Cafe Calypso — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

The employees were nice. However, as a barista and someone that works in customer service the way the shop was operated was inefficient. They never wrote or typed in our orders on the cup and just made them by ear. I ordered an iced oat latte with coconut syrup, and when I tried my latte there was no coconut. I also ordered a bagel with cream cheese and they gave me just the bagel. The espresso tasted extremely burnt and bitter as well, indicating that it was not quality. While me and my mom were waiting to order the baristas were too busy small talking with a regular and were not quick to greet us or start on other people’s drinks, as other people were waiting behind us also. One of them should have been prepping the drinks and food while one was taking orders. I didn’t end up asking them to remake my drink or put cream cheese on my bagel simply because the order line got longer, I was in a rush, and they were already being extremely slow and we were waiting a long time for them to even take our order even though there was only one person in front of us when we arrived. My mom and I both ended up tossing our drinks as we could not finish them and we have a 4 hour drive home...

A lovely coffee shop connected to a book store. We were looking around at the coffee options in Corpus when this one caught our eye. We weren't expecting too much but they delivered great. My wife got one of their Vietnamese coffees and they were able to make me a milk tea (even though it's not on the menu, had to tell them what I wanted in it). The drinks were exactly what we were wanting. The staff there was super friendly and took a minute to talk with us about coffee and the area. Unfortunately I didn't try any of the baked goods. I really should have. Everything looked amazing. The cutest part of the inside was the chair seats that were covered with recycled coffee sacks (and plastic to keep them from being rough). There are also lots of pictures on the wall. I assume they are customers who have come by and tacked one on. Parking wasn't an issue, it's in a large area. Cleanliness was kept up well.

In summary, a nice place to go visit and around downtown so it's convenient as well. They're super friendly and have great drinks. One down side is it's cash only, but you should always carry a little cash...

Update 2021: This place still holds up over time. This is the quintessential bookstore Cafe. The owner and employees are always smiling and friendly. It smells AMAZING as soon as you walk in. It just feels like someplace you want to sit down and hang out. This is not a third wave coffee shop, so don't expect fancy light roast coffee. It is a very good second wave coffee shop.

2015: Best coffee in Corpus and super sweet and friendly staff. I started going here for the freshly roasted coffee beans, they are roasted on a weekly basis making for delicious bright flavors, they also have great specialty coffees and lattes. My current favorite are the Costa Rican beans, smooth with chocolaty notes, makes my mornings that much better :) Oh and its pretty affordable, nice atmosphere and even some outdoor tables (so I can take the dogs...