Caribou Coffee

Sure, it’s a chain, but it’s a nice chain. Nice, cozy store, friendly staff, and tasty coffee selection. Nice variety of gift and store merchandise, too. The only downside it its location — nice that it’s at Bayshore, but tough to park near in the ever-​full Kohls lot. Vanilla Northern Lite Latte? Mmm…

Thank you, Caribou, for being kind to me during my sojourns in Milwaukee. They are always friendly with any special requests and I do like their chai. Yeah, Caribou is a chain, but they have little touches in their stores that differentiate the locations (like the question of the day where you can get 10 cents off your drink). Their hot chocolate is good because they actually melt the chocolate then add it to the milk. And they have all the amenities like wi-​fi for customers.
One thing… Caribou, can you add space heaters to your restrooms? I know that they have the «outhouse» theme in them, but they don’t need to be so cold in winter! :)

Nice feel to this place, friendly staff. Small but cozy, always seems to be a seat available. Parking can be a real problem here, given Bayshore. The espresso is very mild, mellow, with good crema. They have an excellent cinnamin coffee cake. They give a 50 cent discount if you bring your own cup– go green.

Free drink on your Birthday

French toast muffins rock!

I am officially deeming Caribou as my favorite coffee place… which is surprising because you would think Alterra gets the win. For me it’s the little things (and Alterra… no free WIFI, get on board already!). Anyways, I’ve been to multiple Caribou’s, a few in Brookfield and 2 or 3 in Milwaukee. They have consistently good service, which is true for most coffee shops.
I stopped in today and noticed a newer drink, must be for the holiday season. It’s called the Campfire Mocha… great! Little marshmallows on top, and your choice of a few different chocolates. I think I chose dark chocolate. Great drink, I recommend that one for those that like the classics.
And as an entrepreneur that often meets with clients out and about, I enjoy picking Caribou as a place to conduct business. The seating area is clean and the tables are far enough apart where you feel you can have somewhat of a private conversation but yet no space is wasted.
Caribou gets 5 stars for both the atmosphere and their coffee!

I don’t go to coffee places that often, I went there for the first time Sunday morning after work. I ordered a cup Earl Grey tea decaf and Cinnamon coffee cake. The service was fast, my only gripe was my tea was too HOT.

I stop here once in a while on my way to work. The staff is always friendly and their service is quick. Then again, I order an iced Americano, which takes less time to make than the junk-​food-​in-​a-​cup that most people seem to get.
I do my best to support the local coffee shops in the area, such as Alterra and Stone Creek. However, the differences in quality, quantity and price between Caribou and the local shops astound me. I used to work at a coffee shop, so perhaps it bothers me more than others, but here is the deal:
I will use the iced Americano as an example. An Americano is simply espresso, water and ice. At Alterra, a medium iced Americano comes with two shots in a 12 oz. cup for about $ 2.25. Stone Creek’s version contains 2 shots in a 16 oz. cup for about $ 2.20. At Caribou, a medium iced Americano comes with four shots in a 20 oz cup for about $ 2.50. That is a great deal.
One could rationalize all they want about the quality of beans, service, or even the socially responsible aspect of the coffee trade, but it just doesn’t add up. In this day and age, there are very few companies that aren’t participating in fair trade and organic coffees. I still visit the local shops on a regular basis, but I like to point out this little discrepancy when someone starts waxing poetic about how awful the large coffee chains are.

This is my 2^nd visit to this chain but weirdly enough, the vanilla cooler tasted totally different (& worse) here. Could be my last visit.