It's been a while but a few weeks ago for my birthday I went on a mini road trip with my wife and daughter to go on a Coffee Shop Tour or rather a Coffee Crawl?
Be ready for the photo dump to come BUT we started out with the local favorite.
SHOTGUN HOUSE ROASTERS
(FORGOT TO TAKE A PHOTO...)
We HAD to fuel up and get caffeinated before the hour and half drive. I picked up my trusty Cold Brew and my wife got their seasonal Sweater Weather (their take on a pumpkin spice latte).
Our first stop was in East Austin. I've never been on that side of the hood but I quickly fell in love! Very community focused, bike lanes everywhere which made commuting easier, and it just so happened all the coffee shops I wanted to visit were less than 10 min from each other! Major win!
First stop was
GREATER GOODS COFFEE ROASTING CO.
Let me tell you, I originally only wanted to go here because a local architect designed the space. It's a warehouse looking building, nothing too special, until you walk in through the front. Translucent panels provide shade in the front entry and those translucent panels make their way around the building really lighting the place up!! Once you walk in, the coffee bar is unique, it's in a U shape which allows for people to sit and drink on one side but also shows off the espresso machine and you get to see how the baristas do their magic!
Their Peach Cobbler Cortado called my name! and I'm not really a peach person either!!! My wife switched it up and went for my usual and got herself a cold brew, a Cascara Spice Cold Brew. Tasted like fall in a cup with a bit of chai and also some pumpkin pie/apple pie notes.
Last shop for the trip was
FLAT TRACK COFFEE
If you're from Texas, who doesn't love a large Selena mural painted on the side of the building?! Well that was the first thing that stood out to me. Second was that it was literally a full on bicycle shop!! So many people have recommended me this spot and for some reason at first glance I didn't know why. It's so unassuming, a bicycle shop, and there wasn't a whole lot to the place. Definitely not like the last coffee shop, Greater Goods. You walk in and the building is split in half. The smell of bicycle tires and grease blend with the fresh coffee that's being brewed to make what could be the most satisfying candle scent in the world!
The coffee shop side was dark! Really cool grunge vibes with wood accents everywhere. I ordered the Cold brew, my wife got the vanilla chai, and my friend Henry got the Horchata. All great drinks!!
There wasn't a whole lot of space to sit and lounge or even work but what I'm starting to get is that's a typical thing for Austin. Regardless, we found some stools at the bar, talked about the shop, photography, chased y daughter a bit, and looked at the merch. I absolutely love a good coffee merch line! My only pickup aside from the cold brew was a shop rag with their logo screen printed on it. Pretty sick looking!
You can start your own tour and log each shop with your own Coffee Log Book, you can get it HERE
For those wondering what I had on me...
I was rocking my orange Matsuda 130
Stoic Innovations MCB wallet
PS_Patch Design Battery Pouch
DSPTCH Fidlock Strap (on the Matsuda)