Craving for Coffee? Caribou

In Minnesota, there is always a rival among Star Bucks, Dunn Bros, and Caribou. All these three chained coffee shops are still my favourites. If you want regular latte, americano, or machiato, the taste and the quality are often consistent.

Recently, Caribou has introduced choice of white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate in your favourite mocha coffee in addition to milk selections (2% milk, skim milk, and soy milk). For those who love dark chocolate (like myself), a regular mocha (rich crisp smooth espresso) blended with 2% milk, a shot of dark Guittard dark chocolate and light on whip cream will make your day. For someone who need less less bitterness and milkiness, try a regular mocha with 1/2 white chocolate and skim milk no whip cream. Caribou is not only offer coffee & bakery but also their "fusion" tea. They have variety fusion tea selections such as Pomegranet Vanilla Oolong tea latte, Cinnamon Rooibos Tea latte, Black Thai tea latte, Chai Tea latte, black tea, green tea, herbal tea and of course ice tea (all flavors). If you are open minded about "fusion" tea latte, give them a try. Personally, if I drink tea, I tend to choose loose premium tea at the tea shop. When I tried Pomegranet Vanilla Oolong tea, it did not have a rich and earthy taste though it had a wonderful slightly fruity taste, and its aroma worth mentioning.

The ambient has a cabin-look, nice, warm, and cozy. Wi-fi is unlimited hours free. Staff are nice. And the best of all, you could find a $1 off large wild beverage coupon almost anytime online!!

Taste of South American coffee at The Bean Factory

South American coffee?? How many coffee shops offer a Mexican mocha with cayenne pepper rather than a boring mocha? How about a cup of Cuban coffee? Or Costa Rica dark roasted coffee that is freshly brewed at the brew bar. What does Jamaican coffee taste like? Yemen mocha??? Wow, Am I in Minnesota? Yes, I am in Twin Cities and blogging from a one of our favorite coffee shops. It is called "The J&S Bean Factory" but normally it is known as "The Bean Factory".
The Bean Factory is an independent coffee shop located on 1518 Randolph Ave in St. Paul. There are several things that make the Bean Factory unique; the free WI-FI, the urbanize decor (tin ceiling), friendly staff, and the extremely high quality of coffee beans! They imported the beans from all over the world and roast them on-site in a state-of-the-art premium roaster a day at a time. In addition, customers have an opportunity to sample a freshly brewed cup of any of the beans currently available at the "brew bar" before they buy a bag of coffee beans. They also serve fresh soups, sandwiches, pastries, and "Good Humor" ice cream bars.

We normally come here for the Mexican mocha extra spicy - a nice mocha with a Mexican spice flavor and a piece of mocha chip short bread. But today I tried a Cubano coffee, a Cuban espresso with sugar cane with a touch of creamy foam. It comes in a tiny little cup with a nice flavor - strong coffee for the cold morning. We really enjoy the ambience, the loacal people, and the high speed internet access. There is comfortable indoor seating and a great backyard patio is also available.

Cozy place at Coffee Bene'

Well, living in Minnesota you can't predict what the weather is going to be like today or tomorrow. It can change from bitter cold to hot and sunny, blizzard to thunder storm, windy to foggy. It was nice and warm, but this week (today) is cold and snow. Late April snow? Yah!! This is Minnesotahh!

With an unpredictable weather, my partner and I could not decide which coffee shop we should try today. We were browsing around St. Paul area (between the intersection of Dale & University and the intersection of Snelling Ave and University Ave) to see if there were any "cozy" coffee shops. Some coffee shops do not have free WI-FI, and others were like a deli or restaurant rather than coffee shop. Finally we ended up in one of our usual spots - Coffee Bene'.

Coffee Bene' (pronounced Ben-nay means "great" in Italian) is located right next to Davani Pizza and Hot Hoagies, at the intersection of Grand and Cleveland, and right accross from St.Thomas University. As you would expect, the student a crowd from nearby St. Thomas University carry in their own fancy laptops sipping coffee in order to stay awake during exam season. Otherwise, regular customers normally are the neighbors around Macalester Groveland of St. Paul. Also, it is a good coffee place to hang out for the first date.

