CAVU Coffee — Restaurant in West Chester Township

Cavu is up there on the list of best coffee in the Cincinnati area. They have great lattes--I recently tried the coconut mocha based on other reviews--as well as good ole regular coffee. You can drink it hot, iced, cold brewed, as well as a number of fancy ways I know nothing about. They even offer affogato! Cavu's is espresso over vanilla ice cream. I haven't tried it here, but I had one in Portland made with coconut ice cream, and it was really decadent. If you have a sweet tooth and a caffeine addiction, go for it! I am also a fan of the cookies. They are made in house daily, and offered alongside a number of other small sweets.

The place is cute, with bar stools, tables, and a couch so you can sit and relax or study. The only thing stopping me from rating 5 stars is service. The baristas definitely know what they are doing, but the first time I stopped in, I felt like I was intruding on the staff and their friends seated at the stools. Most recently, the cashier told the barista my order with what could only be described as annoyance. If Cavu could be a bit more welcoming, I'd make more of an effort to get up this way and stick around for more...

Cavu has a huge selection of coffee, tea, and other drinks! I had an iced matcha and a caprese melt. The caprese melt was served hot and fresh and it was delicious. It came with a side of chips. However, they were lays chips… They have a sign that they are free from all artificial flavors, colors, corn syrup, and preservatives but the chips they served have all of those which makes me wonder about the ingredients in the other products.

Their almond milk which is “organic” is also no other than silk unsweetened which isn’t organic and has preservatives in it as well. On the other hand, their oat milk is house made which is awesome (depending on all the ingredients they use; I didn’t ask because they were out of it when I came).

The iced matcha I got was also perfect. I got it with light ice and it was still cold and mixed well (no powder was floating or sank to the bottom). My only problem with the drink was that it came in a plastic cup even though I ordered for dine in. It would be better if they would use a dish for iced drinks and if their to-go cups and boxes were all compostable. However, their straws are compostable...

Atmosphere: It's a casual cafe where you can come and chat or do some reading. The space itself is not very spacious, but it's a nice place.

Food: N/A - didn't try any food items.

Coffee: You can tell that they care about their coffee when there are posters about bean origins. I wish more people cared about the coffee bean quality and origin like this cafe. For the broad audience, this place has everything you need. I don't know how some other cafes with lower quality have higher rating.

Coffee Aficionado: To be snobby here for a sec... the pourover was generally nice. I don't know what kind of recipe they use, but I would give it a 4/5 for pourover. Espresso - I ordered a shot. I would say that they have not dialed in the machine to accommodate a pure shot. I would give it 2/5. It's underexracted, but I have seen other "high-end" cafes with the worst espresso shots. Given that vast majority cafes tend to have overly sour shots, this place was not that bad. This is not to diss, but to leave an honest review. I would go to this place fairly regularly if I...