Java Roaster

I have always loved Java and go at least once a week. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting and the staff is very kind and receptive.
That being said, their food is an issue. It’s not the quality or the taste, it’s the time. I call in my order in because it takes an insane amount of time to get your food if you place the order at the register. I always make sure to ask how long my food will take. Without fail, I am always told 5 minutes. I wait at least 10 minutes before making the walk and usually wait another 15 – 20 once I have arrived. I have been given the wrong food, they have failed to make my order, they have recorded my order incorrectly. Once, they messed up my sandwich THREE times. On the third time, I called and told them that I just wanted my money back. If they could figure out a better system for the food this place would be a 5 out of 5!

Best thing is the $ 0.25 soda refills!

Excellent sandwiches and great coffee. Pleasant atmosphere. Good easy listening jazz music was playing when I was there. Perfect place to chill.

Great place to sit and enjoy a good cup of coffee. The regular morning crowd and ownership are what make you come back for a refill! Plus you can enjoy the lovely downtown.

Huge iced coffee for $ 1.95! Super cute place, delicious coffee, and the batista was super helpful. Wish I lived closer!

Java is one of the best downtown places to do small meetings. People can get breakfast or lunch food, plus coffee or soft drinks. We really like the atmosphere. It’s a very friendly and casual environment.

Good coffee and good food on any day. Prices are great as well compared to other shops in the area. Seating is ample and it’s a great place to buckle down and get some work done if a change in scenery is necessary.

The salad we had was really good, but I can’t think of ANY REASON WHY a coffee shop would make a $ 2.75 hot cocoa using Hershey’s syrup and hot water. If I wanted that form of cocoa, I could and would do it at home.
We had to wait about 20 minutes for the tea we ordered (which, by the by, we asked if we could trade the coffee/​soft drink offered with the salad with the tea and were told sure… and then charged for it) to cool off enough to drink. I suppose that’s neither here nor there.
Overall, mediocre. I expected more from a coffee shop. I’ll take the bus across the river to West Lafayette to Greyhouse Coffee next time I want to pay for cocoa.

The setting is awesome and the place looks really neat but the coffee wasn’t at all up to my expectations.

Good food, great coffee, good atmosphere, and GREAT SERVICE! I would give five stars if they had more non-​table (i.e, couches, armchairs, etc) seating — but I think I’m harder on coffeehouses for that than most people, and I will say that the four armchairs they have in one corner of the shop are pretty comfy.
I’m in the area today with my family because my high schooler is at a Purdue sports camp. Because I had some work I had to do, I researched local coffee houses for my 10-​yr old daughter and I to park in while the rest of the family went to watch some of the camp activities. There were a few coffeehouses I might have chosen over this place, but they closed early in the afternoon (JR stays open until 9 tonight). I’m so glad those other places closed early, or we might have missed this great find!
My daughter had a mocha and loved it — I took a sip and it was quite good. Better than Strbx for sure, and I like their mochas. I just had unsweet tea to drink — it was fine, nothing special but a fresh brew from the taste, which was appreciated. While here for a few hours, I heard several other people ordering coffee drinks and they all sounded satisfied. I also heard the barista (didn’t catch his name, but heard that he’s 29) give a wide range of advice to a few people asking what he would recommend, and he really went above and beyond to talk to people, explain exactly what a drink involves, and he readily offered multiple customers suggestions on how he might tweak drinks to satisfy their tastes. One woman was the kind of customer that would drive most people crazy — she had 20 questions about her drink choices and then when he was making them, she was watching him like a hawk and constantly instructing him on how to make her drink, as well (if I heard her right) as adding requests mid-​drink about things she had changed her mind about. I also heard him tell one customer who was asking about a drink that he would be happy to make it for him and, if he didn’t like it once he tried it, make him something else free of charge. In my experience, some places are willing to do that, some not; but I seldom here the employee OFFER that up front just because he genuinely wants the customer to experience the drink, and that’s what this exchange sounded like.
We also had a couple of sandwich platters and while they were nothing exceedingly special, they were solid offerings for a coffeehouse and they were prepared fresh but quickly. We had a couple of desserts, too, and they were delicious.
The décor was fun, relevant, and interesting, the bathroom was spotless, the wifi was free and mostly glitch-​free, the music (Jackson Brown pandora channel, I heard the barista tell someone) was just the right volume for you to get lost in a song if you want to but also for you to let fade into the background if you need to focus on work or studying. A really great experience. I’m not in the area often, but next time I am I won’t have any need to research which is the coffeehouse I want to come to — just going to head straight to Java Roaster.

As you can gather from other reviewers, this place is cheap. I recommend any of the iced lattes (you can get a large for $ 3!)
The atmosphere is good for studying if you don’t mind some background noise/​music. The upstairs allows for fewer distractions and has multiple tables with plug-​ins.

