The Coffee Cup

I liked this place a lot for a while, but recently my experience has been less-​than-​positive. First, they have had «temporary“shortened hours for over a month– they close at 2, which doesn’t suit my needs.
The staff are friendly and the coffee is good. The manager is not very professional– he has lectured staff in front of customers and is fairly rude to his staff– it’s no secret that the location has not been very successful for coffee shops, and I think the shop is struggling– it seems that the manager is taking it out a bit on the staff. The food offerings are not great.
They recently changed the wi-​fi option, which makes it difficult to access the internet.
I have tried to use Unilocal deals here, and they don’t know how to process them. I think it’s because of change of ownership/​management.

Still a good coffee shop and not as crowded as other coffee shops, so good for a quick caffeine fix. Staff still awesome, clientele delightful, ambience pleasant.
But with the new WiFi, it’s best as a place to meet people and talk, than to get any work done. I keep hoping they’ll fix it, but maybe they’re trying to encourage people on computers to not linger.

After I wrote my original review, I got an email from the manager of Coffee Cup. His email was very apologetic and gracious. He said that he didn’t blame me for not coming back but said that he was working on the issues and that in a month if I wanted to come back, I’d have a better experience. I was actually pretty impressed with that so I went back last week.
I was served by someone named Tyler who was friendly. The prices were written correctly on the board (LOL) and the coffee was good.
So I will amend my review to reflect what ended up being good customer service. Appreciate the care that the manager took to write to me. Appreciate the good service I got recently. Good job. I’ll be back.

I tried to update from the store’s wifi the other day and Unilocal was blocked. That doesn’t help when I was trying to up it a star and better my review.
I have been back a few other times now and It appears they have changed their roasting process since my first review and the coffee is much better. Pricing is still a bit higher but the 20% Unilocal check in discount brings it back in line.
The staff has always been friendly and I observed them to be accommodating to other patrons. Decently comfy chairs and open space makes this a good place to bring my laptop or iPad and do a bit of remote work.
My 2 pennies

A mellow and friendly environment with good wifi. However, the «Ham and Swiss «sandwich consists of *one* slice of ham, lettuce, *no* cheese, and flatbread. At $ 5.99 it’s not worth it! If i return, it will be for the quiet ambiance, not the food.

Great coffee & service. Love the free Wi-​Fi!

I really like this place. The vibe is «easy going, chilled, and relaxed». They have comfy seats, not a TON of people in their (not overcrowded and noisy like starbucks can be). I ordered a coffee, and a bagel with cream cheese. It was not hard to make but was good. Overall I give this place a 4 star, its clean, not to noisy, great environment, and they provided good service. Seems like employees care about customers. They smiled, were friendly, and were opening doors for most of their customers if they were near the door at the time. Locally owned. Huge points in my book!

Great spot to do a little work while having a nice cool drink and snack. Quiet and good food. Last week, I stopped by to do some work at Starbucks around the corner from The Coffee Cup, but it was too crazy there and my drink took a while to make. I will definitely pick The Coffee Cup over Starbucks again. More tables and space to work between meetings.

I’m not a big on sitting in coffee shops and enjoying a cup of Joe, but since I have gone back to school, I needed to find a place out of the house to get my work done.
The good: The best thing about this place is that it is close to my home. The barista helped me with the unfamiliar menu and suggested something that was not on the menu but was comparable to what I get at other coffee shops. The blended mocha was just — okay. I appreciated that the drink was delivered to my table.
The meh: I think it is slightly overpriced and the music level is just a bit too loud for studying or conversation.

I had an excellent beverage experience here yesterday.
The girl working there at around 3 was wonderful.
I needed something but just did not know what.
So, per her suggestion, I ended up with the iced mocha.
The prices are competitive. The smoothness of the mocha was wonderful.
The ice cubes were like the size and shape of #2 pencil erasers – so that was pretty rad. I feel like their ice cubes were high quality. They resembled something like Sonic’s ice but was just more dense or better if that makes sense.
It was a terrific experience and I am so glad they had a drive through!
I will be going back and encourage you to do the same!

Drive through takes FOREVER, girl serving us was annoyed we rolled up window while waiting, blended mocha was very icey, not enough flavor. Won’t be going back.

Coffee is ok. My beef is with the banana bread. It’s listed as «homemade». It’s dry, brittle, and lacks banana. I will definitely be sticking with Starbucks bread. It never fails. Honestly, I couldn’t even eat it. Such a waste…

This place was my workplace for about a week while the internet at my home was out. (Can telecommuters relate to the anguish I felt when Time Warner said they couldn’t come out to fix it for a whole week?) Thankfully, every time my partner and I came here to set up shop for the day, there was a table available and always next to a power outlet.
We ordered more coffees than we normally drink just because we didn’t want to be freeloaders, and the coffee was pretty good. Towards the end of the week, when we felt we may have over-​extended our welcome, the barista walked around offering us samples of some of their lattes.
We now feel like we have a good coffee shop in South Austin that we can go to for coffee (obviously), reading a book, or the occasionally work day.

