Calibre Coffee

Not a fan of this place. I use to like this place when I started going, but I’ve been noticing that my order has not been tasting as good lately. I order either the hot chocolate or the iced white mocha. The milk was a bit spoiled on the hot chocolate which I was upset about (Trust me… spoiled milk does not taste good), and the ice white mocha was super strong and had 0 flavor to it. The shop is cute but the drink not so much. The pricing is too expensive on my end. Starbucks is still my number 1.

Stopped here this past weekend and thought it was pretty decent. I was a little confused at first because I thought they were indie coffee roasters, but that turned out not to be the case. Instead, they served both Metropolis and Intelligentsia coffee, as clearly stated on their windows and door! Their menu is pretty large for a small coffee shop, though I was a tad overwhelmed by all my options and went with an Iced Coffee, which is generally my go-​to. It was a cold brew with a couple pumps of added vanilla syrup, and it was really good. (Unfortunately, I’m not sure which roaster the iced coffee was, though!)
What I wasn’t so happy about was the fact that mine and my husband’s Large (but not ginormous) Iced Coffees came out to be $ 13! That means each one was at almost $ 6 before tax? I know independent coffee shops and roasters tend to charge a bit more for obvious reasons, but I’ve never paid so much for something so simple.
Next time, I’m sticking with small beverages.

Café con leche is wonderful! Friendly service and great place to meet up or study. Always make sure to stop in when i am in town

It’s a standard coffeeshop with your faux-​earthy signs and chalkboard menu behind the counter. It feels like a Starbucks, except that Starbucks feels more Starbucks than Calibre feels like its own presence. The coffee was well enough, but the prices are unreasonable for what you are actually getting, especially the food items. A hummus plate consisting of four carrot sticks, four celery sticks, a double shot glass of hummus and one pita cut in quarters for $ 7.00 is pretty pathetic. There are plenty of places just like this that won’t gouge your wallet for the privilege of enjoying coffee with them today — do a little searching and save some frustration.

My husband and I are in love with this coffee house. The moment you walk in, the wonderful smell of coffee and the sweet hello’s from everyone working there is the first thing that hits you!
Today we came in, and Kayla made our visit extra special. She went above and beyond. Not only did we come in for a wonderful cup of Café con Leche and Flat White, but we also had Kayla grind fresh Intelligentsia beans for us. While we were waiting, we had such a nice conversation with her. Not only did she make us feel at home, she was patient and did not make us feel rushed.
We will continue to come back, not only for the great coffee but also for the excellent service thanks to Kayla and the rest of the crew!

This place is awesome! I walked in wanting a lavender latter bc I saw it on Instagram (so basic, I know) the girl at the front suggested a white mocha lavender mocha and it was top notch! No complaints from me whatsoever. The three girls working were über friendly and chipper. They were even pretty good singers.
The coffee was on the pricer side, but every once in a while it’s a nice treat. For 2 small white mocha lavender lattes it was almost $ 11.
We were both happy with our experience and would most definitely be back if we were in the area!

The coffee was very good but it was too pricy. The guy at the cashier wasn’t helpful at all and had no personality.

These folks that work here, really know their coffee beans, coffee drinks and key thing is they have people skills and with people skills they have awesome customer service skills. You can bring your laptop and work away. Great coffee… they can make it extra strong and minimal decaf as needed. The pastries and food items are great! Ben and Erin are great Baristas and always have a smile and ready to serve. I come here, sometimes to just seat back and relax. The chairs are comfy. Bathrooms are clean. Music is not too loud. Give them a shot… try them out and they will give you a shot. :)

The location is nice, it’s like your typical coffee shop on the inside. The prices are so high though… it was $ 10.50 for our two small white chocolate mochas. Thankfully they were delicious, but there’s no way that price is acceptable for how little product you get. Oh well. It’ll have to be a very rare treat.

Great place to unwind, relax and enjoy a beautifully presented and delightful tasting mocha and biscotti.

I’ve been here a few times now… It’s pretty far out of my way from my area or places I typically go. Each time I visit, the service seems to get slower and the prices higher. The coffee is great though. I’m a fan of getting what I pay for… If the customer service was there, I’d be more inclined to visiting more often.

The service is marvelous! They truly treat people that makes you feel like you want to come back. Also they always have a great deal on
if you visit this location often.
The drinks are also really good, but consistency is sometimes an issue. I visit this location often and it seems that a lot of times the ordered drinks taste different. I understand consistency is a tough due to everything being made by hand and it’s a different member each time.
I would definitely visit this place again and do suggest to Everyone to come visit them.

I would give this joke of a place 0 stars if I could. First off, it’s located right next to Smallcakes cupcake shop which only sells cupcakes, and guess what, a good deal of the population will buy goods from there and go right next door for a coffee (over priced coffee at that). We sit down, a party of 7, including 3 kids, and buys 4 overpriced drinks and proceed to sit down in the back and eat our 2 cupcakes. Well, here comes one of the workers and kicked us out stating no outside goods are allowed. As we pack up and go to sit outside (one of the coldest nights to date) I look around and see every other table with boxes from Smallcakes. What the!!! Is this a joke??? Don’t waste your time here… over priced and ride customer service. Go spend your hard earned money where it will be appreciated!

