Fiore Espresso Cafe

Best place ever! Went in before work because I saw the bubble tea sign and I love bubble tea! Probably the best I have ever had. The tapioca was cooked perfectly! My new favorite place (:

Great tasting bubble tea… Cute place… Very nice owner … I plan on frequenting this place

Sams The man. I get the vanella latte. Over the years I have never had a bad one. Parking is go around the block or across the street or in the free shoppers spots in the parking structure. You can call ahead. I meet friends there. I use two free if you buy ten but I give a tip each time. One guy one place. Kids in highschool. Outlasted other stores in area… subway and exercise joint. Support the local guy.

We went in to get out of the heat. He hadn’t turned on the air conditioning. My iced coffee tasted like a cheap store brand. She loved her chai. The owner was, to understate things, unfriendly. I tried to cheer him up by joking with him. «We are not amused.»

My experience here is limited. Nothing really jumped out at me either way. I had a pretty basic drink, as did my husband. What I like most about Fiore is it’s location and the fact that it’s a local business. I do like some of the chain coffee shops, but I try to support local as much as I can. They could probably make some interior decorating changes to make it a little more inviting and more of a hang out, but perhaps that’s not a goal? I’ll come back.

The flavors were overly artificial.
I also think that the tapioca balls were old/​sitting out because I had a ton of diarrhea.
Yep. I was the only one in the house that got sick and it didn’t feel like a mystery. Pretty sure that is because of this place.
The place could be cleaner, restroom to restaurant.
I feel bad complaining about small business but it’s just wrong to serve something that can make someone sick. I would give one star but the people were nice. However, it’s just wrong to advertise like it’s healthy fruit when it’s sugar syrups too.

Drove extra miles past a starbucks to support a local indy coffee place, found parking 2 blocks away, walked in cold, greeted by handwritten sign on door «be back at such-​and-​such time»… how unprofessional. Thanks for wasting my time! (U wont get a second chance)

Breaking news! An extinct species of coffee brewer, last seen 100 years ago, can be found at this location! Ancient and very rare, this old beast dwells here upon the dirty counter top and is still cranking out the brown water that it made in it’s younger years. Would you like a few lumps of rust with that or just cream?
If it wasn’t for the mere fact that I was hanging out with my lovely friend at the time of my first visit, I would have been less oblivious to the interesting mixture of burnt espresso, water and cream (?) in my cup. If I had been paying any attention whatsoever, I would have fully rejected this «coffee.» It was some good conversation.. .
How, HOW may I ask you, is this place alive? Where are the blessed disinfecting sprays and cleaning towels? To where does the barista disappear to for long periods of time? Let me warn you specifically about my drink, I got a Café Americano (hardest drink to mess up) and my friend ordered an iced mocha. I’m not sure how hers was.
The décor inside is questionable. I suppose you can put your store inventory and supplies up as a wall display… I suppose, but honestly having all of the back-​up coffee syrup on the wall was a bit odd. The sitting area was alright, I mean, you could sit.
I can honestly say my visit is a blur to me due to good company, but I can assure you that this isn’t the place to go for coffee. It was my fault we ended up here. I read some good Unilocal reviews and wanted to investigate the bad ones. 2 stars, one is the minimum that I have to give and the other is because my friend treated me to my coffee and somehow her kindness has resulted in some mercy on my part. I didn’t want to say anything on Unilocal for fear of looking like a jerk, and yet here we are.

i really try to be civil about writing reviews, no matter how bad the place is.
meaning i try to explain why this place sucks or good, and this will be one of those few reviews i will not be civil about this place.
this place sucks, don’t go here.
bubble tea is nasty, the owner uses powder like a baby formula to make your mocha freeze, along with like a month old tasting tapioca. i can go on and on about how bad this place is with ‘shit’ they serve and he tried to rip me off by charging me a big size for small sized. etc.
oh, not to mention i had stomache after this nasty bubble tea sip.
i dont know how this place is still open.

I’ve come here three times now and gotten a mocha. It’s a bit dusty, but I really like the taste of the coffee so I’m inclined to come back and try more products. The guy sells every flavor of coffee you can imagine. He’s also got a large stock of interesting teas, which I am also curious about.

