21st Street Coffee And Tea

Great espresso, had a cortado/​cortadito and it was awesome. No sugar needed! Great location and the setup is really cool too

Continuing on in my quest to try every local coffee shop in Pittsburgh, today I found myself at 21^st Street Coffee and Tea.
I had high hopes for this place. It looks super hip: I especially like the loft area, and all of the exposed brick. One of the first things I noticed was how pricey the drinks were for the size of the cup. Okay, let me clarify. This is not my first time at the rodeo. At Starbucks, a small is 12oz and at most local coffee shops, a small tends to be 8oz. This really bothers some people, but truthfully it doesn’t bother me much — I would prefer to drink a high quality smaller cup of coffee rather than a low quality larger cup of coffee. Now, that being said, the small size at 21^st Street runs along the 8oz lines, but it’s excessively expensive. My small mocha was $ 4.25…this is just insane to me. With tax, it was over $ 4.50. Did I really just write an entire paragraph about this? Yes, yes I did. Because honestly, the price turned me off to the whole experience before I even took a sip of my mocha.
The mocha was… fine. It was just fine. The latte art was pretty and the cup was hand stamped nicely. But the quality of the drink was just so-​so. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but the espresso was not smooth like some of the other espressos I have had in the burgh (all hail Espresso a Mano and their heavenly espresso shots!). I wouldn’t rush back for this mocha.
I would totally be willing to give 21^st Street a second chance, but my first experience was sub-​par. My friend that I came with was extremely turned off by the fact that they do not have any flavorings at all to add to their coffee (what?) and also they do not have soy milk as an option. To me, with these two facts, they are cutting themselves off from a wide range of coffee drinkers who may prefer a flavor shot or a different type of milk. Very strange. Overall, at this point, 3 stars is as high as I can go for 21^st Street Coffee and Tea.

I love a good cup of coffee. I buy beans from a local shop that roasts their own. I grind my beans fresh daily and love it! I was very excited to try this place based on the reviews when I was in this part of Pittsburgh. This coffee was completely horrible. I actually had to throw away the last third of the cup; I just couldn’t drink anymore. There is definitely air of snobbery there as well. Why do they need to keep the sugar below the counter? Why should you have to ask?

My wife and I love coffee and will seek out a good cup in a charming atmosphere every time we travel. This shop has the prerequisite bare wood floors and exposed brick, but lacked the soul to go with it. You would think a place that goes to the point of weighing the amount of water that goes through a filter could make a good cup of coffee and might have even perfected it. At over $ 3.00 a cup, it was especially lousy. I think the best way to describe it was stale and flavorless. Customer service was a zero as well. Unless you’re looking for a serious helping of pretentiousness with your flat coffee, I’d avoid this place.

Great place to get some work done. A lot of space, a lot of outlets, and free Wi-​Fi! Also, the coffee is absolutely amazing — whenever I go, I just get their Intelligentsia because it does the trick. Will definitely be coming back.

I frequent coffee shops all over the country and this was not a good experience. They offer some really high end, superb coffees and they are clearly experienced in brewing techniques. But my coffee was luke warm at best. Coffee should be hot. Since I ordered the coffee to drink in the shop, part of my cup was poured in a little metal tin which spilled all over me and my table when I tried to refill my cup. Coffee really turned out to be mediocre.
And the guy working there seemed to be pissed off at the world. If you asked him a question, he looked like you were bothering him. Since this is a higher end coffee experience, you’d think someone might take the time to explain the coffees and talk about what they had to offer. I saw some other happier looking people in the back, but this guy needed an attitude adjustment. I was new here. Sorry I didn’t understand how things work around there.
And I get that we’re in the city, but locking the bathroom seems unnecessary in that space. Certainly makes it a big pain to hang out and work there all day (while ordering more coffee).
I’m local and really wanted a place to hang out right near home. But this is most certainly not that place. It is not surprising at all to me that it is basically empty in the morning during the heart of coffee drinking time. Time to start thinking about the customer experience and making it better. I’m willing to give you another shot. Make this place better.

