Noble Coffee Roasting — Restaurant in Ashland

I’m a cappuccino kinda guy. So, when traveling to new towns, especially in the PNW where the crunchy culture takes its coffee tradecraft peacefully serious, I will often make my first go-sees to the highest starred shops.

Assuming a generally fair-priced playing field amongst boutique coffee shops, often my first appraisal will be the price fetched for a cappy. At $5.50, Noble’s price suggested they were hella proud of that offering.

I tend to like spending my time waiting for my coffee drink, being a good student of my Barista’s technique and observing the bravura they bring to the pulling process. I was tickled by what I saw. Such facility, such fluidity. On a brief inventory of the love baked into this cup, my outlook was high-order.

At first sip, the creamy, nutty notes, which fired on all cylinders, went straight to my bean brain. The way only such caramelized nectar, rendered under high pressure extraction can. And by baristas who are not only proud masters of their craft, but a credit to their profession.

The body, bouquet, and tongue bath of this cappuccino was not only an achievement but a real arrival point for me….as I realized that this might very well be the best cup outside of Italy, that I’ve ever in my life had.

Lingering in my head long after the last drop, I became paralyzed when it came time to re-enter the expressway and I turned to my wife and said, “I dunno when I’m gonna be back Ashland and if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I’ll go to afterlife in a bad mood for not savoring that experience one more time.”

So I did it. I turned that car about-face for another round of bliss. Oh, and to bookend this glowing review, lemme say that while I may first have winced at the cost as being somewhat spendy for a cappuccino, I now know that nirvana can be had for the bargain price of $5.50. One that I look eagerly forward to again tendering….if I can stay outta the way...

All around, Noble is a pretty amazing spot, the coffee is absolutely the best in town, I lived in Guatemala and feel like I have a good taste for coffee. The coffee is usually single origin, fair trade, etc. Pretty awesome! The staff is always friendly as well.

Most things are extremely expensive... Which wouldn't be an issue if their points system wasn't so terribly thought out. Which is my chief complaint, and why I chose to give Noble 3 stars:

Points system gives you one point, whether you spend $2 or $200. As someone who purchases bagged coffee regularly it's an upset to spend so much money and not get any extra points.

The points login is operated from the cash register screen and the employees must turn the screen towards you to "check in" which they literally never do, so if you forget (which in the morning prior to my coffee, I usually do) you don't get your points.

Most of the businesses in Ashland charge a premium for good food and services, however, Noble doesn't seem to make up for that premium to the local repeat customers.

Fix your points system, it sucks! Thanks for the...

This place used to have amazing coffee, unfortunately paired with an amazingly supercilious attitude. ("No, we won't put just a half a shot in your latte". "Can I have a steamed milk and a latte?" "Not if you're going to mix them.") Last time I was there, the coffee wasn't very good and the staff just couldn't get a simple order right. They used to ship delicious beans... but then they started shipping awful beans under the same name.

Update for July 2021: apparently they had too many people taking up seats without buying anything... chairs are really uncomfortable now. This is a real problem for coffee shops, and I wish there were a...