Persimmon Coffee — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I try not to let a business's customer base skew my review of a place, because the business only has so much control over their customers. With that being said, the customer base I experienced today seemed to be regulars and I think that the quality of the customers is rooted in the quality of the community the place has built.

The short of my review is that everyone was very nice, the coffee was great, and the seats weren't very comfortable. Now let me go on.

When I entered today, there was very limited seating. The barista and customers all looked like they knew each other, and were enjoying a coffee tasting. I looked around the limited seating and it was like the barista read my mind, he said that everyone was friendly and would gladly make room.

I ordered 2 drinks and half listened to the group chat about whatever, and was playing with a music device. After I sat down I was invited to try one of the coffee samples that was being poured for the group. It was really kind of the barista to include me on that.

I was asked by a member of the group about the music device and shared a nice and short conversation about it that was friendly, but aware of my space. A little bit later the group had left, and said goodbye, when a group of two came in, and I shared a similar interaction.

It's not usual for me to write about the customers, but I think that the respect for personal space in a close shared cafe has to be something inherent in how the owners and employees have built this place out to be. Friendly and inviting, but careful of your being.

I greatly enjoyed the Midwinter Memory, and a shot of espresso in house, and then an Endless Summer to go. The coffee was great, but the people were even better. I will be back in the future, but I do wish they had better...

The pandemic rocked small businesses so hard that niche artisanal coffee spots that pour a proper damn fine coffee became far and few between (again) that I almost forgot places like persimmon exist.

The expansion of 3rd wave “artisanal” coffee chains within the last decade greatly compromised the ambience and quality of their coffees that places like La colombe, blue bottle, stumptown feel as exciting as Starbucks these days. Living in rittenhouse, i futilely accepted this as reality and spent the past few years drinking unremarkable iced oat lattes in plastic to go cups and cutting down coffee consumption across the board because it did not spark joy; it was something I consumed so I’m a little less cranky at work.

After glancing at their menu, I decided I was going to enjoy the hot seasonal latte “foolish tiger” because I had some time to kill and I haven’t actually sat down and enjoyed a hot latte at a coffee shop for months if not over a year.

Upon first sip i suddenly remembered how incredible coffee is and how I used to travel far and wide a for the best cup of coffee in each new city I visited. I slowly savored the coffee and noted the nuances in the beans like the fruitiness and acidity, the texture of the crema, the perfect amount of spice and sweetness (persimmon, ginger, maple, black walnut bitters). It was one of those rare moments when an experience is profound enough to snap you out of the autopilot of mundane life at...

I visited this cafe on a Tuesday morning and was immediately greeted by a barrage of attitude. First of all, the menu is the size of a small family photo, font size 13 at the most. So I took one singular step toward the register to try and read the menu when the cashier aggressively reprimanded me and said "excuse me, I'm going to serve these two gentlemen first" (referring to the people in front of me in the line). Mind you, I was clearly hunched over squinting to read this tiny menu trying to decipher it and clearly not trying to order at all. When I tried to explain that I was just reading, he repeated "well, but I'm still going to take their order first, so..." and gestured rudely for me to move. Keep in mind there is a line forming behind me and I don't want to take up too much time deciding what to order once he is ready for me, and I wasn't standing in front of the register nor in front of the people before me in line. I'm glad I left and walked another 16 minutes in the humid weather to try a different cafe rather than spend a dime there on their 7-item long...