Corter Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

As a former coffee shop owner, I feel like I have to write this review. Before my friend and I walk into Inertia, we notice there are many syrup pumps sitting on the counter. If you're a serious coffee drinker, you know this is a sign of a not serious about coffee shop. We gave it a try anyway. Decorum was quirky. I liked some of the science-nerd jokes. Should have been my kind of place. Furniture is hodge-podge, and that always leads me to believe I'm not in a serious shop. We order two pourovers of Ethiopian origin. The barista points us to jars that are sitting on the counter. This is not a good sign. We order the pourovers anyway. When we receive the pourovers, the coffee comes in science beakers - which can be really cool and part of the brand with the exception that glass transfers heat instead of contains heat like a ceramic mug. The barista tries to hand the hot beakers to us, to which we ask the barista to place the beaker on the table so not to burn ourselves. I look at the beaker and read the level of coffee at 600 ml. That doesn't sound like much. But it is. You do the math and there are 20 ozs of coffee sitting in the beaker. This should be a boon of coffee, but it isn't. We both taste our coffee and get the ugly faces. I realize two things: 1) they over-poured the pourover - they should have measured it on a scale with a ratio of minimum 6 oz (max 8oz if you're pushing it) to every 2 tablespoons of v60 grind size. This coffee was flooded. 2) the beans were either old, roasted poorly, or both. The only way to love this coffee is to dump creamer and sugar into it and forget it was ever coffee. There are a ton of amazing shops in Colorado Springs, and Inertia does not seem keen on being one of those. I hate to write such a scathing review, but part of what propelled me is to write this is the service just seemed sub-par. In fairness, one barista was trying, the other seemed like they could be...

Went here for the first time today and I really liked it.

First of all, I loved the nerd-vibe. Drinks are served in beakers. Gift certificates are rolled up into test tubes. A box with Schrödinger's cat collects extra pennies you might have. They have a corner with Rubix cubes and other mind puzzles. SO COOL.

The owners who run this little local coffee shop are a married couple, both former Navy. I didn't meet the husband, but the wife is extremely kind and accommodating. Great customer service, extremely friendly staff.

As far as drinks go... It depends what you like. I tried a couple of their specialty drinks. I had the Curiosity first, which is their spicy chai -- and boy, is it spicy! (As in, chok full of spices.) Even after adding creamer the spice level was a little overwhelming for me & I couldn't finish all of it. I had their cider next, which had cranberry and Earl Grey tea in it, and I could have chugged a gallon of that stuff. Perfect for fall, and SO incredibly delicious. They do the normal coffee drinks, too, and without even trying them I can guarantee they are 100% better than anything Starbucks has.

For food, they serve a few kinds of pastries and a couple different kinds of muffins. I had this strawberry roll/croissant thing and SWEET JESUS was it good. I quite literally inhaled it.

They give discounts to military, students, first responders, even teachers I believe. Which is super cool.

Overall, I had a good experience here and would recommend this...

I went there yesterday because I just got into specialty coffee and needed some freshly roasted beans to use with my hand grinder during my travels. I used to be a milk-and-sugar person but recently took a barsita class and learned about the intricacies of conplex, fresh coffee and now I only drink my coffee black! But since I'm still learning, when I asked about flavor profiles, the barista and owner both took time to help me pick the right beans for my taste (they were spot on!), and when I expressed an interest in learning how they roast, the owner spent over 10 minutes showing me the equipment, explaining the process, and telling me about where the beans come from. They use an importer which vets the farms for ethical practices, which is also very important to me. This place is LEGIT for specialty beans and the service is out of this world!!! I have never experienced friendliness like this at any other coffee shop (and I've been to a lot)! (How can people start drinking better coffee if no one helps them learn?!) I'll be doing mail order and will definitely stop back my next time to Colorado Springs! Thanks to the staff there for such a...