JOIE Coffee — Restaurant in Seattle

I hate writing reviews like this, but I need to be honest. I'm sorry the people here are nice and all. However, the matcha is not and people need to be warned. If you want an alternative milk they charge extra, if you want any sweetener they charge extra, if you don't want ice they will charge extra, and they do not tell you they charge you extra for the flavors they are advertising. Had a small strawberry matcha today and was over 11$ without any sweetener or any other milk (barely had any strawberry). Did not taste any matcha in my drink whatsoever and only it tasted like milk. I was just highly disappointed and realized I am going to continue to only make my matcha at home. Please do not waste your money if you're a true matcha enthusiast because you'll be disappointed.

Response to the owners:

Hello,

I wanted to edit my response to address a few things that could possibly help add some clarity to what was said. We ordered a Strawberry Matcha Latte. On the menu, it states "choose your milk choice"-- that had caused us to think that was included within the cost of the original price (which it was not). We were asked if we wanted sweetener which we chose agave was an additional $.80.

My friend (brown hair) asked how many grams of matcha is used. We received a response of 4g. We both decided to add an extra shot of matcha which was confusing a tad because we didn't know if we were getting an extra gram of matcha or what "an extra shot" meant. We paid for the extra shot hoping that meant an extra gram of matcha.

We were very confused with where the taste of the matcha was. First and foremost we both agreed that the strawberry cream was good and was the only thing we tasted within the drink next to some strawberry. We saw Tok Tok videos of people having a lot of strawberry puree in their cups, but we didn't experience much of the strawberry. We didn't taste any of the matcha and didn't really know how to come forward and say that. Of course depending on the kind of milk/ milk ratio used, milk can overpower matcha quickly. We thought that using 5g, we shouldn't have had that issue especially the size of the cup and the amount of ice used as well which filled half of the cup. We wondered if the matcha might have come into contact with sunlight and oxygen often and therefore, dimmed the flavor profile of the matcha. It isn't stated what matcha is used just "Ceremonial Grade Matcha" which is also used often to attract people to think it's the best-- when really it's about the cultivar/region and what tea masters favored the tea. It also depends on when it is harvested as young leaves have more robust flavor profiles and depth. We did see two cans of Marukyu Koyamean: Isuzu and Chigi no Shiro sitting as possible empty displays. I'm not sure if that was to advertise the matcha used, but we both have had those two matchas and more within the principle line up and the profile should have been there if those were used.

Here was the break down:

The base amount: $8.25 Agave------------$.80 Oatmilk-----------$1.00 Addt. Matcha shot--$1.75

Tax: 1.22 (roughly)

Total: $13.02

We removed the oatmilk and left the agave and extra shot or gram of matcha.

Overall:

The shop is cute and it's definitely a vibe! It was cute. What we had experienced in regards to the matcha, was just not what we were expecting for the price we paid.There may be other drinks that are amazing! However, we came a long way to have an experience based from the hype on TikTok about the matcha. The drink has a lot of potential, if the flavor profile of the matcha was there. It didn't taste like a 5g matcha which is what we...

I didn’t wanna have to do this, but seeing how the owners of Joie are literally paying for fake 5 star reviews on Google AND Yelp is so disingenuous.

This brings me no "Joie" to write this review, but it must be done. On Monday morning, June 9th, 2025, I ordered online my usual sweet corn matcha latte for my friend. As a treat I got a strawberry tea creama for my partner, and a mung bean latte with no ice for myself. Lest I forget, I come here every week, at the very least every two weeks. The drinks were pretty tasty per usual, except the latter, mung bean latte. Look at my photos and tell me if you'd pay $7 for this.

The person who made said drinks was an extremely unpleasant lady. Clearly not one who enjoys small talk or anyone who comes into the establishment. Every time she works, it's actually sad. You'd think after seeing several reviews about this certain employee, management would do something about it e.g. retraining, sensitivity classes, letting her go. UPDATE: oop…this person is CO-OWNER OF JOIE!!

By no surprise, this lady gave my partner a terrible attitude when asked to fix the drink. She escalated the situation where in any other coffee shop, they'd HAPPILY remake your drink. Oh she said she knows my order, claiming it's a Thai tea with an espresso shot???

Ma'am... I've never had that in my life.

That doesn't change the fact my mung bean latte literally NO MUNG BEAN CREAM???? I understand if I opt for no ice, the drink might not be filled to the top but y'all... no ice does not mean no mung bean cream. Are we being serious right now?

All that to say, at the end of all this, she thought the best course of action was to try and charge my partner $10 to make a NEW one or $3.95 for more mung bean cream that's supposed to already be included. I asked for no ice but in the end, guess what she adds... not any mung bean cream LOL

Seriously? So your industry standard is to make your loyal customers suffer at the hands of a CO-OWNER’S incompetence? Alriiiiight...

It's a shame because again, the drinks are actually pretty good, the setting is very aesthetic and would look great on your IG page. I'd be remiss if I forget to mention that there are two other ladies who work there who are so much nicer and in tune when it comes to ACTUAL customer service. From now on, if I ever return, I will NEVER order online simply because of the rude lady's inability to listen or her inconsistently making drinks. I ain't playing no Russian Roulette. *UPDATE: one of the said ladies, now an ex-employee reached out and expressed the verbal abse and bad working conditions, leading to her resignation **

For the price point, you are running up just about $10 per drink... pass. There are so many other fantastic coffee shops within a few miles radius of Joie. They're cheaper or prices that are actually worth the price with Asian inspired flavors-- check them out instead: Coffeeholic House, Atulea, Aroom (NOT SPONSORED BTW)

TLDR; Bad management. Ambiance cute. Yummy yet expensive drinks. Better competition elsewhere....

Bad coffee and even worse customer service LMAO. i would never come here again because the coffee tastes really bad and the barista is rude and entitled.

i wanted to get a little sweet treat and enjoy the beautiful seattle weather but the barista was literally doom and gloom!

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order and asked about the marble drip because there are no pictures and the menu descriptions are vague and unhelpful.

She said, “it’s an americano base,” which is literally what the menu says lol?? I also asked if it was sweet and she said, “It’s not that sweet,” which is also really unhelpful?

I ordered that $8 coffee anyways and literally grimaced because the americano was gritty and the foam top did nothing to balance it out. I asked for more foam because the flavors were too jarring, and she looked annoyed and said, “Yeah, that’s why I said it’s not that sweet,” which is honestly just horrible customer service and a terrible business model if you’re selling $8 amongst other small businesses that are helpful and kind.

this place brought me no joie

HARD PASS.

editing to respond to the business owner: she just said, "it would be more bitter," when i asked for more details, and i said, "uhhh sure, i guess ill try it," which is a different tone than what you insinuated.

i came back asking for more foam because i truly hated my gritty drink. as someone who has worked in customer service, most coffee shops will gladly remake your drink or fix to remediate your experience, especially if you're a place called "joie" (ie aroom, which is also much cheaper). and she said, "yeah, that's why i said the drink is bitter," which is just condescending and factually incorrect.

i feel like instead of trying to blame customers, you should really focus on fixing your customer service, especially when you're charging $8 for what is essentially an...