Elixr - Philly, PA

Elixr is probably one of the only coffee shops that does rotating art well. Most coffee shops are trying to sell a particular print/painting/drawing, which in my opinion is both tacky and very hit or miss. Elixr instead has artists go to town on one wall making this one huge mural the focal point of the shop and promoting that artist's work generally. I love the concept. I love how it never looks out of place in the setting. I love how it is always different when I go there. And of course, it's actually provoking and enjoyable art done by some pretty talented people. Here are a few examples:

The one pictured above was what was there last time I went to Elixr. (It's been a while!)

The overall design of the shop is fairly straight forward, but it hits a lot of the key points for a coffee shop. The bar is far enough from the entrance to draw you into the shop. The design is industrial but welcoming. Lots of upcycled wood. As for seating, it's a bit lacking. The downstairs area is simply built in benches and low coffee tables. The upstairs are small tables. Nothing particularly cozy, but it certainly works.

The coffee itself is certainly coffee. I have never noticed their coffee as particular reason to go to this coffee shop. In fact, the main reason I frequent this shop is it's proximity to Rittenhouse square and it's obvious coolness. Next time I'm there I definitely need to stop and take a slower taste of their coffee to really comment on it.

As for their logo, I love it. It's simple and really clashes the age of the word "elixir" with a clean, modern design. I also love that it evokes a medicinal feel instead of what could have been a magical one. I mean, with a name like Elixr, they could have gone in a couple different directions.

All this being said. their marketing doesn't seem that strong. They certainly haven't capitalized that much on building a brand as far as I can see.

Either way, Elixr is a must for a trip to Philly.

Blue Bottle - San Francisco, CA

For all who don't know, Blue Bottle did for coffee what the Beatles did for music. The name is synonymous with high brow coffee culture. (Along with Intelligentsia but that is for another post.)

Blue Bottle specializes in pour over and syphon coffee. They also make espresso drinks and apparently have pastries - didn't notice any when I was there, but it's frankly very hard to focus on much else than the beautiful glass cold brew machines and the rows of syphons.

What you see here is a halogen bulb underneath heating the water to just under boiling, taking this old, English way of brewing coffee into the 2000's. 

To be perfectly honest though, when I went to this location I was much younger and very uneducated about coffee. I knew about friendly, neighborhood coffee shop culture but this is an altogether different animal. There was no way I could have appreciated Blue Bottle for more than its welcoming aesthetic at the time. Now, I just feel I need to go back.

After all, this is the store that inspired one of my favorite coffee shops in South Carolina, Black Tap.

The major thing that has been impressed upon me from every coffee fanatic I've ever run into is that Blue Bottle is one of the most influential coffee shops in the US. I think the reasons for that are very clear, they have excellent branding and they were actually trying to be something different to consumers than what S.BUX is.

This is a $15M company. How did they get this way? Well for one thing, this isn't really a sit down place. They have seating but no wifi. They were also not intended to be for the busy person either. The focus is on slow brewed coffee: it's pour over, syphon, espresso and cold brew. High-end with a price tag. And at the time, they were one of very few places doing that.

Their marketing is consistent, even selling impossibly small commercial cold brew.

I hope one day I get to go back to San Francisco and relive this coffee shop with the knowledge I have now. I think it will be a different experience entirely.

Toby's Estate Coffee - Brooklyn, NY

The last time I was in Brooklyn, I was looking for a cozy place to work out of. Toby's Estate Coffee did not meet that need. However, this didn't effect my opinion of it greatly, because there are so many reasons to go to coffee shops. One thing I like about this shop is its design. I say that a lot, but I'm a sucker for  designed spaces (and I think secretly, everyone in the world is).

Here we see a bunch of clever things. The mirror that is angled slightly above the bar is adding a significant amount of natural light to this space. That is a totally ingenious way to work a space that only has one natural light source. Granted, in this shop, it's a huge light source, but one none the less. 

Notice that the use of wood-for-everything and clean white walls is something that we have seen work before. (Black Tap in SC and Blue Bottle in SF)

They also utilized 2 huge built-in shelving walls. On the left side, away from the door, it's used only decoratively, but on the right side, it actually serves dual purpose of decore and retail shelving.