Pot meet kettle and mop meet bucket.
I know I’m a messy person and all, but Fiore was just too much for me.
I’d been wanting to check out Fiore for a while now, but up until this past week I’d just never had a chance given their limited evening hours. I walked in to an empty store, less the one guy working and saw that it was much smaller and emptier than I’d thought. Some tea tins along the wall, the counter order (not for short people, it’s a biggun), a ledge on a portion of the wall near the entrance with three tall stools and two very short tables with *maybe* six chairs total.
The size of the place didn’t bother me, but the amount of uncleanliness in such a tiny area did.
Before I’d notice all the, uhm, mystery bits on the ground, I ordered their large iced Chai Tea Latte. I had planned on staying for a while and working on my laptop so I asked if I could keep my tab open so they didn’t have to run my card 4 times and I didn’t end up with a million stupid receipts. I offered the guy my card to hold, and he gladly accepted. I sat down and set up my laptop and he yelled out that actually, he couldn’t keep a tab open for me because he had no guarantee that my card wouldn’t be declined when I ordered more. Mmmkay… I guess I was looking extra broke that day. I said to just run the card and I can sign for my single drink… as I decided in my head that a single drink was all I was going to have because not only did he basically accuse me, their lone customer, of seeming shady after he’s the one in possession of my debit card, but I also had my period and was in no mood for someone to provoke my PMS even further.
After this I get out my laptop cord and find the one outlet on the wall near the seating area. It’s only about 4 feet from me, but I have to maneuver around the cramped, crowded bunch of chairs and stools to get to it. I ended up having to move one of the stools and when I did, I unearthed a small, round, dark ball of only lord knows what. Maybe it was a petrified boba ball? But why did it look so solid and mildly fibrous? If I had to say what it most looked like, I’d go with a rabbit turd… but why would there be rabbit doo in a coffee shop? I snapped a pic of it (and the balls of dust and hair around it) and went to my laptop to google what else has poop that looks like that, but quickly realized that their wifi was not working. Greeeat!
So now my Chai is ready and the guy hands it to me of the counter/​partition/​whatever. I ask him if I need a wifi password to use the Fiore Guest network and at first he looks at my laptop and looks confused… like he’s never seen one before, and then he answers ‘no’ and says that I need to ‘open the browser’ for it to work. Ya don’t say?! Ugh.
I tell him that the browser is open, and it still says the internet connection isn’t working. He repeats, «you have to open the browser. Open the browser,» and I just stare at him and blink slowly and then look at my laptop with browser clearly open and stare some more, then back at him with the blinks. He repeats AGAIN that my browser has to be open and finally I just say okay and sit down at my now useless work computer while I prepare to hurriedly finish my beverage and GTF outta there so I can go somewhere else with wifi and clean floors to work. Then, the guy comes around the corner, takes my laptop and starts tinkering on it without my permission. Who is this guy? Then he says, ‘No, you have to open the browser’ and with every ounce of my being a hold back from throwing up my hand for a dramatic wave and asserting, ‘Bitch, that is my browser.“
He then goes in back to check the router or who knows what while I sit at the table, still the only one in there, and look around. I notice yet another black/​brown mystery ball by the other table. Then I take a sip of my chai, and there’s little chunks that I’m unexpectedly sipping up the straw. I think the chunks in my drink might actually have been chocolate slivers, but I’ve never had a Chai with chocolate slivers in it so I guess I can just cross my fingers and hope they actually were chocolate slivers and not more mystery balls. The chai itself wasn’t very good either. To me, it was reminiscent of what straight flavored coffee creamer tastes like, but on ice and with chunks. Not a fan and now my stomach is kinda turning… but that could be the cramps– either way, I knew it was time to get the hell outta there. I go to unplug my laptop and see a third ball behind my chair by the wall. Wtf?! So now feel compelled to look on the other side of their dust-​ridden empty bookcase and guess what I see? ANOTHER mystery ball mixed in with about 2 inches of dust, hair and little light brown rolls of yet another mystery #2 looking substance.
The guys was still in back so I used the opportunity to snap another pic, grab my sh*t and get the hell outta there. I tossed my still full fail-​of-​a-​chai out on the way to my car. No thanks. I’m gone for good.

