Rook Coffee — Restaurant in Ocean Township

I was visiting from out of town and like to support independent coffee shops so saw this on Google maps and gave it a try. I was surprised to find they have no espresso drinks and only do pour overs - they are certainly a rarity in the world of coffee shops. So no lattes or cappuccinos or americanos or such things. I am also pretty familiar with pour overs and watching their process was surprised at the outcome - it wasn’t bad. The person making the drinks dumps hot water on the grounds all at once. No bloom, no controlled agitation, no careful pouring from a pouring kettle. So the outcome is limited in what it can be. I got their Ethiopian and found it to be decently balanced and tea like in mouth feel. My wife had a decaf with oat milk that turned out ok once we added a more appropriate amount of milk. The store was quite busy - they seem to be quite successful with their product and clientele. There’s no seating - it’s a small shop for takeout only and no outdoor seating area either. I’d still recommend this over any of the main chain stores in the area. Friendly staff and they have a fun unique...

I like it, although they raised the cost of the coffee after everything from eggs to gas skyrocketed. Eh. Also everything is served in a plastic cup so you are ingesting microplastics which is not good. They should debut single use glass cups. We don't want to eat thousands of microplastics.

Also for years I never see any African American employees here, no diversity just white even though they serve Ethiopean brew. How can it be authentic? Although the employees at this one are less weird then the little Oakhurst one.

I think I am going to quit coffee as I do not want to use drugs, all it is doing is blocking the thing that says you are tired, not giving energy. It is like a credit card, borrowing energy from the future. Depleting minerals making you jittery and dehydrated eh is it worth it. The mocha is good yes but still.

I wish they could have a raw milk option but it is banned in new jersey, the only state banning raw milk while still allowing cigarettes, weed, seed oils. Priorities not straight in the...

I just love that they don’t charge extra for having a dairy allergy and have a wide range of options for dairy-free milks. One issue: “Karen” and her friends have moved into the area from maybe Brooklyn? Maybe from a swamp nearby? (though they’ve always been here but the pandemic made them...worse?) and for some reason she’s (or he’s) always at rook yelling at an employee when we pick up our order. If you don’t want to wait for your coffee then try making it yourself? Give these hard workers a break. It must take every ounce of will power not to tell a rude customer to go f#%k themselves so they deserve a lot of credit...