Black Coffee Roasting Company — Restaurant in Missoula

I really like Black Coffee, especially the Quonset hut location on Spruce Street. I was glad to see that location reopen this fall after it had been closed to the public for six months or so.

In my opinion, the other downtown Black Coffee location in the Wren is not as desirable as the Spruce Street location for a variety of reasons, though they do sell the same coffee. Number one is parking. Parking is much more difficult at the Wren location. If you can find it nearby, you have to pay for it, or the aggressive enforcement by the Missoula Parking Commission's "meter maids" will result in a ticket. On Spruce Street, parking is free.

Number two is the selection of baked goods is much larger at the Spruce Street location than the Wren location. I believe that both locations sell Grist baked goods. Grist bread is excellent, though pricey. Grist croissants are also excellent, and I'm not really that much of a croissant guy. I highly recommend having a pastry with your Black Coffee.

Number three is the vibe of the Spruce Street location. It's an unlikely idiosyncratic location in which to enjoy a coffee and a pastry but it has organically developed into quite a comfortable spot to have a coffee in any season. In the winter, they have a gas fireplace going to help warm up the space and in the summer they open up the garage door of the Quonset hut to let the warm summer breezes envelop you. The Wren location by contrast is pretty sterile and antiseptic, which is great for cleanliness but not much for atmosphere.

In my opinion, Black Coffee is probably the coffee with the most nuanced flavor in town. There are a melange of responses by my taste buds when I am sipping my drip coffee from Black Coffee, all of them good. Their coffee is sophisticated in its flavor.

Having said all that, I like dark roasted coffee, which is not Black Coffee's specialty, though they do have a dark roast, The Dark. If you come in for a cup of drip, there are usually only one or two of their variety of roasts brewing. Though I appreciate the subtlety of most of Black Coffee's roasts, my taste buds like being hit with full force with a brewed dark roast. Therefore, I usually visit only once a week or so, but that is no slam on Black Coffee. It is just a matter of my individual preference. I think that their coffee is excellent and if you haven't sampled it...

I can't express through written language how much I love the espresso here. The grinds are always dead on for the different roasts and the pulls are smooth and silky. The staff are all very friendly and I get the feeling they enjoy their daily tasks and work environment.

You know that slight deadening of your soul you feel when interacting with someone who would clearly rather be doing anything other than conversing with you? I never have that feeling here!

Don't be intimidated by the uber hip staff and customers that frequent this(as the French would say)"cafe de chic"* Despite their penchant for avocado toast, skinny jeans and the total and complete destruction of all things we consider sacred and holy in this great country of America, they are very outgoing, friendly and gregarious bunch!

*It is extremely possible that the French, in fact, do not use this phrase at all. My intuition tells me that it translates roughly to "the cool coffee spot" or " The place to get high quality coffee at reasonable prices with quick, friendly service." But, my intuition also has led me to start leaving very long and possibly boring reviews of my local eateries. So take anything my intuition has to say with a proverbial...

I feel that we lack truly exceptional third wave coffee roasters here, but Black Coffee is on par with the better specialty coffees available in Missoula.

My negative review comes from Black Coffee’s greenwashing. The website boasts about their “Sustainable Footprint” but you are not able to get a glass, ceramic cup or mug. Even though I could see plenty of glass cups and ceramic mugs behind the counter I was told that paper is the only option. Bummer! They said the paper cups were compostable. However, this only works if all the cups are collected and sent to the composting site. Maybe they are, I didn’t investigate this. However, I know for sure that coffee is much more pleasant out of ceramic mug, and offering reusable dishes is a pretty small ask for a company that cares about sustainability.

I will be happy to return to Black Coffee if they take some basic steps toward...