Place came recommended from hotel staff. Cold brew draft was the worst cup of coffee I have ever had – and I have had coffee in jail, a few times. It tasted like diluted coffee and tonic water. The lady ordered mocha over ice. Also not good. It’s pricey, which is fine if you have a premium product, I am not convinced that is the case here though. Lots of space, and nice workspace though.

Sorry but I will definitely not go again. My friend and I walked out of there $ 7.50 less in our pocket for 2 not so great cups of small coffee. The price is ridiculous. I got decaf and my friend regular. I told the girl that I wanted cream so she could get it out for me after she got my coffee. We waited for about 10 minutes for our coffee to finish and she already added cream to mine. It was pretty much white. I prefer to add my own cream but she didn’t bother to ask my preference. Needless to say, it tasted horrible. Like watered down cream. Yet even with the cream, m she left about 1.5″ of room from the top of the cup. With that much cream, how much coffee was actually in there? What did I pay for again?
Again, no sweetener. We asked for some but the girl said their coffee is sweet enough on its own. Nice. I asked my friend how hers was and she shrugged her shoulders with the reply «it’s coffee».
My suggestion? The strip is blooming with coffee shops and restaurants that have better service, prices and flavorful coffee! So go somewhere else! 21^st st coffee is equivalent to a really bad hair salon. You go in with a picture of what you want and come out with something completely different. The hairdresser gave you the cut she thought would look better on you, not what you asked for. Good luck!

In the world of high expectations and coffee snobbery, 21^st Street is a fresh pour-​over of reassurance that you can let your pretentious wit guard down and let someone else do the percolating for once. While nothing quite compares to the meditation of a proper cup at home (kitchen scale, burr grinder, Chemex), there is a relaxation of trusting someone else for a good pour and being able to hang out in a larger space with nicer tables than my apartment.
All of their coffee is great, even though the price is a bit steep. The pastries are great, too. And you can set up your computer and work remotely all day in peace. Yeah, they might be a little snobby about coffee, but so am I.

21^st is basically part of Intelligentsia. It is so close that Intelligentsia even made a blend of coffee and named it after 21^st. The nearest Intelligentsia to me is in Chicago. Or is it? Maybe it’s actually right here in Pittsburgh. Everyone knows that Intelli is awesome. Everyone knows that they are the epitome of quality. And now I am here to tell you that 21^st Coffee and Tea is the same.
21^st has been around for a while, much longer than most third wave coffee shops. In fact this is the first third wave coffee shop I ever stepped foot into. I got my first ever latte here. Previously I knew nothing about coffee. I was impressed by the simplicity of that latte. It was smooth, it was tasty and it had no need for sugar! (This is exactly how the team at 21^st thinks, so please don’t be offended when they are reluctant to provide you with cream or sugar for your coffee. Simply do as they say and try it first without.) 21^st is responsible for the hundreds of dollars I have spent on coffee since. It is the one place that got me started.
To a newcomer, 21^st may or may not seem any one or all of the following: cold, unfriendly, pretentious, rude, boring. It is true, the design is not outstanding. The coffee never changes, it’s alway Intelligentsia. But then, it is the simplicity and no frills quality that impresses me. And the baristas may not go out of their way to be excessively jovial to you. But take my word for it. They know their stuff. And if you can’t appreciate that… then you must politely leave. Judging by all of the negative reviews, the service should be fairly horrible, but I’ve never had a bad experience here.
I’ve been on a search for good coffee in Pittsburgh for several years now. I’ve found lots, but 21^st, I now crown they the best.

Very nice & clean coffee is awesome prob the best on the block. Lot is room to sit and study or chat with friends.

