Prodigy Coffeehouse / 40th & Colorado — Restaurant in Denver

Order: Ice Ice Berry Latte, Cappuccino Price: $8 Positives: Several unique drinks, they make their own syrup, the espresso was really good, they have cool seating, and I LOVE that they are working to do good in their community. Negatives: Not a lot honestly (especially regarding things they can control; thanks COVID -_- )

Summary: Prodigy Coffee is a must try! They have a super nice staff, they make their own syrup, their coffee is on freakin point, and they have a reasonable amount of cool seating!

Thoughts: As always, anytime we are moving through a city we try to find some of the best coffee we can get our hands on. Prodigy was the first stop on the list and honestly we probably could've stopped the list there. The storefront has a very unique design, it almost looks like it's converted from an old drive-through oil change place or something. Two of the sides of the buildings have roll up shutter style doors that allow the building to be opened up and get a cool cross-breeze through it. It's a fantastic way to keep the interior cool and still feel like you’re not stuck inside a building.

Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to hang out so we talked to the two barista's on staff, they made a few recommendations, and from there we narrowed it down to their current special, the ice ice berry latte, and one of our standard picks, the simple cappuccino. While we waited a few minutes for our drinks we took a look around and read the story of Prodigy Coffeehouse and we were honestly both blown away by its history just as equally as we were the coffee. One of Prodigy’s main objectives is to provide another path of young adults that don’t connect with the typical school/career paths. Rather than try and explain it I’m going to include their own statements at the bottom of the review. Needless to say though we were beyond impressed.

If all that wasn't enough, the drinks were fantastic. The cappuccino was everything you would want; strong, small, the espresso was pulled expertly, and the foam was done very well. The big surprise was the ice ice berry latte which we got on their recommendation. Normally we are not sweet coffee drinkers, at home we will often only go as sweet as a half vanilla latte from our local coffee shop. Somehow the ice ice berry latte found a perfect balance between sweet berry notes and the strong punch of the espresso. When they serve it they pour the espresso over the top of the milk and flavoring allowing it to trickle down into the drink. It's honestly fantastic. We almost went back a few hours later to get the same drink but decided just to try a new coffee shop.

I will 100% recommend that everybody in the area go try Prodigy Coffeehouse. Not only are you getting amazing coffee you're also supporting an incredible company that is pouring its time, money, and expertise into a new generation of young adults. With that in mind here’s a little bit about what prodigy has to say for itself. (All statements below come directly from Prodigy’s website)

The Challenge Our country’s education and employment structures are largely outdated, ineffective, and inequitable, especially for youth on the margins. This leaves us vulnerable and inefficient as we train the next generation for the new economy.

The Work. Prodigy Appreticeshipts Young adults disconnected from school and/or work are invited into a year-long apprenticeship as humble learners of life, self, and craft, within a high standards enterprise.

The Outcome: Personal Growth Through deep work and deep learning, apprentices build skills, mindsets, networks and economic capital for sustainable careers, and most importantly, discover their own inherent greatness.

The Impact: Personal & Community Transformation Apprentices have secured meaningful, sustainable employment and are leaders in their community.  This, in turn, builds wealth for marginalized Northeast...

Whoever invented mass-produced coffee is a prodigy.

It was our last full day of exploring and traveling around Colorado and we needed caffeine to get us started. Once we dropped Sammy off at work, we looked up some places she told us and settled on Prodigy. They didn’t open until 6:30am so we got there early and waited a few minutes in the parking lot.

Once they opened their doors, we booked it in and were somehow beat by another person in placing an order. Emily got something that stuck her fancy and I snagged an americano. We didn’t wait around to sip our drink as we were going to hike at the Red Rocks and wanted to beat the summer heat.

The interior was nice and colorful. To my best guess, this building used to be a lube shop and it was converted into a business building at some point. Emily and I entered what seemed to be that door that rolls up when you drive in for an oil change. While the vibe in the coffeehouse was nice and vibrant, the two ladies working didn’t really acknowledge us or engage us in conversation. While I don’t ever expect to have a full blown conversation with someone working a register/making coffee, some level of engagement or acknowledgement would be nice.

As for the coffee, we sipped it on the way to Red Rocks and wow… this americano was bitter. It was almost too bitter for my taste but I savored it all the same. I needed as much of a punch of bitter as I could get for the long day ahead. Emily said she enjoyed her drink as well.

While I was ever-so-slightly annoyed that the customer service here was weak, the strongness of the americano left me with a...

I’m not one to leave negative reviews unless a place really fails IMO. Pulled into the drive thru line as the 3rd car thinking it would go relatively quickly as I had 12 min to spare before I had to continue with my drive. After waiting for about 7 min with zero movement, a nice guy came outside to take everyone’s order and payment who was waiting in the drive thru line. Great, I thought, now I’ll finally get my plain black coffee with a splash of oat milk and can be on my way. But no…about 5 min later it was finally my turn to move up to the pick up window. I sat and watched as two baristas ignored me and focused on making waffles instead of simply pouring a for me so I could move on. I finally waved someone over to the window and asked if I could just have my simple coffee and be in my way as I’ve already been stuck in line for 14 minutes and was now late. Got my coffee and thought great, I’m a bit frustrated and now late but oh well, not worth getting too upset about. Then I drink this coffee and it’s literally the worst cup of coffee I’ve ever had. Guessing the oat milk is spoiled?! Not sure how they could fail so badly here but I was so disappointed with the time wasted and no...