We came in bright and early one saturday morning and the staff was already on their third of fourth cup so they were very chipper and friendly. The store is familiar to any other coffee shop with a pastry window and dry goods on the shelves. The pastry selection was very small and not all that great. I got a plain crossaint and it did the trick. I also ordered a vanilla latte and got a latte instead. Not a major mistake but a mistake none the less. I will definitely be giving them another try though.

Yesterday, I was looking for a simple coffee shop to park for hours while studying for an exam. I decided to start looking close to home, which is why I ventured into The Coffee Cup. I stayed all day.
First off, I am in no way a «coffee connoisseur» (sorry to all the caffeine addicts reading this!). That being said, I had a simple Latte, and besides being a bit rich for my taste, the latte was good. Other than that, my experience there was good. The baristas were pleasant, there was a decent amount of table space, and the seating was comfortable, without being too cozy (I’m supposed to be working, after all). There were also a couple of umbrella tables with wicker chairs outside, though I did not sit outside myself. Parking was also plentiful (located on the corner of a Randall’s shopping center).
I can’t help but think the overall space inside the coffee shop could have been constructed a bit differently, to allow for a few more tables. I also would like to see a bit more «décor» in the place, which tries to emphasize a Central American theme. But otherwise, I think I will be adding this location to my list of good study spots in south Austin.

I’ve visited five times in the past month and I am still a big fan. Comfortable and nice vibe in the café. The first two times we had a barista/​cashier who confused serving the customers graciously (this is the hospitality business after all) with collecting a paycheck. We filled out comment cards and the owner took it very seriously that we loved the coffee and place but not the customer service. We have not seen that barista since.
Did I mention that we love coffee? I am nothing but opinionated when it comes to coffee. There are about two places that brew a bold roast in Austin that is truly bold without being bitter, this is one.
If I didn’t have to work, this could be my new clubhouse.

Have stopped in twice since my first review expecting (and needing during Christmas shopping!) the experience I had on my first visit, and both times disappointed, wishing I had gone anywhere else.
The coffee is still wonderful, as are the pastries, but the customer service is horrible. The employees appear to be unhappy and are not paying attention as they take your order. They have to ask multiple times for you to repeat your order… I have drip coffee, black, and a pastry, not difficult. It makes me feel like I am an imposition… definitely not important.
I had such high hopes, so it makes me sad… but chances are I will not be returning.

As noted by others, this place has a great location, complete with drive-​thru and a polished interior. It pleasantly lacks the Seattle coffe shop grunge of other similar operations. I haven’t had any food yet, but all the offerings look delicious — baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, etc.
The staff is fantastic — very friendly, knowledgeable, and skilled at making beautiful beverages (if that’s what you like). Their house coffee is delicious (Starbucks sludge, eat your heart out). If you’re looking for a treat, do yourself a favor and order a honey latte (love that they use whole milk) — it will come out as a delicious work of art!
Their hours have recently changed a little for seasonal reasons. I went in a few minutes before close the other night and was treated like they had all the time in the world (although I’m sure, like anyone, the young men that helped me were more than ready to go home). They took the time to make a great honey lattee and didn’t rush me out the door. It’s little things like that that keep me coming back for more (especially as a grad student during finals)!
Glad to have a spot like this in far south Austin!

Espresso: good; I’ve also tried their cold brewed iced coffee, and it’s pretty good (not Medici level, but who’s is?)
Wi-​fi: decent, but they switched providers and the new login system is pretty convoluted, requiring FB or some other login
Outlets: very good — most places along the walls have them
Seating: good — they could make better use of their their space with more chairs/​tables, but it’s good for about 12 people, including a couple couch-​type armchairs; I don’t care for the high arm rests on the chairs, though — makes laptop work more difficult
Café: clean and shiny new with photos of their coffee businesses in Latin America
Baristi: competent, though they’ve lost a couple of their primo shot-​pullers; excellent, friendly service
Notes: this was the old Texenza, but I have to say they do a much better job with the coffee drinks (haven’t tried their beans yet)

I grew weary of the wait for this location to open; each time my co-​workers and I walked by, we glanced sadly at the rumble outside the drive-​thru, or peered inside hoping for progress. I was even known to bug the day-​laborers, «when are you opening?!» and post annoyingly on the facebook page. Alas, on Friday, The Coffee Cup opened.
It was worth the wait.
They have completely re-​done the indie and everything is shiny and new. Not unpleasantly bright, bleach smelling or uncomfortable new. Rather, cozy, clean, we are thrilled to be open New. The new hardwoods are gorgeous, and there is plenty of seating. The new serving counter has been lowered and is very inviting, and there is a brand new display case (containing some OMG baked goods I can’t wait to try!).
I tried a simple iced coffee on Friday and was pleased, and this morning the honey latte blew my socks off. Coffee is bold but smooth and the hint of real honey is so tasty. Also, they use whole milk by default in their lattes (skinny b*thes and lactose intolerants need not apply).
I will be back. As in, daily.