I want to write a bad review for this place, because I love that it’s open & relaxing, and want to keep people away so that it never becomes crowded and crazy.
Alas, I must write a good review. Five stars, because it nails the five most important points: good coffee, beautiful space, WiFi, power outlets, restroom. Oh, and the people are nice.
What more is there to say?

Most consistently good coffee in Pittsburgh. I enjoy their cortados, and their pour overs seem good too.
They also have a small assortment of pastries (croissants, etc.), but be aware they can run out pretty quickly.

I love 21^st coffee. Their coffee is great and the place is really cool. Music is always good. Then comes the service. They are ALWAYS jerks. No one is nice. I feel like they are taught to be coffee snobs. They act like you know nothing about coffee. It makes you want to leave as soon as possible. I don’t know why they do this but I keep going back for the good coffee.

So… this is definitely the spot to get great coffee in Pittsburgh. I was in town for a Pirates game and came here for an hour or so to hang out. I had a cortado and the cold brew. Both were done to perfection. The flavors were just as described on the menu. The service was very good and the baristas were top notch. I highly recommend this place!

This is not a the place to grab a quick cup of joe, but more so for the coffee lover with a bit more time on their hands. My friend and I stopped in here randomly on a Friday morning for lattes and a chat. 21^st St. Coffee and Tea delivered on the lattes, which were excellent, while my BFF and I got our chat on hardcore. Would definitely come back for another latte and to try their house brewed coffee when I’m in the mood, and have the time for, a slow paced, chillaxing kind of morning.

The interior is spacious and clean. Exposed brick and wooden floors.
Service is very slow and getting a large coffee with no one in line in front of us took about 9 minutes. The baristas definitely treat the coffee making like an art and a coffee expert would definitely appreciate (I am not one). I got a small chai tea latte. It was very small (smaller than a Starbucks tall) and set me back four dollars.
I think I could look past the prices if the service was quicker.

Perfect spot to sit back with a. Ice cup of Joe while doing some remote office work in the Strip District.
Open, airy with exposed brick charm. Exactly what you would (and should) expect from a coffee shop.
Good service, good coffee in a great space.

My wife got a coffee and asked for sugar. The barista stared her down, begged her to reconsider, glared at her, then slammed sugar down on the counter with a snarl of combined contempt and disgust.
It’s certainly not all bad, I’m for fair trade coffee, and their passion for the product comes through in each delicious cup. If you like your coffee black, I don’t think you’ll find a better cup of joe in the city. The raw brick interior is stark but attractive. But the pretension from the staff, high price tags, and minimalism of this shop drained the heat from the coffee and left me cold.

This is a required stop by +1 whenever in the Strip as he loves their black coffee (which might be the only way you can have it here) and the cold trendiness. I need an outdoor seat off Penn to eat my biscotti smuggled over from Enrico’s, so I oblige.
As a normal tea drinker, I’m used to having the saddest options at most of these small houses. Someone has opened to the wide world of tea at 21^st, and I might be a little into this spot too if only for the ginger plum iced tea. Yeah. Ginger plum. If you hate fun, they also have normal stuff. But no straight chai tea (sans latte). Big miss.
The only odd thing is the lack of sugar, cream, etc. I can have my tea without sugar as it has tons of flavor, but if I were to get coffee? Gimme a break. Honestly, I usually use a stevia or splenda in my tea, but there is no way in cold coffee hell that you will find anything like that here. There’s literally no sugar/​cream area at all. As this seems to be the biggest complaint here, the pretentious «it’s better this way» garbage isn’t working out. You’re not a master chef. Let those who pay for their bevvies do what they wish with ‘em.
Only considering the drinks themselves, I’m a fan. But the interior/​size, the attitude, and clear lack of interest in how you like something does not go over well with me. Overall, this is not my style, but +1 loves it, so who knows. If you want warm conversation over sweet tea, I guess you still have to go to Nana’s house, but if you’re a fan of sterile interiors and unaccommodating drinks, you know where to get your fix.