Penstock Coffee Shop & Roastery — Restaurant in Highland Park

Coffee - The best I have had. These guys take very good care to every detail of the coffee making experience. Highly recommended.

Food - I think their baked goods are well done but a bit expensive. Especially since they are stored in the refrigerator, I am not sure how fresh they actually are. Their granola bars are very good, but once again, $3 for a bar is a bit expensive.

Service - The service is excellent - just what you would expect from a local coffee shop. People get to know you by name and make sure that you are getting exactly what you want and that you are comfortable.

Decor/Atmosphere - The decor and environment is really quite nice. I have gone here to work on writing and if you can get a seat at the big table, it is great. They have free WiFi (a must) and a nice selection of music that is played. Still, they are just starting out so I don't expect everything to be perfect. Some of the furniture is quite minimal and feels very cheap. I hope that they invest in better furniture as they continue to mature. The other thing is that the temperature seems to be very hot sometimes. I am sure they will work out whatever HVAC issues there are. Better yet, I think they will continue to grow and find a better location, one that is bigger and more visible.

Summary - OQ is one of my favorite local businesses. They offer delicious and unique coffees to the Highland...

Five Stars! Why? Read on... I take my time choosing the roaster to indulge in a good espresso. I was in the area and went to Penstock. Vincent was my barista, humble and down to earth. He enticed me enough to try the natural process Ethiopian for the espresso. What I liked about them is that they have dialled in espressos for multiple coffees which is a great thing. It gives you an option of trying out something other than the house blend for your espresso. They charged me $6.00 for my single origin choice for espresso. But keep reading.

I liked Vincent's puck preparation. He even improvised a WDT to break even and distribute the grind in the portafilter. Rarely do I see coffeeshops use a bottomless portafilter. But Penstock does. Speaks volumes about their confidence. There was a little bit of channelling while he pulled the shot. But the espresso turned out delicious. Sweetness and acidity well balanced. Quite fruity and a lingering mild aftertaste of milk chocolate (just me?). The roasters are doing a great job and so is the barista. Highly recommend Penstock. Next time I'm here, I will ask them for a Pour Over. Currently they are using a Kalita to brew their Pour Over coffees. And I want to definitely try their Pour Over skills! Edit: There's a barista named Dan who does latte art competitions. Just added a photo of two of his creations. Simply...

Very bitter pour over. I noticed the coffee server/manager was using what looked like a plastic pour over coffee dripper. I thought that can’t be since this was an $8 cup of coffee. Also, the server was not paying attention to what he was doing. He stirred my coffee in the dripper while he took orders from 3 other customers. My coffee sat in the water for 5 minutes.

After I drank the bitter coffee, I told the manager the coffee was very bitter. I asked him if he was using a plastic pour over coffee maker and he said yes. I told him that coffee should not be made in a plastic funnel and he told me it was food grade plastic! Coffee should not sit in hot water for five minutes.

No serious coffee drinker would ever drink coffee made in a cheap plastic dripper. Cheaper coffee makers are often made of plastic because it's lightweight, waterproof, and affordable. However, plastics can contain potentially dangerous chemicals like BPA, PFAS and can emit micro plastics when heated with hot water.

I don’t want to drink plastic and pay $8 for it. These folks need a lesson on how to make a pour over. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that explain how to make a pour over. ...