Service was good and coffee tasted great but there are a lot of shady characters both outside and inside. I didn’t feel safe coming out of the shop around 8…

Located in downtown Lafayette, this place is surprisingly spacious as it offers seating on two levels. The interior is usually dark, and it takes my eyes a minute to adjust if I’ve been outside walking in the sun for a while. I find their coffee to be a bit bitter, but their blended coffee drink is quite yummy. I had a slice of their lemon cake at my most recent visit, and they definitely serve up a large slice. And it’s very tasty!

Java roaster has been a staple of the downtown lafayette community for nearly 20 years. it’s locally owned, and has a cozy atmosphere.
As far as the coffee goes, it’s good! …but not amazing. The Java Roaster generally has 4 or more daily coffee blends ready-​to-​go, as well as all of the standard delicious espresso drinks that you would expect from a coffee shop.
The food at Java Roaster is average at best. They offer sweat breads, simple salads, BLTs, breakfast bagel sandwiches, etc etc.
Whether you’re at the courthouse paying off your parking tickets, or tidying up your accounts at the local banks, you should take 2 minutes to stop by the java roaster and enjoy the sights, sounds, and taste of lafayette’s oldest coffee shop. support local businesses!

Java Roaster has been a fixture in downtown Lafayette for several years. They roast their own beans and make pretty good cup of coffee. There are some small tables on the sidewalk outside but those are usually occupied by the homeless smoking cigarettes. There is plenty of comfortable seating inside, including an upper loft area. Local art hangs on the walls. On my most recent visit, there was a trainee who couldn’t run the cash register or the espresso machine, so service was slow. But my latte was perfect and tasted wonderful. They also offer various teas, hot and iced. and breakfast and lunch items. I don’t get downtown often but this is a good place to get a reasonably priced cup of coffee.

I love this coffee house! I’ve brought my friends from out of town here many times and they love it too. We would order coffee and sandwiches, then chat and eat for hours. The only thing I did order here and not like is the biscuits and gravy. I thought the gravy was ok tasting and had too much sausage. For meat lovers, maybe it would be ok. I’ve used coupons here too and that made it even better!

Menu wise, its your typical coffee shop menu, so won’t dwell much on this point, other than to say that my only complaint is that I wished their drinks were hotter, they tend to be warm, which is not what I expect when I order a «hot» chocolate. As far as the other reviews, I have never had a problem with the staff, the times I have gone, they have always been friendly, but everyone has their bad days.
The reason for the four stars really comes down to the environment inside. They have comfortable seating, and its a great place to go with friends to hang out. If you say that you will be having your order inside, they’ll give you mugs, as opposed to the disposable paper cup variety. They have free wifi, so also a good location to study without having to worry about not being able to find a seat, since they have a lot of seating available.

Their food and their coffee are great! I’m so glad to find a coffee shop that serves real meals (rather than just pastries) and some delicious coffee. Every sandwich I’ve had at this place has been freshly well-​made, unlike pre-​packaged sandwiches you might find at, say, Starbucks. They also have really cheap fountain drinks, if coffee’s not your thing. What I really like here is that though the shop is long and narrow, there are plenty of tables (check upstairs) where I can set up and get some work done. They don’t hover over you waiting for you to leave and everybody’s pretty laidback.
The reason for four instead of five stars: they ran out of soy milk one day, and the next time I came back, their espresso machine wasn’t working. Yup, at a coffee shop. No espresso. So. I was a bit disappointed in that, particularly because they didn’t put up a sign, really offer to make amends (e.g., discount, similar beverage, whichever) – that was just the way it was, so I had to order something different.

It feels like a coffee shop in Portland or in Seattle. I went there lunch time on a Wednesday and there was some Indy band playing on the second floor.
As for food, they serve breakfast and lunch. They have a decent selection of coffee as well… Definitely not like a Starbucks but some good downtown local coffee place.

Pros: Great atmosphere, good for studying, good for small groups
Cons: Staff members can have attitudes
I liked popping into Java Roaster back when I was in college, so when I needed a caffeine buzz I pulled up here instead of the Starbucks across the river. It’s located right downtown, so sometimes parking can be tricky. It’s worth it though.
They serve up normal coffee shop staples (lattes, Italian sodas, hot chocolate), along with some nice surprises. You’ll find food here, anything from pastries to quesadillas. Java Roaster is a great place to come in for a study session, because you’ll get your caffeine rush along with some yummy food to nosh on.
Service is hit or miss. Sometimes I am greeted promptly and have excellent service, and other times (most recently this weekend) service was lacking. The girl behind the counter looked hungover, and acted the part as well. She made up our drinks with a scowl on her face and without so much as saying hello. I expect better service from this place!
All in all: I’ll be back next time I’m in Lafayette, but I won’t be surprised when my barista seems like she’d rather be anywhere but working.