Noble Tree Coffee & Tea

During my last Noble Tree visit, the barista talked on her phone, in detail and for about 10 minutes about her friend’s yeast infection.
This isn’t a complaint though. This is why we carry earphones, correct? I’m actually using it to show one of Noble Tree’s best qualities: it’s an extraordinarily quiet café. If you hold a conversation, the chances are that you’ll be the only conversation in the room and others, whether they want to or not, will helplessly hear what you’re saying. This further encourages people to stay quiet or talk at a low level, which is good if you really need to crank out some work.
Some coffee shops are better suited for conversation (Bourgeois Pig) and others are more library-​like. Noble Tree is the latter.

I was expecting this place as cozy and inviting as Dollop… after all, its the same owner.
And really, I was enticed by Google offers to check it out. So I came. It’s pretty cool… the first floor is cozy and comfortable. The 2^nd floor has ample space and sunny. The 3^rd floor is a disaster… it has all the potential of a great space (Sunlight, old furniture) but suffers from neglect (walls and overall furniture spatial was depressing).
The coffee is good, at least I wasn’t disappointed.
The pie… meh. Yea, I’m spoiled with First Slice. Hands down the best pie in the city (IMHO) plus a social bent to it (but it doesn’t take away from the rich and gooey and decadent taste).
The internet… slow! And yes, its a process to use it, but I’m used to it at dollop.
This place could haven been so much better. It has all the potential. Great bones, great old/​vintage furniture, great coffee. But it isn’t cozy or homely as Dollop… where I can go on a rainy or sunny (cold) day and spend hours in the quasi basement reading (and which feels like a second home).
Doubt I’ll be back, for one, its much further than dollop for me. But maybe if I lived around here, I could get used to it as there isn’t anything around here that’s like this place, wait, no, strike that, there is, and I would keep going there if I lived around here… Bourgeois Pig.

Yum, this place is great! It has a really small town, local coffee shop, college town vibe with the rustic, mismatched tables and chairs filling the upper/​lower spaces and comfy oversized chairs snuggled next to tall bookshelves filled with a great hodge-​podge of titles and subjects. It almost feels like the communal areas of some of my favorite European hostels; waiting for me coffee, I amost became nostalgic for my college backpacking days. When you walk into Noble, you almost wish you also brought your laptop or favorite novel, so you can join the other intelligent-​urban-​chic patrons.
On to the coffee — It’s Delicious. The girl who made mine (I wish I got her name) really knows her caramel lattes. Once I took my first sip, I pretty much gulped down the rest of the drink while riding the bus downtown. Perfectly sweet latte and caramel blend. I also tried their mini blueberry and apple muffins — both pretty delicious.
I pretty much live at Starbucks, but with this place in the neighborhood, I think I’ve found my new coffee spot. So good.

The bad: worst internet set up EVER. You need to ask for a card, type in an access code, and then you only get 2 hours of internet. Whoever thought that this was a reasonable way to provide wifi in a coffee shop?
The good: Hoosier Mama Pie. And love the ample seating with solid wood furniture.

Just give me a book and a blanket, and leave me hear all winter. Sigh.
Such a gorgeous coffee house that you totally wouldn’t expect being in the middle of bustling Lincoln Park. Order at the bottom. Coffee, a bagel, a piece of Hoosier Mama pie. Doesn’t really matter, because it’s not what you drink/​eat here that makes the place. It’s being inside a warm, rickety old building with narrow staircases that reminds you of the summer you spent studying British Film at Cambridge University.
Free wi-​fi, real mugs, silence if you want it. Great place to read, do some work or just daydream over a hot cuppa.

Used the google offer coupon of $ 5 for $ 10 worth of merchandise, so that made it worth it. But I don’t think I’d intentionally come back. The Hoosier Pie everyone is raving about… was NOT that great. And for ~$ 4 I expect larger portions and better quality. The only cool thing was that the Bourbon Chess pie reminded me of «don tat»! (Chinese egg custard) The Harvest Latte was quite good, but draw a leaf on my coffee and I can’t really be displeased. 1 star for the latte, 1 star for the awesome barista who helped me choose what to get (I can say nothing bad about the service, he was so nice!)
Décor has an antique, cottage feel, with hardwood floors, and old bookshelves. But for some reason the ambiance felt «cold» in spite of the «cozy» antics. As someone mentioned, it feels like you’re on display. I think it has something to do with this being somewhat of a hipster place, which depending on who you are, may be a good or bad thing. I walked to the 2^nd floor, and felt all eyes on me («What are YOU doing here? I don’t see you wearing recycled clothing or thick-​framed glasses.») Personally, I’m getting annoyed of this hipster scene. I see enough of that in San Francisco, thank you very much. I also don’t think your tables are any cooler b/​c you bought them from your grandma’s yard sale, or care that your chandelier is made of newspaper.
That being said, if you want to feel like you’re studying in a haunted basement, by all means come here. It was freakishly quiet (like «omg is someone going to yell at me for zipping my backback open» quiet), so you won’t have to worry about noise. Oh and last gripe — the so-​called «free» internet only lasts for 2 hrs. Then you gotta bust out more bills.

