M5 Espresso Lab

Fantastic cortado. I’d trust any espresso drink they make. My wife enjoyed her pour over too.
Service was fast.

This place is the best kept secret in Hyde Park. They rotate through the best roasters in the country and pull shots on an incredible machine. The baristas are all super knowledgeable and more than happy to talk coffee nerd stuff. There’s a big table to get some work done, and the espresso bar is in the back. If you don’t know what to order ask the barista, they won’t lead to astray. This is a great place for coffee enthusiasts or novices.

Super friendly barista who was happy to help us choose a coffee. I’m not the most knowledgeable coffee drinker, but I could tell this place has special brews. All of the coffee choices have tasting notes on the menu. I had a fantastic pour over; I’ll have to come back to try the espresso pairing I heard him describe to folks who cam in after us (a shot paired with a macchiato, so that you can taste the difference the milk makes).
The space is beautiful and invitingly decorated but difficult to read; we accidentally assumed the office space upstairs was additional seating and the downstairs is cut up a bit (equipment sales/​rentals and an office desk for the other company they share space with are kind of interspersed in the room). Beyond some armchairs and a bench by the counter there is a large communal table (but no other seating). But since it seemed that most people were popping in and out instead of lingering (we were there on a Saturday afternoon), it worked fine for us as a study space.

I love that m5 is friendly, professional, and accommodating. These dudes have not only awesome customer service but an awesome list of coffee offerings that you will not be able to find anywhere else in the city. I absolutely adore the fact that they use a slayer espresso machine but they do not flaunt the fact that they have one, but are more focused on great customer service and sharing knowledge of coffee and community with the Hyde Park area.

It’s obvious this place is worth waiting 20 minutes if the barista is gone to lunch. So I waited.
This was good pour-​over. It was like going to a friend’s house for coffee, made especially for me, not just to fill a coffee order in exchange for a few dollars.
It was about the coffee. Wait, I already said that.

I thought M5 was a BMW but apparently it’s an espresso lab. I’m actually 100% ok with that. Make that 150%. I am so in love with m5 right now. This is the type of place that when I visit it for the first time, I stand around in awe, my knees knocking together and drool dripping steadily from my mouth. Just kidding. That is not how I reacted. It was much worse. But this is The Place. I don’t expect there to ever be anything better in Cincinnati.
Here’s the story. The owner of Cinema Elements was originally from New York and when he moved to Cincinnati he was frustrated with the coffee situation. So he started a espresso lab in his music store. Brilliant solution. And he used only the most quality equipment. SLAYER machine. And he Partnered with Stumptown.
One of the complete chiller baristas said they switch roasters about every month but at the moment they were using Stumptown, Heart, Parlor and Madcap. I got a One and One with a Guatemalan coffee from Madcap. This is an espresso and a macchiato along with a complimentary glass of sparkling water; for only three dollars. That way you can taste the coffee by itself and then the nuances that the milk adds. Both espresso and macchiato were some of the best examples I have tasted.
The espresso lab takes up just a small corner of the room. It is lined floor, walls and ceiling with a light rugged wood. Tucked away in small nooks in the wall are bags of coffee and Mast Brothers chocolate for sale. This is not a place you go to sit down and cozy up with your sixteen ounce latte for an hour. A massive slab of wood-​turned-​table resides here but other than that, no seating. I actually consumed my shots on the two square feet of open counter space, mere inches away from the baristas and their Slayer.
There are places that I have gone that have incredible coffee or incredible machinery or incredible design or maybe even all of the above. I’ll leave those places and write a five star review about them. But even some of those places leave me feeling a bit unwanted or just a bit depressed about them. m5 is Not that way. They have all the perfect things. Coffee, machinery, style and the baristas are as hip as they come. But I left feeling like I was the customer of the year. m5 espresso lab is now one of my all time favorites.
Way to go guys. You Did It Right.