Oh man! Improvements galore!
I was sad to go an entire month without my morning coffee from Fiore, but the renovations are beautiful and were worth the wait.
Fiore now offers frozen yogurt with fresh fruity toppings. Apart from the fresh berries, kiwi, & mango, there are also fruit pearls to put on your froyo! They come in strawberry, mango, lychee & passionfruit-​I like to mix a little of each. Just $ 4 for a generous portion of a healthy snack :)

As a coffee professional in the city of Chicago I can appreciate this place. Of course it’s nothing too special to get worked up about or rave about, but it is better then the likes of Starbucks or Dunkin donuts. Unfortunately for me I’ll just have to keep waiting for the progress of coffee brewing Chicago has to come to the burbs. No pourovers and no single origin roasts. Alas I’ll be back if I can’t make it to the city.

Meh. It’s half cute, half mess. The entry with wooden floor and loose teas on the shelves and few tables is cute, but then you hit the towering wall o’ syrup and another of powders and combined with the random popcorn machine, candies/​bars, etc that is strewn about, it gets overwhelming.
The bubble tea was good but they were out of ALL of the loose leaf teas so I couldn’t buy any to take home. Inconvenient hours… def Metra hours. Needs to be reorganized. Still a decent alternative to Starbucks.

I am a huge coffee addict. I am a 34 year-​old Software Engineer who lives in Palatine, IL. I have my own Gaggia Espresso machine ($ 1200 machine!) so you can tell I am a hard core coffee lover… and I expect to drink GOOD tasting coffee. I don’t settle for just any mainstream «Starsucks» type of drinks.
Anyway, I’ve tried coffee all over. Lived in CA for 5 years, then came back to Chicago. So I’ve tried it all. Been to Italy too. While nothing can beat Italy, Fiore is one of the best local owned shops in IL.
I’m a big fan of places like Intelligentsia, Café Rom, Argo Tea, Peet’s Coffee, «I have a Bean», and other stores… the quality stores that make REAL coffee and espresso the way it’s meant to be tasted. I am not a Starbucks fan although their mochas for some reason are not bad (just ok) with their «dirt water» and «over roasted beans»…otherwise I hate Starbuck’s coffee, it tastes like dirt… it’s only a convenience factor that I resort to CrackBucks if there’s no alternative around. But in Arlington Heights thank God there is an alternative and it’s Fiore.
Fiore is one of the best coffee shops around and I don’t say that lightly!!! The coffee that comes out of there is just delicious. I love the mochas. It beats any Starbucks, BigB (that place is horrible tasting), etc. by far because the espresso is top quality and beans taste so goooood there. Not sure where he gets his beans but they’re great. No aftertaste, just richness all the way around. The minute you take your first sip of coffee/​mocha/​latte from this place you’re going to be going back next time to get coffee at Fiore guaranteed.
He’s very polite as an owner (quiet) but always shows a smile on his face, very humble it seems… so you feel like you’re really a customer there.
They also have a little PC on the side where you can go use it if you want.
Another thing I like to get there is his Lemonade Slushy. Now he likes to put in other stuff to make it less tart but I always tell him NO! I love your slushy just the base how it is… I like that tart. That’s how lemonade should be. But you know, that’s just me ;).
Now in Arlington Heights you have your pick from several chains (StarSucks, CrackBucks, and BigB). I don’t even touch those when Fiore is here cause it tastes 10x better… and it’s cheaper as well.
Anyway, I am just a regular customer… I love this place so much I told him about Unilocal (he had no clue about it until I told him hehehe…) and told him I have to do this. I actually called with my cell one morning while driving to work to just tell the guy how good his coffee was because it made my ride just that much better that day (I don’t have a chance to get his coffee in the mornings cause it’s out of my way to work but did one day as I was late to work).
I used to take the Metra and this was like a 1 minute walk away. Definitely should check it out if you ride the Metra.
For the Asian crowd he’s got a lot of Asian influence in terms of drinks there. Several types. So go check it out!!!
Also, he has a TON of syrups. So if you’re needing some Syrup for home (slushy, coffee, anything) he’s got like 100 it seems like just sitting there on the shelf for you to browse… seems like he’s got every flavor possible.
He’s got a lot of types of tea as well as some products from the Legendary Benjamin Twiggs in Michigan. I buy the tart cherry jam sometimes here.
Prices are very affordable, much cheaper which is also a +.
As for the one reviewer stating that the place is not «hip» inside or pleasant to sit down in, that’s true. But I don’t go there for that. The store is just too small to accommodate any real space to sit… there are a few chairs and that’s it. So you don’t go to this place to sit and sip. Not all coffee shops are meant to be «sit-​down» type of coffee shops. Not everyone likes to run their business the same. I go there for coffee and jot. So I think that was an outright lame review. The pumpkin latte sucks? Not sure, haven’t had one there but i can tell you that’s the minority. Try a mocha then if you did not like x. Every coffee shop has some drink you’re not gonna like. For example I hate the Pumpkin Latte at Caribou and like the one at Starbucks. You can’t judge a place just by one coffee and because you can’t «sit down». Weak. It’s also weird that I see 4 stars on other reviews when they are praising this place.
Also I may add that I’m not picking this place «because it’s local and I want to support local businesses». That’s good and all but really, I’m writing this review about his excellent coffee!
Not quite sure why he took down his website. I know he was selling products there but regardless if he’s not he still should have an online presence. I don’t see a way to contact the owner (no website, email, nothing). We’ll have a talk ;)…cause I want this place to be around for a long time.
Keep it up Fiore, outstanding! There’s a reason why you’re still th

