Black and Brass Coffee Roasting Company — Restaurant in Honesdale

The Black and Brass Coffee Roasting Company cafe has almost everything it needs to be a perfect coffee shop. The atmosphere exudes a chill, relaxed vibe. There is plenty of seating inside and outside, and they have a view of a beautiful waterfall. They sell lots of product including bags of their coffee and swag. Oh, and they have bathroom that had no line.

This last amenity was necessary because after the monster Thanksgiving meal I had yesterday, I needed to do a lot of "resting" in the restroom. In fact, the two times I went to B and B, my primary reason was to use the restroom, and the promise of a nice, hot, tasty cup of coffee was just a little something extra.

Yes, the the Black and Brass Coffee Roasting Company cafe has almost everything it needs to be a perfect coffee shop. Except only one important element is missing: excellent coffee.

A few weeks ago I stopped in, used the large and very clean bathroom, ordered a cappuccino (about $5.00 with tax.) I picked up the small cup, and it felt light. Too much foam? No matter, with a good cappuccino, a little goes a long way.

I tasted the coffee and it was bland. It was not that it was too milky. It actually tasted watery. There was no there there. Something in the flavor profile was missing for me.

Some people like the strong burnt taste of Starbucks espresso, but I appreciate a more subtle coffee flavor. Still when I have a cappuccino, I expect the espresso to break through the steamed whole milk.

Today I was going to pass by B and B again, and I thought, that was a nice bathroom, and I will give the coffee another try.

Perhaps I should have just ordered a black coffee. Or maybe if I asked the barista about the coffee, I would have ordered just an espresso. Instead I ordered my comfort beverage on a cold day--a cappuccino. This time I was with my husband, and he ordered one too.

Again, it felt light, but really I was still full from Thanksgiving the day before, so I was not terribly bothered. I took a sip, and once again I tasted very little. I never ask for a pump of flavor, but I nearly went back in and asked for a pump of something to give the flavor some boost. I kept sipping and turned to my man, "What do you think of the coffee?" He said, "It's bland, and with a tip that cost $11. Tuesday I got a cappuccino from Dunkin Donuts. It tasted much better than this, and it only cost like $3.20."

Perhaps the Black and Brass coffee without milk is a standout. The espresso on its own may have, as advertised, "chocolate notes, earthy coating, high caffeine content, and bold flavor," but whatever milk they are using has a significantly bolder flavor!

I suggest you try the coffee without milk, or find out what they are really good at serving. Or try it with a few pumps of peppermint or hazelnut or whatever you like to put in coffee when the coffee doesn't taste good enough on its own. Or you may like the milky watery style of cappuccino they serve at Black and Brass, but the next time we swing through Honesdale, and we need coffee, we will get it at Dunkin, even if the bathroom is...

I wanted to love this place. My wife and I drove an hour away to get freshly roasted coffee and were pleasantly surprised when we saw they had hand-crafted espresso drinks. There were two major problems: The coffee is NOT freshly roasted. The bags available on the shelf are also not marked as being pre-ground or not, nor are they dated for freshness. Combine this with the fact that they are placed in direct sunlight without sunshades and you get... Stale coffee. I purchased quite a bit to my dismay upon my arrival home. Second, shots are not pulled correctly here. There was clear channeling happening in the basket, as the espresso left the machine looking closer to cream/water. Also, why do they manually stop shots at 19 seconds? Proper shot extraction time is 28-32 seconds. What resulted for my wife and I was "warm milk" drinks, not espresso beverages (don't get me started on their steaming "technique"). Get a mature staff with certified baristas on hand, not ex-starbucks kids, and this could have been an okay experience. Oh, and waterfall go "wsssshhhhhhh" (Keeping in line with the...

My first time trying Black and Brass today. I needed an afternoon pick me up. I love peanut butter so I thought I’d try the peanut butter latte. The service was good when I placed my order. I received my latte and headed out.

Got to my truck and tried the latte. No flavor. I thought maybe it was just all the foam. Took the lid off and tried some more, no flavor. No peanut butter undertone. A slightly milky taste. I went back in and got a stirrer thinking I needed to stir it. The staff member at the counter was like there’s nothing in it to be stirred. They said it was just two shots of white latte and then all milk. But I was like shouldn’t there be some kind of flavor? They said no because I ordered a large, so it’s basically all milk. I’m like oh, well I don’t want it so they said they’d throw it out. They seemed annoyed. I didn’t ask for a refund or anything. If it was due to the large, then why didn’t they suggest I get a small when I ordered? I can see why they are hiring…

I most likely will not...