Espresso Bay

My abortive place to get my lattes in town! Maya is amazing, as if the entire staff, and they have fun options!

They are running a Unilocal offer for the Garfield store, but when I tried to use it, the guy behind the counter said it was for the store downtown. Nope, that’s not true– it is clearly being offered for this store. The guy did say he could honor it if he must, but he would make no money off it, and lose money. If you want to welcome customers, do not offer coupons that you don’t want to honor.

Great coffee,
Smoothie and granola bites, pleasant atmosphere. Other Unilocalers need to hop off whatever religious tirade they are on… the barista didn’t even say God Bless You. Haha :) It is close to airport and that was important today.

The following review as written by my Beautiful wife!
My husband and I stopped here since I had a taste for a Latte’ with Almond Milk. The barista was a very nice and helpful young man. He pointed out my size options and Latte’ options. I ordered an Almond milk latte’ with an extra shot of espresso. It was Excellent.
I didn’t plan on ordering anything else but a latte’ but I couldn’t help but notice all the pastry. The barista answered my many questions about the scones, muffins, bars, and cookies. I couldn’t decide since they all looked so delicious. So I ordered the banana nut muffin, the lemon blueberry scone, and a small container of granny bites. Wow! they all tasted just as delicious as they looked! the muffin and scone were very moist, flavorful and fresh tasting. The granny bites were recommended by the barista as their best seller. I can see why. They were moist and tasty. Small enough to pop in your mouth one at a time. I wasn’t even done with my latte’ and pastries and was already thinking about what I would ordered next time.
Too bad I didn’t discover this coffee shop at the beginning of my vacation! I might have to get a latte’ and bag of pastries for the long ride home.
It would be great if we had a coffee shop like this in our hometown. Great coffee, great pastries, great baristas, pleasant atmosphere, all in one place.

I believe in separation of church and coffee. Espresso Bay does not, clearly.
It’s just unsettling to have a painting of Jesus towering over you as you ask for a latte.
Look, I love Jesus. Great guy. But this place begs the question, «What would Jesus do If a house of worship was attached to a sugar-​drink factory and religious book warehouse?»
Also, I think the service is intentionally slow so that you are forced to browse their wide array of evangelical propaganda. No, thank you.

I stopped in here to get some coffee and spend a bit of time working online on my MacBook Pro before heading to the Airport and home.
The barista was this very friendly young lady. I ordered a dark roast coffee — she gave me two bean options for dark roast. After she explained the differences between the two, she offered me the pre-​made coffee, or a pour over. I opted for the pour over.
As others have noticed, Espresso Bay offers a selection of Christian themed books.
Lots of comfortable seating, and the WiFi network is free and was fast while I was there.
Coffee was strong and tasty!

We used Unilocal!for our recent trip to Traverse City. Stopped at Espresso Bay since it was top rated. I was not that impressed. I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was about luke warm– not even hot. I kept getting huge mouth fulls of spice as well, not okay. I would give it a second change. The space is very tight as well, it’s hard to stand in line with the traffic going through.

I had multiple really positive experience here and can give a detailed reasoning for my enjoyable experience. Great for vacationers, locals, and people on the go.
Upon entering, I noticed that the atmosphere was clean, profession, and using colors that were soothing. I felt very relaxed and able to enjoy the afternoon. There were enough power outlets, tables, and couches to supply customers with computers. They also had a great WIFI signal, which I really appreciate.
The coffees I tried were great. My personal recommendation would be to try their pour overs. The lattes were good, but (like most American coffee shops), are a bit sweet for my palette. However, I asked for ½ the syrup in my latte and it was EXCELLENT. I am not sure where they get their beans from, but I was really impressed with them. Good flavor and roasting methods.
The pastries I tried were made in house, by an employee, but I think some of them were mass produced. The newer smoothies they serve (recently) are much more natural and fresh than the older variety (which was artificial flavoring). I am much more impressed with the new ones.
The baristas and staff I experienced on my visits were always friendly, polite, and engaged in healthy communications. On one occasion, they mixed up my order, but gave me a free pastry with my new (and perfected) drink order.
Overall, I am very pleased with my experiences here and will definitely be returning to this venue during my travels. I was surprised at a few of the negative ratings posted here, but upon reading them, I think they are more opinion based (pro /​anti LGBT agenda) and not actually describing a customer experience. Those are the reviews that should be banned from Unilocal,but that’s another type of review.
In conclusion, I would absolutely recommend this coffee shop, the poor overs, and the atmosphere. Well done.