I use to go here much more than I do now. Good coffee and mochas at a reasonable price. So would try to pick over the local Starbucks. Also like supporting the small business owner. But then they raised their prices and started charging for credit card use. I hate using cash so *for the price* I don’t go here like I use to. Plus not open on Sundays (I say great for them but that’s the main day I want to get some).

This place has a huge menu of teas, frappuccino-​ish type blended drinks, coffees, lattes, etc. They also have the largest selection of sugar free syrups I’ve ever seen (including choices like chocolate macadamia nut). I had a sugar-​free mocha «bubble tea», which was basically the best frappuccino I’ve ever had, with the addition of tapioca pearls. What a novel concept! It didn’t taste sugar-​free, either. My mom had a latte and said it was delicious. The latte was cheaper than at Starbucks and the bubble tea frappé thing was a good deal at $ 4.11 for 16 oz. They also have a lot of cute mugs, teapots, etc. and cheap loose leaf tea. I’ll definitely be back whenever I’m in town!
Just keep in mind that there are only two, two-​chair tables to sit at, if you plan on staying.

Tons of bubble tea flavors, as well as your tea and coffees. Small place, lots of trinkets and such for sale. A nice change from Starbucks, for sure.

A nice alternative to the Big Bux when I had time to kill (thanks, Pace!) while waiting another hour for my Metra train.
I tried the peppermint bubble tea on my last visit and its mintiness was just what I needed to improve my mood. If mint isn’t your thing, there are many other flavors to choose from. As a side note, I’d recommend avoiding the bubble tea if you have to stand outside and wait for a train in the cold because the train station is closed. Brain freeze in a blizzard isn’t fun.
If I happen to find myself in Arlington Heights again, I’d stop in.

A bazillion flavors of bubble tea or flavored syrups for coffee. If you like variety, Fiore looks like a good choice.
I didn’t have the coffee, but the old man and I both had boba. I had lychee (good, but I should have tried something that I wasn’t familiar with) and he had honeydew (delicious).
Service was good and prompt. The man working (who, from other reviews, I understand is the owner) didn’t say much, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Why is this a four star? The ambiance is a little odd and sterile, but the quality and low cost of the drinks make it worth it.
edit: oh! the wifi is free, too. Just ask for a password.