Noble tree is close-​by. I’m on this kick where I really don’t want to patron a Starbucks every day. Not because it’s not «cool,» but because I really don’t like the taste of it anymore.
I stop in quite often as I really like the space. It’s basically an old home with odds and ends… and a fair cup of coffee.
It’s not my favorite coffee in town. It’s bitter and often tastes burnt. Somehow I get this flavor profile from independent coffee shops sometimes. Not sure what it is but it’s offputting.
I still patron this shop more often than not but at $ 4 plus tip… I may have to start rethinking my routine.
Staff is friendly, each time I’ve been there that is.
All in all this coffee shop is merely OK just as stated in the rating. I’ve had better, I’ve had far worse. Hoosier Mama Pie Company supplies them with sweet treats so that’s an obvious plus.
This review is futile. This shop doesn’t exacly elicit passion from my caffeine-​laced taste buds but it sure beats McDonalds in a blind taste test (I think).

I used to love this place.
*Sigh*
But now I’m not so sure. They keep changing around the inside, the patio has been under construction during the best time to sit outside in Chicago during summer.
And the final straw was the last time I was there. I asked for a medium green tea latte. The barrista just stared at me and said she didn’t know how to make it. I responded that I’ve been there dozens of times and everyone else knew how to make it and it’s even on the menu. I even had to point it out to her and she expressed surprise that it was there and kept saying she didn’t know how to make it.
If you’re charging over $ 4 to make what is essentially tea with steamed milk, please train your employees what’s on the menu and how to make it. And to do it with a smile.
And to add insult to injury, I was given it in a smaller cup than I had in the past, and I asked if it was a medium, and the barrista just looked at me for a few seconds, and quickly said yes. A little too quickly for my comfort. Hmmm… I think I may have been too snooty with her when she didn’t know what a green tea latte was. Or she really is that dumb.
I’ll still be back though. *Sigh*. It still beats Stbux and Caribou.

I can only speak for the atmosphere and the tea because I’m not a coffee drinker. BUT, I’ll go ahead and say it: I’d much rather go to the little Caribou Coffee across the street. Noble Tree is super dirty. The temperature is out of whack (the top floors seem to get REALLY hot in the summer and fall). The service is quite bad. They’ve served me a cold Chai latte (not iced, just cold– why?).
Noble Tree can be a good place to sit and work or read for a while because there’s so much seating. However, the music on the lower floors can be way too loud to concentrate, and then there’s the temperature issue upstairs. I prefer to drink local, but at Noble Tree it’s not worth it.

Went here to study with a friend. A nice place to study and get good coffee. With three floors of tables and chairs, you’ll be able to find a place to sit and read, talk, or study.
The wifi is only for two hour blocks after a purchase. FYI.
Oh, and ICE CREAM!

With great independent coffee shops, while the coffee is of upmost importance, so is the vibe, right?
I tried to chat up the Noble Tree staff (actually just kind of asking, «What do you recommend») and they were NOT having it. They seemed like they didn’t want to be there, didn’t care about coffee drinks, and didn’t want to… well, work. That’s cool if you’re working somewhere that isn’t supposed to produce charm, but this is Noble Tree Coffee! Charm + coffee, damnit!
Maybe I’m being too tough. The coffee is good, and it’s in a great location. I’ll just try to keep the chit-​chat to a minimum with the peeps there.

Seriously coffee with a great atmosphere close to Lincoln Park. We came here after browsing the zoo, yes sometimes … it makes you sleepy, what can I say?
It was unexpected because I think we walked passed this place twice without really knowing, the sign isn’t super evident of where this location is. Once inside, you feel instantly more cozy than you had right before you came in, because everything is at odd angles and there are chairs and tables everywhere.
The baristas are friendly, their pastries are tempting, and they make a mean espresso!

Closed

Oh noble, how you have grown on me over the past year.
The gross sandwiches have been replaced with actual yummy sandwiches from a bakery that look much better than the moldy ones that you used to showcase.
Also, recently I think people must have gotten the memo that the top floor is considered the QUIET floor… if you want to talk, go to the first or second.
Coffee is great, yummy metropolis. Staff is quirky but overall nice.

