Sunday, August 16, 2009

Bad Ass Coffee

[NOTE: This is about the shop at 11925 Beach Blvd, not the one on Southside. Also, if you want to see a more in-depth look at Bad Ass Coffee, then look at the Nov. 25, 2008 issue of The Campus Voice (FSCJ's newspaper), or you can look at an online edition but the online design quality is horrible, and the print design was fantastic]

Despite the obscene name, Bad Ass Coffee is one of the most welcoming and homely coffee shops in Jacksonville.

As you walk in you have an artificial waterfall to your right, comfy sofas in front of a flat-screen TV, a jukebox, and dozens of Hawaii-themed decorations, not to mention the free Wi-Fi and all of the clothes and bumper stickers for sale.

The location is less than a mile away from Florida State College at Jacksonville and only a few minutes from UNF, making it a prime spot for college students and professors. The coffee shop's owner, Tony Leon, estimates that around forty percent of his clientele comes from one of the colleges.

The coffee beans are 100% American, and the coffee shop mostly relies on the Hawaiian Kona bean, one of the strongest and most expensive beans.

The thing that really sets Bad Ass Coffee above the rest is their ingenuity and drive to do whatever they can to make each coffee the best cup it can be. For example, their iced coffee comes with cubes of ice made from coffee so that your coffee won't be diluted. Furthermore, their shops contain the potential for thousands of different flavored lattes, although only thirty or so are pre-named and marketed.

The staff are also fairly friendly, and in the thirty or so trips that I've gone there(I work at FSCJ, so I make coffee runs all the time), they have never messed up an order of mine. They aren't the type of people who go out of their way to learn your name or anything, but if you talk to them, then they will have a conversation with you as if you are a close friend.

Overall, my rankings (on a 10-scale) for Bad Ass Coffe are
Coffee Quality - 9
Service - 7
Environment - 9

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Coffee in Jacksonville

Hey y'all, my name is Andrew, and I am a coffee connoisseur. I frequent independent coffee shops in Jacksonville on a fairly regular basis, so I decided that it would be beneficial if I started reviewing the shops and keeping track of them.

This blog will review coffee shops based on their atmosphere, quality of coffee, service, and other miscellaneous junk.

I plan to review The Coffee Grinder, Coffee Cup Cafe, Bad Ass Coffee Shop, Cafe Inn, City Perks Coffee Co., Coffee Roasters, and a few others in the upcoming months.

If you have any specific recommendations, then please drop a line (No Starbucks!).