Northern Coffeeworks — Restaurant in Minneapolis

((TLDR; Delicious Coffee Drinks. Best customer service in the metro area IMO! ABSOLUTELY recommend driving out of your way to at least sample them!))

I am a Starbucks coffee drinker. For those of you that actually enjoy coffee, you should be familiar with what those words mean. They mean I prefer sweetened, semi-caffeinated fluff and not real coffee LOL!

My first order was for their Latte and I asked for the Maple Syrup flavor. It was DELICIOUS but not incredibly sweet. It was a true coffee drink. The espresso was decedent, sweet cream was mild, and maple flavoring was exactly what maple syrup should taste like! Us Northerners know what true maple syrup is and this flavor permeated the drink in a way that puts breakfast to shame. It reminded me of youthful mornings with butter covered pancakes and fresh maple syrup poured delicately over them. Best enjoyed with a small fork so you can savor every sweet, maple bite!

However, based on my first sentence, this was not what I was expecting. As such, I added about 6 packets of Sugar in the Raw to sweeten it up LOL!

Hang on, cause this is a 5-star review. We're not finished folks! I returned to the barista to let them know that I enjoyed the drink, just in case they saw me adding mass quantities of sugar to their already delicious drink. Which is the equivalent to adding Ketchup to a meal in a fine dining restaurant...

I also noticed they had a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yes, I am a basic ! But this Latte was not just pumpkin spice thrown into a vat of sweet cream as many coffee shops offer. This was a drink made of espresso, mild sweet cream, brown sugar syrup, and a bit of pumpkin spice to top it off. The Northern Lights Latte.

This is what sets this shop above all others in the metro area that I have frequented. The baristas absolutely noticed that I over sweetened their Maple Syrup Latte and asked me about it. I let them know that I'm particular to the Starbucks brands of coffee and tend to enjoy Milk and Sugar with some caffeine on the side. The barista made the drink and asked me to sample it before leaving the shop. I did and let her know that it wasn't as sweet as my (under) refined pallet required. She offered several choices to sweeten the drink to my specifications. SEVERAL CHOICES! Most places that I've been to make their drink and put their noses up in the air if you dare to make any kind of personal requests believing their coffee to be superior to any other coffee the world.

The barista worked with me to make the drink, still true to the drink they provided, but personalized to my pallet's needs. She went above and beyond the experiences I've at coffee shops in the past.

I would ABSOLUTELY recommend driving out of your way to sample the deliciousness that this store...

The 1 star of this review can count for the interior of the place which is adorable and has tons of seating! Unfortunately, the coffee I got (cappuccino) was SO acidic and bitter that I chose to throw it away. I thought it might just be my coffee, but my friend got an iced latte that had a similar flavor and was barely tolerable. I think they might roast their coffee in-house? If they do, they certainly should consider outsourcing.

My second visit at this coffee shop was a quick stop on my walk with my puppies. It was quite hot out and I wanted to grab a bite to eat and some water for the doggies. I am well aware that most coffee shops and restaurants do not allow dogs inside because of laws regarding food service facilities, but I generally never have an issue bringing them inside a coffee shop for a second while I order and then going right back out.

As soon as I walked through the door, I was told that I was not allowed to even step inside with my dogs. I complied and left my dogs tied up outside while I went to order, but I found this incredibly strict and unwelcoming. Additionally, I ordered a quiche which was a tiny slice for $8.

Incredibly unimpressed with this coffee shop. I think it has the potential to be substantially improved with better coffee and...

The drip coffee brew changes drastically as it cools. They have a medium roast, and it tastes quite bitter when it’s super hot almost like a dark roast but after 7 minutes as it cools it’s mellowed out, much more smooth and tastes more like a light roast. I’ve never experienced coffee changing this drastically before, and it was an enlightening experience. If you get an iced coffee- you don’t need to worry! I had the cold brew with oat milk and maple 🍁, it was amazing and $5.50. They have lots of space so it’s perfect for networking and working and also have compost on-site and water easily accessible. I loved that they had a few vegan options, but they are only packaged options- Tao’s Bakes and some cute looking date bar snacks. I’ve been twice now and both times the pastry section was almost cleaned out, so they may have more earlier in the day or at...