Forté Coffee — Restaurant in Saint Joseph Charter Township

In a world obsessed with coffee I am an outsider preferring chai tea.  I am also in the minority in the belief that Starbucks shouldn't be the go to spot for hot drinks and a quick snack.  I always believed in small local businesses and Forté coffee fits great into the St. Joseph area.  The location could have made it a struggle because of all the other food spots near by but the fact it isnt a chain in a sea of fast food makes it the better and unique choice.

I had been wanting to come in since I found out they opened but one thing or another always stopped me (mostly my husband being picky).  I came about an hour before closing on a Friday.  I picked put a chocolate almond scone and a chai tea.  With a small tip my total was still less than $10 which was great.  The 2 employees behind the counter were very cheery and the man even complemented my Bob's Burgers shirt (because duh, BB is awesome).

The scone was ok, but not something I'd order again.  It was good enough to encourage me to try other things that would make my taste buds dance though, unlike some places where u taste something u dont love and just know everything is going to be like that.  The chai tea was right up my alley however.  Much better than any other place in the SJ/BH area.  The foam and cinnimon on top was great and the flavor throughout was delicious.

Overall, I liked everything.  From the set up, to the employees to the available items everything seemed fantastic.  I'm so glad there is a great chill place in town for a socially anxious girl like me to get her pastries and hot beverages.  I'll 100% be back to posdibly try a cookie and get another chai or maybe...

Easily some of the best coffee in town, even though they just opened and are still figuring things out (like how to vent the coffee roaster exhaust). The cortado (using the Forte' Blend) they prepared for me with nicely micro foamed/textured whole milk was nice enough. I did note a hint of chalkiness in the finish, but the overall experience was wonderful. The drip they provided me was what I hoped for - smooth and easy but enough flavor to know this is a good brew ratio with none of the over-roasted burnt notes and the very much hoped-for subtle tart fruit finish.

I brought a 1-week old bag of Forte' Blend home to pull espressos and flat whites. None of the chalkiness came home with me, so I'm not sure where that came from. In any case the taste starts with a quick flash of tartness that disappears immediately, followed by a very mellow and long lasting mild sweetness (vanilla-ish), and finished with a long lingering fruitiness. The crema was all you could hope for and the grind does not need to be very fine to create the needed back-pressure.

I'm so glad we finally have a place to buy very nice freshly roasted coffee in St. Joseph. The owner really cares about doing things right here, and it definitely shows. The service was excellent and friendly. I suspect this place will be a local favorite with a large following very soon. The Forte' Blend will certainly make it into our home rotation again!

The pictures are from the Forte' Blend espresso and flat...

I took my dog with me on Friday. Immediately I was greeted by a woman in a raised voice asking if she was a service dog. I said yes, she is an ESA. She said ESAs were not allowed there. I asked why. She directed me to the sign on the door and started giving me some state ordinance number. I pulled out my phone to make note of it, and she was very impatient with me trying to get it right. She rudely told me to take my dog outside I am even louder voice. I asked them if they had the ordinance in writing, but she would do nothing further until the dog was gone. She went in the back to make a copy while I was putting Molly in the car. When I came in, she handed me a sheet of paper. It didn’t have any info on ESAs, so I went to the counter to get her attention for a second page. She picked it up off the counter and shoved it at me angrily. She may have been having a bad day, but I would have walked out and not gone back if not for meeting someone there with too little time to change plans. Tread lightly and watch out for the short woman with curly black hair. BTW, their black coffee isn’t all that good...