Brewing Market Coffee — Restaurant in Boulder

This is a review of the Brewing Market in Lafayette, near the YMCA. Much of the review applies to the other Brewing Markets, including the original that is part of the McGuckin’s building, a shop I went to as early as 1984 when a large coffee was 75¢. This review has subheading-stars (yes, my own convention), which are not necessary for a five-star review (as this is).

This particular Brewing Market is called “Espresso Vino” because they serve beer and wine in the evenings (but that aspect falls outside of this review).

Coffee (drip): * My overall favorite drip coffee anywhere, period. They use plenty of coffee, usually have a dark and a lighter roast. They roast their own coffee. They filter their water carefully. And they keep their equipment clean.

Ambience: * This is a great place to meet someone or to work/read alone. A variety of seating arrangements, including outdoors, indoors with cushions, indoors with wooden tables and chairs, and a small room-like section that may be reservable. The music has never annoyed me, although I prefer the way the original Brewing Market plays (or played—don’t live near there) classical music, a unique touch.

Internet connection: * Never had a problem (and don’t have any metrics). Certainly, it’s never failed me, and that is not always the case at coffee shops. Well, it failed me once but it was a neighborhood-wide problem with the provider.

Miscellany (location, staff, food): * The location is conveniently near a major intersection, but is far enough from traffic so that the outdoor seating is quiet. Most of my encounters with the staff are pleasant. Because I’ve been a patron longer than some of them have been around, a few of my questions, being dated (such as, “do you still get baked goods from Brillig Works”), throw them off balance—but they do their jobs just fine. One night I showed up when they were closing in spite of what some web site has posted, and the barista insisted on sending me out with a latte...

The Brewing Market would be the best coffee shop in Boulder if the staff was better. Great coffee, nice location, but wow the staff can be just awful at times.

I used to run a coffee shop and I'm shocked that the owners of Brewing Market waste so much potential by not investing in a better staff. Sometimes they're friendly, sometimes they're not. Worse, they're terrible at dealing with the morning rush and the wait for a simple black coffee is often way too long. Frequently it just looks like they're understaffed, but even so the staff that are working seem uncaring and often do not respect the time of their customers. I know that myself and others often choose to go elsewhere for this reason alone.

The coffee's...

The brewing market has the best tasting drinks out of any coffee shop in Boulder besides Vic’s and I come here occasionally, especially if I’m visiting the hardware store. I give two stars because they do have exceptional coffee. I would give one star because of my negative experience with one of their baristas. She is super rude. Classical negative millennial behavior on steroids. I don’t know what is wrong with the person, but she has horrible customer service. I’m surprised that she still has a job. Both times that I’ve been here recently she’s been openly hostile to customers. Really shocking behavior. If you hate people you should probably not be a barista. What is more shocking is that the manager lets the...