Java Jive

Closed, kaput, k defunct, gone, toast. Greatly missed.

I love Java Jive. It’s taken a lot of experimentation for me to find a place I enjoy (and trust) eating at on campus and this is one of my favourites. I think the staff really make the experience here. They’re all just incredibly nice people.
Like others have already mentioned, I really come here for the bagels. They’re always fresh and Java Jive has an amazing selection of cream cheeses. The sundried tomato is my favourite. I do wish they would spread it on before giving it to you (they give you a plastic knife with the cheese in a separate cup). It’s not exactly grab-​and-​go food when you have to find a place to sit down and prepare it before you can eat it… but let’s be honest here: this is just me being lazy.
While their coffee isn’t the best I’ve ever had, it still beat Tim Horton’s and Starbucks and for the price, I’m not going to argue. As Addie mentioned: bring your own cup! It’s a great deal for you since you only pay for the price of a small and get significantly more coffee and you get the satisfaction that you’re doing your bit to be sustainable (yay!)
Four stars because they always seem to run out of the bagels I like before I get there. Otherwise, Java Jive is great.

I’m a regular evening and occasional morning customer! The inly place on campus that serves coffee after 5pm in summer. They have a decent selection of specialty coffee and I’m a huge fan of their cinammon chocolate loaf and their morning glory muffin!

I think the coffee is great quality at Java Jive, and I love their espresso based drinks (you really can’t get a better mochachino anywhere else), but their food isn’t awesome. Also, a regular cup is really a small when compared to other coffee shops, so I always order extra-​large in order to get the equivalent to a Starbucks grande. Consequently, you end up paying more at Java Jive than you would elsewhere for the same thing. Furthermore, they don’t take debit or credit, which is a sore point for me since I don’t like to carry cash. Consequently while Java Jive is my favourite coffee on campus, I frequently find it too much of a hassle to buy from there.

I don’t drink coffee very often but I’ve had lattes and such here a couple times. The drinks taste fine and the price is around average. One complaint is that the Styrofoam cups they put the drinks in have failed on me twice, on one occasion damaging a $ 200 textbook.
I mostly come here for bagels. The bagels are fresh and Java Jive has some delicious flavors. A bagel and cream cheese is around $ 3, so a bit pricier than Tim Hortons, but they taste a whole lot better and are in my opinion worth it.
Unfortunately, Java Jive is cash only. I only ever carry plastic so I have to plan ahead to take change from home if I’m going to go here. Generally I only buy my lunch on campus if I’m ill prepared, so that doesn’t really work.

4 stars to Java Jive because I personally think it’s the best place to get coffee on campus! U of A has various coffee places (a couple of Timmys, Starbucks, Cram Dunk etc.), but I like Java Jive in particular because they actually make an effort with their routine drip coffee, serving up drips from a variety of countries (African, S. American etc.) and from light roasts to dark roasts and flavored beans.
Usually their coffee isn’t like the top-​notch, par excellence stuff, but Java Jive certainly has the variety to satisfy the nuances of 21^st century coffee drinkers, seeking that perfect cup of distinctive coffee. Given that they’re the only people on campus who attempt to do this, it’s kinda nice.
Their espresso based drinks are also quite decent. What I really like, though, is their tremendous variety of bagels! Yes, bagels! On a daily basis, they have perhaps 6 types of bagels with 4 – 6 types of cream cheeses. In that sense, you could get really the weirdest combination of bagel-​cream cheese meals from here, like, raisin bagels with dill cream cheese.. Of course, don’t expect all combinations to be great and if something’s not good it’s only a sign of your weak judgement (like I’ve come to realize on several occasions).
It is fairly significant to mention that they fill up any reusable coffee can/​flask/​cup etc., no matter how big, at the cost of a small coffee ($ 1.65). This green incentive is just another reason to love them! I end up filling up my 16 oz. Second Cup Coffee thermos with Trade Free Kenyan, medium light coffee for the price of $ 1.65 — much less than Second Cup and Starbucks.

Java Jive is located in Student Union Building (SUB) at the U of A.
I recently had to spend some time there and Java Jive was my best friend! The guys working were really friendly and charming. They made me feel comfortable in an environment I wasn’t accustomed to (the U of A).
The coffee was great too. I’m pretty faithful to my beloved Tim Horton’s when it comes to coffee but there wasn’t one in sight so I decided to try Java Jive. I’m glad I did. Not only did the smell of their coffee fill the air, it tasted great.
I don’t know what else to say about Java Jive except it was great! It was clean, the guys came out and cleaned the surrounding area a few times a day, it was all good.
Good coffee, good people, good stuff!