After seeing a friend who is the head barista here post about m5 Espresso Lab on Facebook, my coworker and I decided to check it out. It has a great location (Hyde Park Square) and is located in the back of one of the galleries there, so in a way, it is a bit off the beaten path.
We both ordered the cold brew iced coffee, which was excellent. The offerings were pretty standard for a coffee shop focused on delivering quality coffee. Definitely would go back to try one of the pastry offerings and a cappucino!

This is the type of coffee place I dream about. I frequently travel for work and am so happy that I stopped into m5. They serve top notch roasters (Supersonic, Ruby, Heart, Coava, amongst others) the way the coffee was intended to be served. I had 2 shots of espresso while here (Supersonic Concorde and Coava El Salvador) pulled on their Slayer 2 group and they were both EXCELLENT. The baristas were super friendly and actually care about the preparation and quality of the product before, during, and after extraction. If you’re in the area don’t hesitate to stop in. I wish you much success!

High-​end, quality, thoughtful coffee. The only coffee shop in Cincinnati which provides Stumptown coffee, the only coffee shop in Cincinnati with a slayer espresso machine, custom made in Seattle Washington.
These guys are top-​of-​the-​line coffee snobs and if your taste buds want to be dancing along with your morning cup of Joe, definitely give this place a shot.

Alex makes a great cup and is doing an awesome job introducing the Cincinnati coffee community to some great roasters around the US! This is not Starbucks so don’t expect all of the frills in terms of flavored syrups etc. Instead, go here for quality coffee brewed to order that you won’t want to alter with syrups or creamer!
Definitely check this place out! Its dog friendly too so you can go enjoy a pourover or espresso drink with your pup!

I was admittedly overwhelmed walking into this place. It looks like Tony Stark’s den in here, in the best way. I was instantly greeted and had to look upward at a few gentlemen seated at their desks, all of whom had a clear view of me from their seats (you’ve gotta check out the layout of this place, it’s awesome).
When someone came downstairs to help me, he told me that their baristas go home at four-o’clock, which made me feel bad that I came in when they weren’t prepared for customers. The gentleman who made my cappuccino said he wasn’t exactly a barista himself, but the drink turned out fabulously. Seriously. It’s awesome. I’m trying to drink it slowly so I can savor it when I desperately want to chug the whole cup.
So, in a roundabout way, I’m saying I loved
the service, atmosphere and the product. I’ll be back.

The coffee part of the business is tucked back in a building on hyde park square. It’s easy to miss at first glance, but still seems to draw a steady stream of customers in with its high quality coffee. The expert barista provides amazing one-​on-​one service that sparks the customer’s interest to learn more about the coffee and its process. It’s clear that the barista knows what he’s doing and is excited to share his expert coffee knowledge with customers.
During one of my visits, I had an unforgettable competition cappuccino made with Sightglass Owl’s Howl. It was amazingly well-​balanced and sweet enough that adding sugar didn’t even cross my mind.
The space is rustic with it’s long wooden table which lends itself well to work or conversation with friends or the barista himself. Definitely worth a visit.

I almost missed this lovely coffee shop while at Hyde Park Farmer’s Market. It is kind of hidden in plain sight.
M5 Espresso Lab is a refined establishment that offers coffee and espresso beverages with exacting care. The space is perfectly put together and very pleasing to the eye. I would really recommend visiting it as I am having a hard time funding the right words to describe it. I can say that I was throughly impressed with the space.
My americano was skillfully crafted by a true barista. This was one of the better espresso based drinks I have had in Cincinnati. They do offer other espresso based drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, etc) as well.
The perfect espresso and impressive space here definitely warrant a visit if you love coffee.

Tucked away inside a shared space with Cinema Elements it’s easy to miss. They are pulling shots on an incredible Slayer espresso machine. We had an iced latte made with a shot of Heart Roasters Kenya. It was top notch. They also sell Woodburl Coffee and Mast Brothers Chocolate.