«You know, Hitler did a lot of things he didn’t get credit for…»
This is the Espresso Bay on Garfield.
Customer (who seemed like a regular or an off-​shift employee) and barista chatting happily about how Hitler’s contributions have been overlooked. When I stood up and said «Excuse me, are you defending Hitler?» the customer just barely stopped himself from swearing at me and the barista gave me a look like it was none of my business.
Guess I’m not your business, either.
Nice to know this is the «Christian» coffee shop.
Also, it’s fake whipped cream. I’m not sure which is the greater sin.

Wonderful coffee, when it’s done right. I like strong coffee drinks, I usually order extra espresso in my lattes and cappuccinos. I’ve always loved their drinks, there was something special to them, but the last few times I’ve gotten milk based drinks there, with extra espresso, it’s tasted like any other drink. I know I’m ordering the extra coffee because they’re charging me for it, but it doesn’t taste like it’s there. Also the last time I ordered a cappuccino, I was just straight up given a latte. I don’t know if I’m just getting a barista on a bad day, or what. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.

So So coffee, not nice to minorities

I purchased a Unilocal deal to buy beans for our visit to Traverse City so at least I got those but the coffee was nothing special and then I was told that Espresso Bay is a large supporter of conservative causes. I did my research and it makes sense that they would be considering they are a mission outreach. Having grown up in Michigan raised by a mother who kicked out an abusive husband, I appreciate more «liberal» causes which allow people like my mother to get back on her feet, become independent without deciding who is worthy and who isn’t.

Listed times are incorrect. Great coffee however they messed my order up making it hot and not cold. Then made me pay for both. Fine. But the line was long and the young guy was on the phone the entire time while trying to make drinks. It local so when we fly in its nice to go to a home grown shop. But improvement is needed

This place is located in the best possible spot in town. It was 2 pm the day before the holiday — July 4 — and the line was out the door. Prices good. Taste wonderful. Staff was limited as they could have used more help. Took a long time to get two mochas. Little discouraging when the barista was saying to the cashier he was happy it was getting quieter and a bit slower on his end. Yikes. Overall good cherry mocha.

So overrated. The most consistently UNPLEASANT staff, overpriced menu items, and sub-​par quality coffee & espresso. Please save your money and walk one block west to Brew, or one block east to Morsels.

I’ve had generally-​okay experiences at their downtown Traverse City location, but the couple of times I’ve been here, I’ve felt unwelcome. The barista/​cashiers have been less-​than-​enthusiastic, and quite honestly, ~$ 4 for a medium-​sized shot in the dark is pushing it for less-​than-​awesome service; my friend and I were the only people there, but we still had to come and get our stuff from the counter. Not a big deal, but when even the cheaper places will bring it out to you when they’re busy, it’s the smaller differences like that (and saying «hi», «bye», and smiling just a little; I know, it can be miserable) add up.

They are currently running a Unilocal deal, good for them. The location at Garfield and S. Airport is new to me. The hammond location is no more, so sad. I had a tea from the garfield location a few weeks back it was good. Heavy on the religious literature, but then again, they are connected to the House of Prayer here, so makes sense, I guess.

We were in TC and stopped in to use the restroom and get a coffee. The restrooms were nice and clean. The people running the café were super friendly and talkative. Really great coffee. They use good ingredients. The mocha was amazing. Check them out.

We recently visited Espresso Bay again with friends. It is still very clean & and everyone is so friendly. The gelato is to die for & and the coffee is roasted in house, very robust and great with their locally made bagels.
We always stop by when we are shopping downtown to catch a few minutes of quiet time as well as check our e-​mails on their free wi-​fi.
We especially recommend grabbing a cup of coffee or espresso before going to the city market on Saturdays or Wednesdays during the summer.

I like it. Very good coffee, nice ambiance, and the best cherry scone I’ve ever eaten. The young barista was very friendly and cheerful.
1 complaint: Open on time. I got there a little before the posted start time of 7 AM but it was about 7:10 before she opened. And the coffee wasn’t finished brewing so I’m thinking she was running a little behind. That can happen…