Knowledge Perk Coffee Company — Restaurant in Rock Hill

Gorgeous location and indoor seating, decent service and pretty weak coffee.

I try to find local coffee shops wherever I travel and having a little time before my sons soccer game I decided to take a little time to try a "local gem". There was a little on street parking in front of the shop but not much. The other option was the mud pit across the street that screamed "hold my beer and watch this". I think there was some more parking further past the shop but cannot say for sure.

When we walked in we were in awe of the inside of this place. It is one of the largest, private coffee shops I've visited. Plenty of seating and alot of open space. I checked in on Yelp, as I always do, and noticed a free latte. When I showed that to the person taking our order she and the gentleman she called over both said they had never seen it before and didn't know anything about it. They did say they were going to honor the perk but after pointing out that it required a $15-$20 purchase I opted not to use it.

I ordered a cold brew and a chai latte with almond milk. Both were served correctly as ordered and quickly. I noticed the cold brew looked like a dark tea and the taste wasn't that far off from a dark tea either. I take my cold brew black and usually have to water it down because it's so strong however, this tasted very watered down already. It tasted like what I've made at home and didn't let brew long enough. I asked the barista if their cold brew normally looked that light and she just said "yes" while walking away. No concern that I would be asking that question which probably should have raised a red flag. Next was the chai - equally watered down. It was pretty much just warmed almond milk. At this point I just decided it wasn't my day for coffee...

Editing a year later: updating from 4 to 5 stars!! I’ve been in here several times lately over the past few months- each time I’ve been greeted as I’ve walked in and I’ve noticed the baristas asking specific questions about how I would like my coffee which as a a coffee addict I appreciate so much. It seems like service has improved since I last left my review. It’s hard for local businesses to thrive in this climate and I appreciate their commitment and hard work to excellence, rock hill is lucky to have them!

We just moved to town not long ago but the first thing I looked at were coffee shops that roasted their own beans so I came upon knowledge perk and have tried it about 7-9 times. Their storefront is gorgeous, the space is beautiful and really a great spot in town- 10/10 for the atmosphere and physical location. However, each time I’ve been in- no one welcomes you when you arrive and it almost feels like the baristas have been annoyed by my questions or on half of the occasions they’ve been talking with coworkers while I’m standing there to get my order taken. The to-go service is incredibly fast which is great but the times I’ve been in there’s been things that were forgotten from my order or sat at the counter for a long time bc I didn’t know it was ready. Their drip was incredibly good but the other drinks I’ve ordered- iced lattes, iced americanos, hot americanos have been lacking I’m not sure if the staff are as trained as you would expect from such a high quality location. I hope great things for this small business and I hope that their baristas grow in knowledge and...

The customer service was decent and the person who served me was very friendly and informative, however, there were several baristas on staff while the restaurant remained visually dirty. I did not see any employees wash their hands before preparing my food and drink, which is unsanitary and a health code violation. The table I sat at while I waited for my order had a sign labeled “clean” but it was clear due to the crumbs all over the table it was in fact not clean. Normally I wouldn’t mind as much about a less than stellar table, but we are still in a pandemic so it’s a little concerning regular procedures are not being upheld along with extra cleanliness efforts to prohibit the spread of COVID-19. When I received my latte it tasted very burnt, in fact I was almost certain I had been given decaf instead of regular espresso (I am also a barista so I am very familiar with the difference). Either way, it was not very good and I could only stand to drink about 1/4 of the drink before tossing it out. I had high hopes it would be a great place with great coffee since it was a local company with local roasting. I’m sad to say I did not have a great or even good first impression, apart from the decor itself. I’m not sure...