Sometimes there is no feeling like getting out of bed in the morning and heading to a coffee shop by yourself, with friends or even family. There’s a reason we spend $7 on a cup of joe: it makes us happy. I am not shy about my love for both coffee and tea. I spend my weekends working at a St. Louis coffee shop, and I spend my mornings sipping on Yerba Mate. As someone who has spent her fair share of time in coffee shops around St. Louis, I feel qualified to rate the ones I frequent most. The categories I loosely measured on my trips to these shops were ambiance, coffee and dishes. I want to walk into a warm and welcoming establishment when I head out for my coffee. I enjoy a place with an extremely solid ambiance. Also, the ideal coffee shop has espresso that doesn’t make me wince at the taste. Another factor to consider is that I believe one of the most humiliating feelings is having a little mug in your hand with nowhere to put it. A coffee shop with an easily accessible dish bin is a blessing. For this edition of Restaurant Rivalry, I ordered a cortado from each coffee shop. A cortado is a small coffee drink with equal parts espresso and milk. It’s a little more exciting than just a shot, but it also highlights the quality of the coffee. Now, let’s proceed to the battle of the cortados.
Blueprint Coffee: 10/10
Ambiance: 10
Coffee: 10
Dishes: 10
Blueprint Coffee is the love of my life. The first time I had an iced Americano from the Watson location I nearly teared up at the beauty of the moment. The Blueprint experience is indescribable. I recommend ordering any coffee without syrups because I have never had a bad shot pulled for me at Blueprint, so I promise the flavor of the coffee will never be a disappointment. The Watson location near Lindenwood Park has more of my style of ambiance than the Delmar one; however they both serve fantastic coffee. Blueprint on Watson reminds me of summer, even in the dead of winter. It’s impossible to sit in the coffee shop and not imagine the garage doors at the front of the building wide open with the sun beaming on my iced Americano. I think any disadvantage of Blueprint, such as the distance from Chesterfield or how early they close, is completely outweighed by the welcoming environment of the baristas and the coffee that could make a grown man cry. Blueprint has a perfect score in my heart because in all of my travels from northern California to Italy, I have yet to find a better cup of coffee.
Quarrelsome Coffee: 7.2/10
Ambiance: 8
Coffee: 8.5
Dishes: 5
Picture the kind of coffee shop that spans over miles of square footage. The entire establishment is white, dark green and beige. The people sitting in the very few chairs across the cafe most certainly think they are better than you. Once you get your drink in one of their dark blue (absolutely beautiful) mugs you walk around looking for a seat. Then you slowly lose hope of finding a seat and you think to yourself, “my cortado is about to spill,” but eventually you find an open chair at the bar and you practically push a customer aside to get it. Once you sit down, you set the cortado that has been teasing you on the counter. You put the small mug up to your lips and you take a sip. You recognize that the espresso is charming and smooth. It’s a little bit acidic, but not too overwhelming. Once you finish the cortado you know in your heart that it’s some darn good coffee. Yet, you also know you’ve had better. Quarrelsome was an interestingly minimalistic experience, but I didn’t mind it. Their merchandise was very appealing and the coffee was pretty good. However, the seating was a huge inconvenience and some psychopath put the dish bin in a location that took nearly a minute to find.
Webster Groves Garden Cafe: 8/10
Ambiance: 10
Coffee: 4
Dishes: 10
A cup of coffee just isn’t a cup of coffee without some fabulous ambiance. The Garden Cafe has the look of a coffee shop that rolled down a mountain and picked up nearly every random object along the way. There’s no cooler place to have talks with your friends or study. Despite all of the magic within this coffee shop, they have some of the worst coffee I have ever tasted. Their espresso is practically water with a few coffee grounds sprinkled in. However, the crappy coffee this establishment provides adds even more charm. Their cortado tasted like some bad drip coffee you tried to cover the taste of with a splash of milk. But every time I go to this cafe I order coffee, so they must be doing something right. Also, their dish bin is located right next to the counter where customers pick up their drinks, which I believe to be absolutely genius.
Maypop Coffee Shop: 8.7/10
Ambiance: 8
Coffee: 8
Dishes: 10
What’s better than drinking a cup of coffee in a building full of beautiful plants? Maypop is a wonderful establishment that is not only a coffee shop, but also a plant shop. I have discovered over the last few years that Maypop thrives in the summer, but it makes winter feel a little less wintery. They use Blueprint coffee beans, but their coffee is not quite up to Blueprint’s level. This beautiful coffee shop, held in a tall brick building, has been one of my favorite study spots in St. Louis for years. They are open until five in the afternoon, and there is always a seat available despite how small the actual cafe is. Maypop is a comfort to be in, and the baristas are such wonderful people. They keep a dish bin right by the front door, and another one in the middle of the cafe. Maypop is the kind of place that has your back, but watch out because they will be able to successfully sell you a $30 plant that you may or may not find a way to accidentally kill on your way home due to your lack of a green thumb.
Coma Coffee Roasters: 7.3/10
Ambiance: 8
Coffee: 7
Dishes: 7
Coma Coffee is always packed. The Brentwood establishment is consistently full of people from college students to older business men preparing for their seemingly important business lunches. The baristas at Coma are some of the most entertaining out there. They all love their jobs and they are not afraid to show it. This is the kind of place to bring a friend to gossip over a plate of fabulous breakfast potatoes. The two story coffee shop has a special place in my heart due to the constant excitement present in the building. However, I have not once gotten a lick of homework or studying done due to the constant string of distractions. From how high the chairs at the bar are, to the communal tables full of stressed out medical school students, there is an endless supply of circumstances that make Coma a terrible place to study. Their coffee is pretty good. It’s a little on the acidic side for my taste but I truly believe that comes down to who’s pulling the shots. At the end of the day Coma is one of the most popular coffee shops in the St. Louis area for a reason. They have an amazing menu and they are open the latest of all of these coffee shops. Their dish bins are slightly hidden in the back of the cafe, but I can forgive them for that.
Overall, the St. Louis area has some really amazing coffee shops. No matter where you go, the vibes are great and the baristas are working hard. I highly recommend bringing your friends and family to any of these places to share the experience with them. At the end of the day it isn’t entirely about the coffee you drink or don’t drink, it’s about the people you’re with. I challenge you to order a cortado from the coffee shop of your choice, unless it’s Webster Groves Garden Cafe, then I would challenge you to order anything but coffee.
