Rook Coffee — Restaurant in Manalapan Township

One of the better local coffee options while out and the pricing is pretty fair. The quality is sometimes hit or miss with the hot coffees sometimes being a bit weak on the strength. I usually stop here when traveling down Route 9 and have been here a few dozen times.

We had tried their banana toffee cold brew the other day and went back to get more recently as it was a nice treat for this warmer weather we've been having. I'm not fond of plain ice in cold drinks as the watered-down effect takes away from the experience if you don't drink it right away. Some coffee places I've seen use coffee ice instead of plain ice, which is not a bad compromise but does involve more prep work.

My girlfriend requested a little ice and I asked for no ice at all. When we got our drinks, it seemed that they ran out of their larger cold drink cups because my girlfriends cup was maybe 70% full and my cup was barely more than halfway full. I was visibly confused at first. We paid over $11 for these two drinks and felt a bit cheated.

There was no explanation while ordering or when fulfilling the order about the ice modification, cup size substitution, or level of the drink pour.

I understand that portion control and measuring is important for consistency and quality but the staff should explain the effect of a request such as no ice. Something along the lines of "We can use little or no ice but the specialty cold brew drinks we prepare will use the same amount of coffee and flavorings as we measure it out per size/order so the cup won't look as full but you're getting the same amount of ingredients just without the ice, it will taste stronger, and it will not be as cold. Is that okay?"

The lack of any explanation while placing a half empty cup on the counter was not a great experience.

Either properly explain the consequences of certain drink modifications to all customers while ordering or backfill the cup with the base product eg. cold brew—and keep the flavoring measurement the same while either explaining or giving the customer the option if they wanted to fill the cup with more cold brew or leave the...

This has been on our list of coffeeshops to visit. Last week we happened to be in the area and we were finally able to visit. They have a variety of single origin coffees from which to choose from or their hot coffee (I believe it was just drip brew preparation, though it wouldn't surprise me if they brewed it via pour over or french press). I like how their single origin were listed according to their roast profile (light - medium - dark) which helps customers make a more informed decision. The barista / cashier were both polite and took initiative to explain their coffee selections. They also make their own line of cold brew concentrate as well as sell retail coffee. The coffee we drank there was delicious, brewed to perfection. I have also tried the cold brew concentrate and it is delicious. If you are ever in the area (they have several locations also) or have an urge to drive, I highly...

Have mixed feelings about Rook Coffee. On one side, they sell absolutely the best beans in the area. There ain't much competition, to begin with when we're talking about genuinely fresh roast and good quality coffee beans. Forget Starbucks and any of the big stores. It is simply impossible for them to offer freshly roasted coffee. That is why you see "Best used before" date on their packaging instead of an actual "roast" date. Amazon ain't much better. You'll have to go through a lot of trial and error before you find a seller you can actually trust. All of the above firmly places Rook Coffee into the position of a local roaster you can't afford to avoid if you expect to enjoy your morning cup of java. Unfortunately, however, Rook Coffee is moving toward the corporate way of doing things, instead of remaining local roasters with...