BrewLab Coffee — Restaurant in Champaign

I was in UIUC and ended up coming here three days in a row -- not because it tasted great, but simply because it was the only pour-over place I could find in town.

Pour-over coffee: Beans seem fresh (only one option Counter Culture), but the pour-over skill feels chaotic. The flavors are muddled, and it doesn’t feel like the store has developed a pour -over style that really suits the beans. I tried their pour-over on two different days with the same results. I’ve brewed Counter Culture beans myself before, and I don’t feel the beans are well treated here.

Other drinks: Espresso-based drinks are much better made. I also tried the Kyoto-style cold brew, but I wouldn’t recommend it-- it just tastes like a dense, sour drink with no clear flavor layers. (Probably some stirring with ice might help separate the layers.) It even gave me a headache at night. I’ve had this style before in Japan and Taiwan, and usually people don’t drink a full cup -- more like an espresso-sized portion. Typically, the barista should experiment with the ratio of ice cubes to cold brew to balance it out.

Environment: Plenty of seats and a restroom, but the space isn’t very pleasant. There’s a damp, basement-like smell (likely from the AC), and I noticed some unclean spots by the windows. Around noon it also gets noisy.

Overall: An average coffee shop near campus. Staffs are nice. Good for students to gather and talk, but not really a place for...

Consider the quintessentials of the college experience: walking to your classes for the first time, dropping your first class, and making lifelong friends, to name a few. But to study in a coffee shop is a shared experience that all college students go through once they get tired of sitting in their rooms, or when library walls begin to feel too close together. My first time at Brewlab, over a year and a half ago, was the result of a google search for coffee shops near me. In my time here at UIUC, I've had the pleasure of experiencing all that Brewlab has to offer. Tasting creamy matcha lattes on cold winter days, cramming for exams with friends in their dedicated study space, playing countless games of chess, and seeing the same strangers every so often are all things that I treasure about this place. When I graduate from UIUC and eventually leave the lawless region of Champaign-Urbana, I will leave many things behind that I will miss dearly. Brewlab is...

We had our first visit to Brew lab last night, as part of the 13 Thursdays event. We returned today for the Friday affagato social and we will CERTAINLY be back soon.

The staff is friendly and helpful and they even recognized us when we came back today, despite being busy last night.

The espresso is smooth and well made, with a decent crema and finish. It paired really well with the ice cream for a delightful affagato. The cold brew is rich and smooth and was a really nice addition to the 13 Thursday event last night.

The only drawbacks to this shop is that it is on campus, so parking is always an issue down there. They aren't far from a parking garage, so they are better situated than many other campus businesses. There is also a very small amount of seating. The building is just tiny and limits the amount of space available.

All in all, this would be ideal for someone on campus anyway, who wants to grab an espresso or...