Second State Coffee — Restaurant in Charleston

I’ve generally had a good experience here at second state. But now there’s an issue.

-Beverage experience: I’ve never had a bad drink from this store and the staff have been great with recommendations.

-Some background about me: I’ve been in the coffee business (not associated with second state)for over 2 years and have trained 10+ staff members on coffee within the last month. I’m a well trained barista who also worked in a roasting facility.

-The issue: considering that you’re spending $22 on a bag of coffee beans, you’d at least expect them to be fresh. Good news! They were fresh… once… There are no roast dates on the bags. A few weeks ago I got a lovely bag of black condor and had it dialed in beautifully on my home espresso setup. I recently purchased another bag of the same variety and I’m having to grind significantly finer to produce a still subpar product. There is no happy medium with old coffee, meaning the coffee either flows like water or doesn’t come out at all. The way it flows and provides no crema tells me that this is an old stale bag.

As a consumer, this inconsistency is not something that is drawing me back into this...

Seems as though this week has been a week of trying things I usually don't like lol. Got a dirty chai from here which has some espresso, cinnamon and some other spices, about as good as you can get it...still can't take bland things xD. The setting was peaceful and attracts what appears to be the contemporary crowd of sorts, and the aesthetics helped with the unity of the environment inside, certainly more unique than your average day Starbucks 😁. I did decide to buy a 12oz container of the Jorge Mendez Coffee Blossom Honey since apparently it is the only Honey imported into the US by a company that comes from Coffee Blossoms from Guatemala (my memory isn't the most reliable so sorry if the info isn't precise). The honey certainly has a delightfully unique taste when compared to your everyday brand of honey from say Whole Foods, though it does cost a few dollars more. The consistency appeared to be thicker as well thus making it a perfect spread for a toasted bagel or English muffin. All in all if you haven't tried this coffee shop, and you are tired of your average day coffee hang. This place is certainly...

First off, parking is iffy. There's an alley beside coffee shop with a gravel drive. Tight turn, but if you can work your way in there, you can park there (I think free) for a few mins or hrs. Anyway, turn the corner and then find the beautiful building you see in all the pics. The shop is on the smaller side, and at the counter you will be greeted by a few people running the show. I ordered my wife the iced (light ice) lavender latè (it DOES have coffee in it) and I ordered the black coffee that they have in season. Taz... something. The guy at the counter said it was his favorite right now. Their black coffee is pour over so it has no bitterness. The guy whispered the wifi code to me like it was the secret of the century and was extremely helpful when ordering. A few mins later, out comes the latè and the coffee. The latè is not overly sweet, perfectly slight lavender flavor, but slightly too milky.. but the black coffee. The only way I can sum it up is 😍. Great atmosphere, GORGEOUS lighting, good music, and friendly staff. Would love to come back next time we are...