Epoch Coffee - Far West — Restaurant in Austin

Epoch is some of the best coffee in Austin! Their cold brew, filters, espresso, and flashbrews are all superb. They clearly care about coffee, seek out artisan roasters, and prepare the coffee well. The matcha is decent as well (though, this seems to depend on who makes it). Unfortunately, the chai (Rishi concentrate, I think?) and syrups do not meet the same standard and the mocha was a powder (at least last time I tried it), which lacks a strong flavour and often does not mix well. The have an array of seasonal specials, some of which can be kind of hit and miss, but points to them for the adventurous and arrayed offerings! I am glad they have alternative milks, but it is highly irksome that they charge extra for it, which can make getting a drink extremely expensive (an alternative milk + a customisation like a syrup and it can come to $7 something plus tip for a drink sometimes, which is extortionate!). As another point of criticism, their iced drinks are also very heavy on the ice, making it questionably worth the money. Apparently, they offer taco and tamales, as well as an array of sandwiches; I wish I could comment on the food, but they are unfortunately always sold out (couldn't they order more, given the demand?). Epoch has a unique company culture and I love how inclusive they are of everyone, particularly the trans community; the store has trans love letters, a pride flag, and other messages of support, which provides a safe and welcoming space that is much needed especially in this terrifying political climate. I expect this gains some rancour from some people, but it is amazing to see a business doing this. The inclusion, acceptance, and positivity really embodies what Austin is (and should) be about. I have only ever gotten takeaway, but the atmosphere of the store is great. There's a lot of place for seating and there's a range of people there-- from middle-aged people who live in the neighbourhood, to UT students studying, to the occasional work meeting. Oddly, I have not seen many kids there (it's near two schools and in a kid friendly neighbourhood) and their menu does not seem like it would cater to children (coffee or foodwise); (as someone who does not have children, this is not a problem for me and the students studying there probably appreciate the lack of children, but it is worth noting!) I wish they were dog friendly, though; it would certainly fit the vibe, everyone loves dogs, and certainly the neighbourhood has plenty of them. All in all, an excellent coffee shop (perhaps not the best in Austin but amongst the best) with a great message. Just less ice and more...

I loved the logo and the building itself (there is a mysterious downstairs section where they manufacture the lavender and imprison the beans; where after hours they hold high stakes poker games and bare-knuckle boxing fights). La barista was nice, too. (She had a NASA cap atop her blonde head, a detail that is completely inconsequential and not worth mentioning, yet here and there it is.) As for the coffee itself, Epoch is far from epic. My intuition was guiding me toward the iced mojo (0.5) but then the barista guided my dear companion there instead, leaving me feeling like I had no choice but to choose something different. I got some kind of coffee with the special house lavender syrup because it seemed weird and I'm weird and I like to try weird things. La barista said it was actually good, not as weird as it might sound, especially if she only gave me 1/2 a shot of lavender juice (which is what she did indeed do for me). I thought my lavender coffee was interesting enough, albeit neither good enough nor strong enough. My dear companion did not like it not one bit. She's not about that life, you know. She was not satisfied with her own coffee either (nor was I), so she sent me in search of a side of “sweetmilk.” Because "sweetmilk" is not a real thing, la barista just gave me a cup of syrup instead. But of course that didn't cut it for MDC, so she sent me back for a cup of milk. Thus, in the end, we ended up using the two disposable cups we had tried so hard to spare by requesting glass glasses. As a result we failed to stop global warming and I became a diehard nihilist. On the brighter side, my dear companion found images of Lebanon in the aesthetics of the neighboring building, and this helped spark an interesting little conversation about her past, this present, and our future. See, that’s the thing about MDC, she can make any two-star joint feel more like a four or five just by being there. She’s...

The service I received this morning was terrible. There were two employees working this morning - a small petite young lady and a taller woman who was dressed very sloppy and she was very rude. You cannot enter the establishment without a mask so we went back out to our car to get our masks. The small petite lady took our order and she was very pleasant. As my daughter and I waited for our drinks the lady that waited on us gave us our dessert. I took a bite to taste the dessert and the larger sloppy dressed employee behind the counter scolded me in front of everyone by directing me outside to taste my dessert because of their mask requirements.

I said, “you know that masks are about to be no longer required in most places”. Which that mandate is already being practiced in most public places now.

Her answer was this, “When that happens you can eat in our establishment. So until then - we require masks and plus we don’t want you dropping sugar all over the floor.”

I own a service business in Austin Texas and have for over 20 years. If any of my employees ever spoke to any of our clients in this manner - I would hope someone would reach out to me and let me know. I will never spend another dime in this coffee shop.

There was another customer 10 feet to my left and she was drinking something with her mask down and the rude employee said nothing to her.

You can get a better selection and nicer service down the road at Starbucks where you will be treated with respect - so don't waste your time stopping at Epoch Coffee...