An average of four and a half stars? Really. Hm.
That’s interesting because I think this is one of the dingiest, tired, pathetic excuses for a coffee «house» existing in Chicago right now. These places are usually fun to visit, and I love that they’re trying to make a go of it in Lincoln Park.
But the Chads and Trixies of Lincoln Park deserve better than this. I love rustic places, but folks, when I write that this place is a hole in the wall, it really DOES have a hole in the wall… and in the floor boards… and in a couple of the stairs.
Quaint doesn’t mean cobwebs in nearly every nook and cranny. Cozy doesn’t mean furniture that’s falling apart. Charm doesn’t mean crap decorative art adorning the walls… walls that more than likely have cracks. Ceilings that show signs of repair and begging for a coat of paint. In fact, this whole dusty, rundown building needs a scrubbing, a renovation and a good airing out to rid the rooms of the musty odors wafting around on non-​air conditioned days when the third floor is stifling.
Any business can have nice employees and sell coffee, which this establishment does well. I just prefer to enjoy both without the worry of getting a piece of lead paint falling in my mug or stumbling into a hole in the floor (see submitted photo).

I love coming here to read a book for pleasure, leisurely flipping my non-​academic pages with satisfaction while everyone around me seems to be diligently poring over textbooks. Evil, perhaps. But, no worries, I’m not obnoxious about it, I keep my book discreetly tucked in my lap, my own guilty secret. It serves as my reminder that not so long ago I WAS sitting across the room, tortured by whatever paper I’d procrastinated until then, wondering if I’d survive. Which, clearly, I did.
Noble is a good spot to hit up to read or work. Not a good place to meet up for a chat with a friend, as 95% of the people here are quietly working and you feel like an arse speaking above a hushed whisper. They have a few options for loose-​leaf tea (yes, in fact, I DO judge coffee shops by the effort they put into their tea) and pie slices (approx. $ 4) from Hoosier Mama Pie Co. (Gotta love that!). Weekend afternoons are usually packed, but it starts to thin out a little towards dinner-​time, making it a wee bit easier to snag a spot on one of the 3 levels of the «house».
BOTTOM LINE: Great vibe, comfy, quiet, crowded, but cozy. It’s a keeper!

I am not a coffee house regular, but if I was one this would be my place. It’s a huge house with friendly employees and customers. There are numerous nooks and crannies to hole up in while reading or playing on your computer.
The drink selection seems to be vast and there are always good looking sandwiches and baked goods. Maybe when I go back to grad school I will come here more often.

With this early onset on winter, there’s nothing better than to curl up with a hot cup of coffee & a book, in your favorite chair with a nice window view to distract you. Since I don’t have any of this in my place, I go to Noble Tree. I enjoy the fact that this is a grand old house, complete with winding staircases, rickety floorboards and drafty (let’s be real) windows. It makes me feel as though I am in a college dormitory, rather than a coffee shop. It’s a nice feeling.
Yes, the prices are relatively steep. Yes, the music on the lower levels sometimes makes me raise my eyebrow and roll my eyes. But, I just give a patented side-​eye and go upstairs. As others have said before, the higher you travel, the quieter it is. Hmm, look at me, being all poetic and stuff. Noble Tree just inspired me to drop some lyrical genius. Watch out, Common.

What a refreshing change of pace from depressing cookie cutter coffee shops! Noble Tree gets it. They serve great coffee, have free Wi-​Fi, and three levels of warmly decorated nooks and crannies for you to get your study on… your Internet on… your drink on!
The baristas are cute and friendly, and can totally put those nice finishing fall touches on your Chai Latte (leaf patterns on top) that make you actually appreciate the cold fall weather! Just ask for Wi-​Fi when you order and they’ll give you a little slip with the code for 90 mins., and they are generous with them.
This place feels like an old house in the middle of the country in New England. You know, the kind that a young family inherits from a relative they never met, so they drive up from New York and the wife starts decorating, the father starts chopping wood, the little boy starts exploring and finds all the ghosts! Yeah! Except at Noble Tree the decorating wife wins!
There are nice art touches everywhere! Head up one of the steep staircases and find a quiet spot to study alone or with your friends. People are very respectful of the quiet but there weren’t any shushers when the random cell phone went off. Noble Tree gets the mix of coffee-​house-​as-​library and coffee-​house as a place-​to-​meet-​and chat, perfectly. Noble Tree is coffee house perfection!

Coffeehouses come in all shapes and sizes. Noble Tree is definitely one of the bigger coffeehouses full of character. It’s probably the most spacious one I’ve been in. When you walk in, you’re greeted by the coffee bar which is a small nook compared to the rest of the place. Yet it’s is the brain of the place supplying coffee to its many patrons. The baristas are nice and helpful. I had a tasty green tea latte. The rest of the coffeehouse consists of two floors of high back chairs, tables, and desks. Even without all of the studious people, it has an academic feel where you could imagine uproarious debates about philosphy and history taking place.
Finding a knitting spot was a little difficult since it was packed with DePaul students studying for finals. After climbing the stairs of two floors, space was found. I spent my afternoon sitting in a high back plaid upholstered chair surrounded by fellow knitters. My main complaint about the Noble Tree is the weak lighting. There wasn’t a lot of lighting to focus on each stitch as it got darker. I wondered how the students managed to study with such little lighting and other distractions. Overall, I had a lovely experience here.