go to CUPS on Grandin.
If I want a “fancy” coffee I’ll only go to Freckles or City Bliss.
I drink enough coffee to share the wealth
And on another note, the smaller, local coffee shops have friendlier staff and customers, they don’t mind if you stand around and chat, and many of them showcase and sell arts and crafts made locally!
That ain’t coffee. It’s hot caffeinated ice cream.
Deet’s Place at Virginia Tech used to have great coffee but I haven’t been there in a while. I rarely drink coffee but it is usually Mill Mountain when I do.
I used to stop every other morning at 7-11 for a cup, if I brought my own cup it was 69 cents, regardless of what I bought. I like flavored coffees, I always checked to see what they had first. The seasonal brews, like Pumpkin Spice for fall, and Peppermint Mocha for the holidays, were my favorites. Now that I’ve retired the home-brewed Maxwell House house or breakfast blend or Folgers is what I drink. Hmm, think I’ll go by 7-11 later to see what’s going on…..
McDonald’s coffee is very good and inexpensive, however, if you want the coffeehouse atmosphere, you’ll have to pay more for it.
In my eternal cheapness, I fell on a good way to use up leftover coffee at home. I put a little Hersheys at the bottom of my cup, add cold coffee, some milk and ice cubes and…voila! A $4 iced mocha, gratis.
I agree that the McDonalds coffee is pretty good if I’m going to buy it out somewhere. We too have a grinder and I order Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica. It’s by far the best coffee I’ve ever had anywhere.
On a side note, Lindsey, I saw you in the Market building for lunch today. It looked like you were in a hurry so I didn’t flag you down to say hello. Did you get any scoops on opening dates while you were there?
Greg, I wish you’d have stopped me. I would have liked to have met you. I learned that Dan Mock is hoping to get Queso Southwestern Grill open in the next 7 days or so. Didn’t see any other owners around other than the Hong Kong folks, who were waiting on a long line. I picked up some menus, so I’ll post some more details as soon as I can.
Next time I see you down there I’ll definitely say hello. I did see they were making progess on the Queso Southwestern Grill. Looking forward to trying that one. I really want New York subs back. They have one of the best Cheese Steaks around town. I did try the place in Valley View next to Sbarro and I’ll say they make a nice sub there also but I like New York Subs better.
CUPS, CUPS, CUPS. Star City Coffee roast the best beans. When I’m downtown, I’m a bit of a Bliss man, but more for the atmosphere (Mill Mountain has gotten a bit hectic for my taste) then the coffee.
AJ, I’m with you on real cream in your coffee. I use that or half & half. I can’t stand the flavored creamers anymore, or the powdered stuff.
This is gonna sound bad, but we have a super automatic espresso maker at home that we make all of our coffee from. If I want it lighter, I will make a shot and add hot water (americano). You can manually make lattes and cappuccinos using the attached parts but we rarely do so.
We also roast our own coffee beans. We buy a the green beans from sweet maria’s on line, and roast at home. Although, we did burned a hole in our patio after the first few roasts but everything is under control
Every now and then, I will go to Starbucks for a mocha, but rarely.
I’ll happily make the effort to detour over to CUPS in Grandin. Great atmosphere, free wifi and smooth, delicious coffee. Plus they support locally made baked goods. I like their flavored coffees, Mill Mountain used to have good flavored coffees but the quality seemed to drop off. The MM. blend is good (very strong) but the brewed flavored coffees are just strong and very perfumey. You can’t discern a flavor. I miss MMC toasted almond – the formula has changed
I pretty much brew at home using good quality beans. Fresh market has quite a few and several of the light roast varieties available. I also stock up at Trader Joe’s when I’m near one.
On the rare occasion I grab coffee while out, Panera has the best I’ve found. Always fresh, both light and dark roast available, and cheap compared to many places. It’s also the most convenient place to my office to get coffee.
I will avoid Starbucks like the plague. Their cofee is over-roasted and tastes burnt most of the time.
I’ve yet to find a decent coffee shop in the Roanoke-area.
My wife and I used to frequent the downtown Mill Mountain in it’s old location. But then we moved to Knoxville and got an education in good coffee from Old City Java (http://www.oldcityjava.com/).
After moving back we’ve stuck with beans from Durham, NC roaster Counter Culture — you can buy these from Fresh Market — ground fresh and brewed with a Chemex (http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/).
We have found a great shop in Charlottesville called Mudhouse, but that’s it until you hit DC (Chinatown Coffee is fantastic).
can’t beat CUPS in Grandin! great vibe, delicious coffee, friendly and fun folks, even adorable artwork in the restroom! best part, you can leave your own cup there for discounted refills (and they wash it for you!). great local spot worth visiting!
Hey, like Dan, I aspire to open in the next seven days. I’m also going to be the first place in the market with coffee–fair trade, organic coffee from Equal Exchange. But no espresso machine, I’m afraid. For my dirty chai lattes I prefer CUPS! My other other office.
No doubt about it…CUPS Coffee & Tea. Best vanilla latte in town! And the DD (Dark & Delicious) is great too!
CUPS in Grandin, Freckles on Kirk Ave for downtown.
CUPS is my absolute favorite! The coffee is the best in the valley and the staff ROCKS!!! Great service, great atmosphere, wonderful addition to the area, and outstanding supporter of the community.
The new coffee shop in the Patrick Henry also has great coffee
Doesn’t get any better than Dunkin’!
