Medici Coffee — Restaurant in Austin

I'm not a coffee person but I know how to judge coffee, and my wife got a cold-brew coffee here and it was expensive and below-average quality. It was too acidic and it tasted like low-quality beans that had been over-roasted. For expensive coffee from a local roaster, that's unforgiveable. Seriously, I get that it's in an airport and the prices aren't gonna be rock bottom, but if you charge as much as you do here, the coffee better be at least average quality. But no, it was not just subpar, it was quite bad. I've had similarly bad coffee for $1 at a gas-station in some tiny town in the Texas panhandle. In that case, it's forgiveable. Here, it is not. Expectations are set based on price, location, and branding. At least that gas station didn't claim to have good coffee, it didn't create a spiffy, fancy image and then charge an arm and a leg like this place did. Seriously. So if I were judging on the coffee, it would be 1/5. But, to partly redeem itself, this place delivered an above-average quality crossiant. I could make better cold-brew iced coffee at home, but I must confess, although I am a serious baker, there is no way I could make a better crossiant. So the crossiant painfully drags this place up to 3/5. I really want to give it a 1/5 for that awful excuse for coffee, but alas, I am an honest person...

Update: 4 years later…2024

$8 for an oat cappuccino at the airport?? Thats excessive guys. REALLY excessive. Abusive actually. I travel the world. You just beat the most expensive one I’ve ever purchased by $2 Milk is still foamed way too hot.

Cappuccino- great flavor. I’m a total snob, home roaster, home barista so I watched them make a few before I ordered one. I also talked to the manager about her poor reviews. They are really trying. The morning rush is still a problem for them but they are aware of the service time issue. The espresso pull time was correct, the steaming of the milk was done to hand on the outside of the pitcher temp (proper). I was happy. I asked about the origin of their beans and its the same blend I roast at home. Ethiopian, Guatemalan, Columbia..👍🏽 I watched a latte being made and the foam was too hot, too full of air for proper “art” and the guy said “sometimes its there, sometimes its not” which isn’t exactly true if you’re good.. but hey.. I asked the customer if he liked it and he was very happy. Incredibly overpriced...

⭐ 1-Star Review If you’re looking for overpriced coffee served with a side of hostility, you’ve found your spot at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport!

Today I had the privilege of being barked at by an employee named Sam for daring to walk near a sugar spill (God forbid). Rather than a simple “Hey, careful, there’s a spill,” I got barked at like a misbehaving toddler: “DON’T WALK THROUGH HERE.” Then, in front of customers, she referred to another guest as a “douche bag” and said she hoped he got diarrhea for a week. Classy.

As a cherry on top, the person who made my coffee looked like she’d just come from a funeral and couldn’t be bothered to say thank you or crack a single expression beyond deep existential dread.

Not sure why I tipped—maybe out of pity, maybe out of habit—but lesson learned. If your goal is to start your travel day feeling insulted and invisible, this is your place. Otherwise, steer clear and find a vending machine. It’ll...