Black Tap stole my heart. Well, Charleston stole my heart and then Black Tap sealed the deal. This shop, owned by California natives, is a satellite of everything there is to love about West Coast coffee with the easy-going, historic feel of Charleston.
The major thing Black Tap kills at is their design and cohesiveness. The brand image is consistent and subtle, touching every part of their business without ever being overbearing. The shop itself is beautiful and demure.
From the outside.
I love the way they used lots of different woods. I think there is a tendency for places to not want to over use wood as an aspect of their design and this leads to lots of other color choices or materials. But the beauty here is that by sticking with more woods of different shades, you end up looking at each shade as serving a different purpose while still maintaining an over all look. The floor, tables, bar and even the white, untreated walls serve their purpose and then become ignorable. That's brilliant.
The bar top seating on the left in the picture above is abundant with much-appreciated outlets.
On the wall, in the picture above, there is a map of Charleston with all the different neighborhoods. I've seen it before in coffee shops and restaurants in Brooklyn and Portland, but I always enjoy it since it is fun for visitors to learn from and for locals to connect with.
They keep cucumber water on the bar for their customers.
Now, let's talk logo. The Black Tap logo is really in line with the rest of their image. It's clean. It's simple. It's beautiful. And most importantly, it's functional. This logo will look good at most sizes, and it's nice to look at.
They even did a holiday version of their logo!
Another thing I love about Black Tap is their use of creative syrups. Theirs was the first lavender latte I ever had and I was completely hooked! I know they also have a bunch of other flavors so next time I go back there I'll try to fight my need for lavender and try something new.
Black Tap is one of those places that took a lot of good ideas from a bunch of different sources and put them all together in a great way. Can't wait to go back!
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