Starbucks once a year “Three Region Blend” is the best, but only offered one time per year, for a skinny latte, Starbucks is consistent wherever you stop!! I love Star City on Brambleton, for the food, but the baristas have no real clue how to make an iced latte, and the service, from simply getting seated, to ordering and then paying your bill is extemely disorganized and downright difficult. Great food, great potential, but seems the customer comes last as far as service goes! Mill Mountain, entirely too harsh, on every blend, tastes burnt! and premade chilled espresso for iced lattes, just does not cut it! JAVA the Hutt used to be the best, but unless I go to the hospital or go to college, its no longer an option. Panera has a wonderful latte with great food to accompany!! So unfortunately The chains win out, SAd but true!!
Coffeeholic for sure! I’m in the NRV, so Lucie Monroe’s is where it’s at.
Starbucks coffee is sub-par.
Sheetz has a decent brew. So does Panera, oddly enough.
7-11 is my newest love. They have blueberry coffee – which I didn’t think would be worth a darn, but it’s pretty great! Sadly, none of the area 7-11s have it.
I like a dark roast with half-and-half. Or a flavored roast – usually vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut. Occasionally I’ll splurge on a mocha or latte, but only if I can get it sugar-free or non-fat.
At work I have a small coffee maker on my desk. Two coffee pots per day, max. Typically Folgers flavored coffee since I’m cheap. Sometimes I’ll mix in a packet of Diet Swiss Miss for a chocolate fix.
Side note: it’s 12:15 a.m. and I’m craving a cup of Ethiopian Sidamo from Lucie Monroe’s thanks to this article! Ughhhhh.
OH! P.S. – I think McDonald’s coffee tastes burnt. Anyone else get that? It just tastes like it has been sitting on the hot plate so long it’s got this extremely bitter taste – even more bitter than regular coffee.
Also, I’ve been to the Coffee Depot in downtown Christiansburg and it’s not too bad. I’m all for the support of local business. There is a girl there with some crazy colored hair … is she the owner? I talked with her one day and she started speaking about Obama. She must’ve mistaken me for a fellow liberal, because she went on and on about how he’s trying to help everyone and “they” don’t understand. Despite her liberalism disease, I really liked her personality, and I didn’t want to ruin her passionate speech, so I kept my conservativeness to myself – fittingly.
Anyway, enough of that tangent. Support your local businesses! Drink coffee, save a life.
Definite coffeeholic. I’m opinionated about coffee, but I’m not a snob. I drink it black unless it’s ridiculously hot or not very good (Dunkin Donuts or Folgers).
I drink Mill Mountain if I’m out, H&C if I’m brewing it at home. H&C smells like whatever brand my grandmother used when I was a kid. I agree that Starbucks tastes burnt. I liked Burger King’s BKJoe, but ever since they replaced that, it’s not the same.
Great discussion, you guys.
@Chris, thanks for chiming in with your opening schedule for Firefly Fare in the city market building. We are looking forward to it!
@Elle, I hope you got some sleep eventually! Haha.
On a daily basis, we use a French Press, which is delicious and also saves due to not having to use paper filters.
For special treats, we love Bollo’s in Blacksburg. They also have delightful baked goods (including gluten-free, if you need them).
We miss the Easy Chair in Blacksburg
Coffee Depot in Christiansburg is our favorite on this side of town. We like the coffee AND the politics! They also have great gift items.
I typically just make coffee at home and bring it in with me to work. Just one travel mug a day. When I’m in the mood for a frou frou coffee drink I’ll go to Starbucks (especially around Christmas w/Pumpkin Spice and Creme Brulee are out). I honestly always get great service at Starbucks, the baristas have always been super friendly when I come in.
I also try to make it a point to visit CUPS at least a few times a month just to show support and I do enjoy their flavored coffees quite a bit. Service there can be a little spotty though depending on the owner’s mood.
CUPS on Grandin! So wonderful to have in the Village. Great staff, local goodies, terrific gathering place – our other office too!
Maybe tomorrow when I’m at the Grandin market I’ll give CUPS a go…haven’t been there yet. I’m always hopeful a coffee shop will move into Crystal Spring when something opens up, but we just get more and more expensive retail stuff.
Coffee shops seems to be springing up and getting more popular everywhere. I have a theory that it’s sort of a reaction to the troubled economy…even when people can’t afford to go to a great restaurant and blow a few $100 on a dinner, they can still treat themselves to a nice cup of coffee and and feel they’ve had something special.
Almost all of the coffee I drink is made at home. We buy “Costa Rican” from Mill Mt. and have it ground for espresso. We make it in a Krups “Aroma Control” coffee maker, make it strong and drink it black. I think the fine, almost powder grind for espresso makes it come out a little stronger. If I’m out and want coffee, I’d go to Mill Mt., or if in a hurry both Sheetz and 7-11 have at least a couple of brews that are decent. And Hardee’s coffee is drinkable.
Coffee Time opened last Saturday on Brambleton. I stopped by on Sunday and the place is really nice….clean, bright, and inviting. The coffee was good and the food was excellent. Give it a try. The owner is usually there and is a super nice guy who has worked very hard to make this a comfortable neighborhood cafe.
I just stopped at Coffee time also. Great coffee and also has lunch menu. Can not wait to try it.
At home I mostly keep Kona beans stashed away but when I go out somewhere it is really hard for me to justify the cost of most places when there is a 7/11 just down the street. 7/11 has some damn fine coffee regardless of what people say and it may be nothing special but I don’t have to spend ten minutes convincing some 19 year old barista that yes, I do want a normal cup of coffee and I actually want it to taste of coffee and not of milk foam and caramel.