Mildfire Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in San Antonio

Never in my adult life have I ever been told to “Shut up.” Today, the barista at Mildfire told me to “Shut up.” The music volume at the shop was loud during this moment; Another guest wanted to show me a movie clip that started out with a character talking in a low voice, so we raised the volume some. I laughed at the climax of the movie clip and the barista, who wasn’t working, just sitting behind me talking to her friend, yelled “Shut up”! Told me to “Shut Up” and was visibly angry. I’ve heard the barista’s yelling and laughing loudly before, and it never bothered me in the sense they were being happy. However, because I was laughing and having a good time, she yells “Shut up”. Very disrespectful. She then told “Alexa” a command to lower the volume because she knew it was too loud. This is the last time I will visit Mildfire. I started visiting the shop back in 2017. Last year, I spent $453.57. Across 5 years, that’s $2,267.85. That’s how much Mildfire’s employee’s disrespectful “Shut Up” cost the business. I had given this shop many chances before. I was told some unsavory allegations from a former employee, at the shop, while working their last days, that I will not repeat here because I don’t know if they are true, but it was enough to make me question returning. Among other events, back in 2024, the barista tipped herself a $1.00 for a soda can she didn’t even open. I discovered this because that day I had made a previous purchase and tipped. On my way out, I wanted to buy a soda, as I had stayed there long and wanted a drink, and didn’t see the screen flip to tip. I was going to indicate no tip, because it was a soda can, but I distinctly remember it wasn’t flipped around for me. I was reconciling my expenses and found an odd item, and then I realized, oh my gosh, Mildfire’s employee just stole $1.00 from me! It’s not enough to go out of my way to press charges, or seek remedy, but still, not good. I should have stopped...

I consider myself to be knowledgeable about coffee. I also usually buy my beans from Starbucks. I do this because even though the beans were probably roasted a few months before my purchase, the vacuum seal keeps them fresh for quite a while, so long as they aren't ground. That said, I think I'm going to be buying my beans from Wildfire from now on for several reasons:

The first is the benefit of knowing exactly where your beans came from and when they were roasted. My visit to Wildfire produced beans that were roasted on that very day.

The second, the beans are cheaper than what I normally get at Starbucks, which confuses me, but I'm not going to complain.

You also the benefit of supporting local business and not giant corporations, if that's your thing.

There's no doubt that these folks know their coffee. They even brew it well, too, with my black coffee boasting a wonderful aroma and full flavor that you only get by using the recommended two tablespoons of grounds per six ounces of coffee. The beans may be only moderately better than what you may find at Starbucks, but the coffee is leaps and bounds over the chain. The desserts look a hell of a lot...

Stopped by this business which is in a strip shopping center about 1 in the afternoon on a Saturday. Parking could be a problem if it was busy. Inside was rather small with two people tables aligning one wall. About 10 people were inside. It's small but rather cozy. They roast their own coffee beans. I ordered a large 16 oz decaf Americano. It was served in a 'real' cup and saucer for $2.95 plus tax. It was weak with no taste. After talking to the barista I was informed that they serve the regular and the large cup of coffee with the same amount of espresso thus the weakness and rather blah taste on the larger cup. Supposedly, the larger cup would accommodate more cream if the customer wanted it according to the barista. And the flavor taste of the larger cup? Duh??? The barista added more expresso after hearing of my displeasure. I was also surprised to learn that this business has been here for 15 years. Nothing to brag on at this place. There's other places for a better...