Here's another photo of that decorative shelving wall:

One thing I really like here is their use of a huge tufted couch instead of a built in. I think the extra effort in this regard does a lot for keeping the character of the space upscale and more traditional.

This meshing of upscale, traditional vibes and up-to-date hipster/utilitarian design seems to be a cornerstone of Toby's.

In terms of logo and carry-out design, they are all over the place. Here are a couple of their cups:

Where are the going with this? Each one is completely different in its overall look. Confusing.

But they hit the mark on food, preparing lots of options for their picky New York clientele.

To be frank, I didn't notice anything particularly special about the coffee here. If it is unique in some way that I didn't notice, please forgive me. Sometimes I think I get distract by how a place is rather than what they're serving.

My biggest gripe with this place is the fact that they have no outlets. They literally have a room full of people using macbooks and no outlets. It makes sense since this spurs turnover and they don't want people camping out for very long. But it's a sore point for me.

All in all, Toby's Estate isn't my go-to in Brooklyn primarily because of the outlet situation. (I am a person who likes to get comfortable.) But that's okay, Toby's would be great for meeting up with friends and having a quick lunch and coffee. There are definitely times that all you need is to be in a beautiful setting with good coffee and Toby's is just that.

Black Tap - Charleston, SC

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!

The Looney Bean - Bend, OR

The Looney Bean is one of my most memorable visits to any coffee shop. And the reason has almost nothing to do with the shop, and more to do with location. Situated with its backyard right on Mirror Pond, this Bend coffee shop has an almost euphoric view.

Views like this are why Bend, OR is such an amazing place, but getting it while you enjoy your latte is really a slice of heaven for me.

The shop it's self is nothing spectacular, there are thousands of shops like it in the country, I bet. Its basically a little house with comfortable leather couches and two tops. It's very small.

Looney Bean also roasts locally in Bend, so it seems like a normal occurrence to see these large jugs of coffee beans. The inside is the hectic community space you see so often in local favorite coffee places that are really not about being the coolest, best designed place and more about having that easy, low pressure atmosphere.

While the branding is a bit inconsistent, The Looney Bean has found one clear winner for where to put their logo: these campfire mugs are a killer statement about who this coffee shop is. The vision is very clear in this one object.

Oh, and they are also dog-friendly!

I hope I get a chance to go back to Bend, these views are so incredible!

Victrola - Seattle, WA

Victrola is a great coffee shop and roastery. It's very Seattle in a lot of ways.

Their space is very usable. The bar positioning is perfect because it invites you in several steps. Even if there's a line, you'll still be safely inside, out of the rain.

You can really see, above how large the space is. There is even a back room that you can reserve for meetings and clubs which is very nice.

Although everytime I went to Victrola there were people working and studying, I was displeased with how slow the internet was. Some days, it was so bad it was completely unusable and instead of getting a second cup of coffee I just went hope or to another coffee shop with better wifi. On the weekends, they sometimes had no wifi at all which meant that this place was never a good spot to do side projects. The owner, I have been told, has intentionally done this.

Their packaging and logo are okay. I like the way that the name is vertical on the cups and I love the font but I find the logo to be... fine. It doesn't knock my socks off or stick in my mind very well. It's not striking. But it isn't all together awful. It's just... fine. 

Oh! I almost forgot my favorite thing about this place! Lavender lattes! Victrola makes their own simple syrup and they do some amazing seasonal flavors. I loved that!

In its totality, Victrola is a great place to meet up with a friend for coffee or read or draw. It's not a great place to work.

FourtilFour - Scottsdale, AZ

This is one of the smallest coffee shops I've ever been in!

That's it. Above. That's the whole place.

I found this coffee shop was not for me. Firstly, it was not a sit-down place which renders almost all my other criteria moot. Secondly, I don't care about classic cars at all. Not at all. But the reason I went was because a friend told me they make killer coffee.

They do.

What you would need to know about this place is that they are actually serving Four Barrel Coffee until Four o'clock in the afternoon. So... yeah.

I feel I must remain very neutral since I firmly believe I am not the user for this coffee shop. However, I will say that the coffee I had was pretty good.

I will probably not go back unless I wanted to show a friend in the area that loved classic cars.