Your Daily Grind Espresso

It’s small and easily unnoticed but it’s always wonderful when the quality of the drinks matches the quality of the service!

There was a bleach blond barista here from darington and she made my coffee perfect on the second visit she remembered what my drink was and asked if I wanted my 16oz iced coconut breve with hot shots. By far that’s the best barista customer service I’ve ever gotten and being a barista myself I have the worst luck ever getting my coffee made by other baristas. Unfortunately, she is no longer there. My coffees by the other baristas are decent but not fantastic, as with other stands I don’t understand why it is so difficult to stir my ice so my first sip of coffee isn’t Luke warm grossness and having to try and stir it myself with the straw as I’m driving away… I came in one day to grab a cigar for my grandmother and I and her usual that I dialed in as a barista is a 32oz iced hazelnut late with nonfat and half the hazelnut. The barista kept showing me the cold cup with syrup in it asking if that was the right amount of syrup?! I know every stand is didn’t with either pumps or pours of syrup and how many they use per drink. You are the barista you should know how many pumps are in your 32oz and you half that. Not rocket science. she also started making gets with coconut and I had to correct her that gets was supposed to be hazelnut. I opted for a 32oz iced coconut breve with hot shots instead of a 16oz because we had a long day of cleaning ahead of us and I noticed she only put 4 pumps in mine so I ask how many pumps they put in their 32oz and she had to look at the list and tells me she didn’t put that much into mine. Ok, why? I didn’t ask for half the coconut for mine. So I ask her how many pumps they put in a 16oz out of curiosity and she had to lo at the list again to tell new 5 which is fine by me cuz most places are 4 and I’ve always made my own with 4.5 or 5. Then she proceeds to tell me she usually just pumps. What?! The reason for measured pumps is for consistency in the the drinks, you don’t just randomly pump and call it good. No wonder my other drinks have been just average. When I got back to my house the roommate luckily had some almond roca creamer from the grocery store to add to my coffee to make it drinkable. Gross, I did not pay for an espresso to have to go home and doctor it up myself with crappy creamer or be disappointed upon leaving the stand. Do your baristas even take pride in making a quality espresso? I also asked how many shots were in a 32oz and I was told it’s only 3, so I had to buy an extra shot. Every 32oz I’ve ever made uses 5 shots. I’ve also learned with this place that I have to specify that I do not automatically want toddy shots in my iced coffee. You only give toddy if a customer asks our you can ask if they want their iced drink with toddy or hot shots. If the one blonde girl was still working there I’d go only when she is working but sadly I don’t care to stop here because I don’t particularly care to spend $ 5 including a tip got drink that’s not on point. It’s not a matter of being a coffee snob, it’s a matter of I know what my drink should taste like and it’s something I look forward to brighten my day not irritate, disappoint, or frustrate.

Wonderful, smooth, creamy latte. Looks like they have many specialties, but I went for the basics. Friendly and quick service.

It’s a small, almost unmarked drive-​through espresso stand next to the burger place in Arlington. We stopped in for a latte before a hike, and it was just what we needed — and just what we expected at a little stand like that. Nothing amazing, but decent coffee. I wasn’t overcharged either; my double latte with a little hazelnut was $ 3 exactly.