My partner and I have been here several times for several reasons. Although only 2-hour free WIFI is available for the customer, the atmosphere, friendly staff, and nice decor are probably our primary reasons for us to stop by. The place looks homey, cozy, and plenty of tables and big chairs. We love to sit in the comfy sofa chairs.

I normally have a regular mocha which is good. Today I tried 20 oz. of "White Mocha"- White Ghilardelli Chocolate & espresso & steam milk, and my partner tried a plain dark roast Americanna. Well, just like the weather that is difficult to predict, the White Mocha turned out to be just fine. It was sweeter than I expected, the coffee flavor was mild. I think they might have added to much milk. The dark roast was fine as well and a bit strong.

We had asked them if they could make a Cafe' Miel - Single shot latte with honey and vanilla - but they didn't know how to make it. It would be nice if they had a bigger coffee menu than just the regular items that every coffee shop has.

Hey Bros! See you at Dunn Bros

Have you ever had a cup of coffee at Dunn Bros. coffee shop? Well, if you live in the Twin Cities and never had one, I could say that you haven't had real Minnesotan coffee yet. Yes, I mean it. And you will be addicted to its taste if you try a cup of coffee there.

The first time I went to Dunn Bros was in 1996. I went to the one on Grand Ave and Snelling Ave, St Paul, near Maclester College. It was a chilly morning. When I stepped inside the coffee shop, suddenly I could smell the freshnest of the beans that were roasted in a huge coffee roaster. People were lining up to order their favorite coffee and bakery item. Two of the smiley staff were greeting customers and taking orders, two other staff were brewing coffee deligently, and one other was putting the beans in the roaster, adjusting the temperature to ensure the freshnest and highest quality of the beans. There were several tables and chairs but it was not enough to accommodate the great number of customers. I also saw a fairly small stage for some talented band which usually performed on the weekend.

On that cold morning, I ordered 16 oz. of hot dark chocolate mocha latte - espresso with milk and dark chocolate topped with whipped cream. Wow, that drink just made my day! An excellent balanced flavor of chocolate, espresso, milk, mixed altogether giving such a perfect bodiness, not too weak and not too strong. The whipped cream gave an extra creaminess to the coffee. Yumm...

Since then I have been to Dunn Bros several times at several locations. They have been improving in a positive direction such as offering a "real" free WIFI, punch cards, seasonal drinks, etc. I have tried almost all the coffee drinks: Americano, Latte, Dark Chocolate Mocha, White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Mocha Latte, Macchiato, Coffee Ice Crema, and the Hoiday flaved coffee. Considering the overall taste, staff friendliness, and atmosphere I give Dunn Bros. an "A", however the price is somewhat too high compared to Starbucks or Seatle Best Coffee.
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I'm "in Cahoots" on Selby and Snelling

Today I had a chance to stop by at a new coffee shop on Selby and Snelling Ave near O' Garas Irish Pub. It's called "Cahoots" so naturally I'm now in cahoots. A quite nice ambient atmosphere with the Mediteranien arts, crafts, paintings, mediteranian greeting cards, and rugs. Even the music they play has lured the local people. When I walked around this coffee shop, I found that it was much larger than I expected. They even have an outdoor seating area where the customers enjoy sipping coffee in the sunshine. Customers who come here mostly are students and uptown-like guys/girls.

I glanced up to see the menu on the blackboard behind the barista. Besides regular coffee such as Mocha, Aulait, Latte, Machiatto, they have some unusual coffee like Turkish coffee, Moroccan coffee, Thai coffee, and some unusual herbal loose tea. I also saw that Cahoots offers a small range of Mediterian food such as Stuffed Grape Leaves, Hummus Plate, Croissant Sandwich, Folaccia Sandwich.

Since this is a new place that I have ever been to, I only tried a 'regular' dark chocolate mocha and my partner tried Thai coffee. The Mocha had a good flavor, delightful aroma, bitter-sweetness of chocolate, and light cream, but still a lack of full bodiness. Thai coffee (espresso with hot water mixed with condense milk) was bit too sweet to me but was not too bad. Next time I think I would try something different like "Moraccan Mocha" or "Turkish Mocha" if they can make it.

Overall I had a pleasant experience, friendly staff, homey place, and plenty of space if you want to spend time to broadband.