Professor Java's Coffee Sanctuary — Restaurant in Town of Colonie

Hi, this may be long. I tried to offer my input directly to the Contact section of Prof. Java's website. I like to give establishments a chance to hear feedback privately and then respond. I certainly don't enjoy badmouthing a locally owned business on a public forum. But I have left my review privately a half dozen times since my visit on March 12, 2023. My first review was the day after the visit, and the last (6th?) review was a few weeks ago. So, you can't say I haven't given the management ample opportunity to respond, defend, explain, change, apologize, etc. It has been ten months! Here is what I've sent them six (!) times:

Hi, I don't like to be negative and I certainly don't want to criticize your establishment in some group rating, so I guess this is the place to let you know my thoughts. I had been to your previous location a handful of times and I found it charming. My overwhelming positive surprise was the LARGE coffee cups that bordered on Tim Burton-movie-prop-size. They were amazing! I chuckled just sitting and drinking my coffee. I loved it! So, I was thoroughly disappointed to be served my large coffee yesterday in a disposable paper coffee cup. (Everyone was served this way, whether they were staying or going.) Besides being horrible for the environment, you have sucked the charm out of sitting and cherishing the coffee with hands wrapped around the real(!), large warm mug. A huge disappointment.

I also ordered a breakfast wrap and was surprised and disappointed that the egg in it was chopped hard boiled eggs. It was not good using eggs pre-processed this way. Again, the charm of a breakfast wrap is having the eggs in a scrambled form so they blend with the other ingredients. As chopped up hard boiled eggs, they were just there and there was no blending. There was no cohesiveness. It was wholly unsatisfying. If I had known that the eggs would be previously cooked and chopped hard boiled eggs I never would have ordered the breakfast wrap. Also, the eggs themselves had an "off" odor - a slight sulfur smell like mildly rotten or old eggs. Certainly not appetizing. Maybe it is efficient to introduce the eggs to the wrap in this way from a foodservice perspective but it is not tasty or visually appealing or pleasant smelling. Yuck. For $27+ my companion and I received an unsatisfying experience. And, yes, I did attempt to find a person to voice my concerns to yesterday but it was impossible and would have been awkward and unwelcome in the hectic environment. Your restaurant seemed to be a bit understaffed and people were fully occupied with taking and preparing orders.

I hope you take my comments to heart. I don't want to be negative but there were these two big negatives when I visited yesterday. I'd love to hear your feedback/reasoning for doing things this way. Thank you.

This is being written January 2025. I sent constructive criticisms six (6!) times on their private Feedback site. No response. I waited 10 months to post anything negative about this place on this public forum because I don't like to drag down local businesses. It took four (4!) months for the owner to respond to that public post. And then when they DO respond, it is a generic reply that does not address either of my two valid complaints. That response could have been sent in response to any unsatisfactory rating. Nothing specific about my complaints. Nothing specific about how they will address those two complaints. In fact, the response apologizes for how I was treated. I never complained about service because the service was fine. The two things I DID complain about are in the lap of ownership/management - 1.) change of coffee cups to environmentally unfriendly paper, disposable cups that are lacking in charm and 2.) using cut up (old?) hard boiled eggs in breakfast wraps. They didn't acknowledge either of these two points in any way. Talk about being unresponsive and tone deaf! I love to support local businesses, but their apathy makes it difficult to patronize...

Haven't traveled by here for a few years now, but dropped in today (a Saturday) as I prefer doing business with independents. It appeared to me to have changed hands, as it was not at all as I remember it. Sad to say, there were a lot of flaws: Poor upkeep in entryway. Lingering stale smell, not at all like fresh coffee, upon entering. It was not busy, but waitstaff was lacking in clear leadership, direction, and assignments. Uniforms were wrinkled, soiled, and unprofessional. One staff member made a lot of noise unlimbering the dirty mop bucket in the main floor area, then served food after mopping toilet area, apparently without washing hands. Same staff member used a lot of loud crosstalk rather than walking and getting things himself (again, it was not busy). Our waitress was very friendly, but did not seem to have a zone assignment, moving from room to room to counter to room. As a result, I saw several customers at different tables have to stand and draw her attention. There were 5 employees available at this time. Display case for refrigerated sweets was littered with old crumbs and needed a wipedown. Dining area floor did not appear to have been vacuumed that day, or longer, perhaps. Edge cleaning was nonexistent. Gift items displayed on the floor drawing attention to messiness. Shelving and roaster area generally unkempt. Background music selection was annoying radio station with loud commercials on boom box. The coffee and tea were very good. The scone was undercooked in the middle. The owners/managers need a wake up call for consistency in orderliness, cleaning, atmosphere, presentation, and employee skills, and badly need a lead person on shift who knows how to motivate a team. The national competition is breathing down your necks, so earn the business of those who really want to...

So, I changed this from a 5 to a 2. The only reason the 2 is not a 1 is because the beans you can purchase are good.

But I just walked out, for the second time out if the 6 that I've tried to give it another chance.

Why?

The service is atrocious. The place is dirty. The clientele are a mixed bag but lean obnoxious.

I'm looking elsewhere.

.....Edited above.....

So, well, here goes. I'll start at the end. Pete the Deer freaked me out. If you're a guy, and you drink enough of the great java, you'll figure this out.

I only drink decaf and the second free serving of Sumatra was hot, fresh, and served with a smile and kindness.

Reba was great at educating me on the various decaf beans, teaching me about south and north American beans vs Indonesian. I took home a pound of the same Sumatra ground for French press.

The minestrone soup is excellent, perfect temperature, lots of fresh veggies, and not loaded with pasta. Added a bit of salt and pepper to taste and enjoyed every spoonful. Beware the size. I ordered a cup and couldn't finish it. I can't imagine a bowlful!

My wife ordered the baked egg quesadilla and liked it a lot. A bit on the cheesey side but great taste, and again, beware the size. She took half home.

So, well, at first I ordered the oatmeal. It took quite a while for our orders to arrive, and the oatmeal was not good, dry and stiff.

When I told our server she offered to add hot water. I said now thanks, I'll try the soup (for $6 a bowl I would have liked it right the first time).

She was kind and helpful, and returned with my substitute soup in short order.

Jazz music is great, people are nice, ambiance is fun and light and welcoming.

Parking is tight, but we got a close spot easily.

Coming...