Kopplins Coffee // Coffee Shop Review

The Basics: 
Kopplin's is sorta the granddad of great coffee in the Twin Cities. They've had some time to nail down what they're after, and it shows. One coffee a day. The same espresso (Terroir, in its various iterations) for (I think) several years. The same paint scheme through two different shops.

The Coffee:
The espresso I've had at Kopplin's since I've started going more regularly has fallen between pretty good and straight-up sublime. On two separate occasions, once with Andrew Kopplin on the bar and once with Josh on the bar, I have received the best cappuccino I've ever tasted. Even when it's not sublime, the quality of the espresso, milk, and barista training have resulted in a very drinkable, if less balanced, capp.

That being said, sometimes even when it's not busy it can take a solid 5+ minutes to get your espresso drink. Consider this if you are in a hurry.

I really like their regular coffees. Someday I'll put together a Dollar Menu post of the best foods available for a dollar, but until then let me say that the taster-size cup of coffee at Kopplin's is the perfect size if you don't want a caffeine hangover and is only one dollar. Combine it with a cream puff from the Seward Co-op and you've still got three of your five dollars left to spend.

I'm not sure if they just use one roaster or rotate through a variety, but either way their selection is carefully curated, and it shows. Their new method for brewing the individual cups of coffee also adds a comforting level of constancy to the quality of each cup, too. Based on a little observation, it seems to scale up much better than, say, a pourover bar.

The Atmosphere:
is rock solid. Nothing extraordinary, just comfy chairs, a nifty bar setup, tiny round marble tables and enormous wooden dinner tables. The walls are green and have nice art on them. Lots of different people come in and out throughout the day. You should join them.

-TS

kopplinscoffee.com/