I was in the area looking for a great coffee place to enjoy with my mom and Calibre was recommended to us.
My first impression: Adorable! This place is quant, cute and homey.
Second impression: This barista is a dingus. He had the personality of a mushroom.
No greeting, no hello. Literally thought he was going to burn holes in my head with his evil glare, because I took more than 7 seconds to decide which iced coffee I wanted.
Then he sat on the phone while he argued with someone, while he made my moms coffee order wrong. We didn’t even want to go back in out of fear. We were the only ones in there, as well.
Then, phew! We got out of there alive. Until I took a sip of my coffee. It tasted like an armpit. I found myself looking forward to the best part of my cup, the ice cubes at the bottom.
If the barista looks like a serial killer, hurry up, order, dash, then drink your armpit coffee on your way home.

Great Service except for one lady barista. My observation is when it’s busy she was not friendly to me or other friends. Experienced and heard from many friends this more than once.
So great place for coffee look past unfriendly barista

Sad to say I have to downgrade from 4 to 2 stars based on my recent visits. I think either Calibre had a change in management or something because it is not the Calibre I know and like and there are new baristas I don’t recognize. Here are some of my gripes.
They increased prices and now it’s $ 5 for a plain latte pre-​tax (say what?). I understand it’s an independent coffee shop and they serve decent beans but still, I’ve been to coffee shops in the city that tasted WAY better and they didn’t charge $ 5 pre-​tax. Calm down Calibre, you’re in the suburbs.
However, my main complaint is that service is now awful and they used to have amazing baristas. I literally waited minutes to place my order at the counter before I was helped. There was a guy standing right by the register but he was busy chatting up some customers (or friends) instead of helping me. When I was helped, the lady was not friendly at all! I bought a Groupon deal which maybe she didn’t like but that’s not my problem and when I was counting out my change to pay the difference she was standing there acting all huffy and impatient as if I was taking 10 years to count out 12 cents. After I paid she didn’t say thank you or anything. I noticed the same thing happened to the guy in line after me. He waited much more patiently than I did before he was helped because the lady was busy making my/​my friend’s drinks while the other guy working there had disappeared in the back. If you’re going to have 2 people working there, one should work the register and the other make the drinks.
I’m sorry but if you want an independent coffee shop (which I love to support) to survive against the chains like Starbucks and Dunkin, you’re going to need to up your game. After I’m done using my Groupons I don’t plan on coming back.

Calibre is a great little café! The lattes are on point, the atmosphere is cozy, baristas are friendly and prices are average. I like that you can choose between Intelligentsia or Metropolis coffee & espresso, and that other beverages like tea, cocoa and smoothies are also offered. On a Saturday night around 7 pm, it was steady business but not too busy. Most customers seemed to be regulars, a very friendly atmosphere. It’s a nice spot to fuel up for shopping at the Arboretum, or refuel between sprees. :-)

my favorite coffee shop!
1. They have Intelligentsia brand coffee. If you know your coffee, then you know this is a great, direct trade, quality brand. Some of the coffee is brewed in fancy glassware. You might have to wait a couple minutes extra than, let’s say, Starbucks, but you’ll get a super fresh cup o’ Joe.
2. very clean & neat, nice furniture with larger tables for groups, decorative paintings on the walls
3. The guy who is almost always working there when I go is super friendly.
4. Once there was a live musician playing acoustic guitar, and he was pretty darn good!
5. They are currently offering a Groupon: 5 separate vouchers, each worth $ 5, you pay $ 13 (+tax at the time of ordering.) This Groupon is good for two months from the date you purchase. If you have the Unilocal mobile app, check-​in to find additional deals.
6. Located in the South Barrington Arboretum, right next to a bunch of shops & restaurants. Also conveniently located right off the I-​90 expressway.
I almost always order the same thing: Caramel Nut Crunch Frappé, double blended.
It goes above & beyond all the other frozen coffee/​frappé/​frappuccino drinks because:
~it is super creamy (I keep meaning to ask if they put ice cream in it, or maybe it’s just because I ask for it to be blended extra & they have a good blender) & doesn’t have chunky ice in it (I always ask for my frozen coffee drinks to be double blended elsewhere & the consistency never turns out the way it does at Calibre)
~it tastes like a milkshake
~it has a great nutty, coffee flavor
~it packs a little extra kick of caffeine (I noticed I’m a bit more energized after drinking their frappes compared to other frozen coffee drinks elsewhere.)
~I gulp it down in about five minutes or less.
If you don’t like caramel, they have plenty of other flavors to add to any drink.
I haven’t tried their food, but it sounds good & the baked treats look good. Maybe one of these days.

My wife and I were in the neighborhood and it was too early for any of the stores to be open so we looked on Unilocal for coffee houses. The closest choices were Panera and Calibre. I’m a coffee person and admittedly addicted to Starbucks so we went to the coffee shop.
We stopped in here to grab a coffee for me and a hot chocolate for my wife. The shop is pretty small and quaint. The staff was friendly and attentive. I ended up trying a cappuccino instead of coffee. It was actually not very hot, in fact it was kind of cool. I have to say that it was just ok (which explains the 3 stars A-​OK rating). My wife said that her hot chocolate was just ok as well.
I will give them a try next time I’m in the area but I will go with a coffee which is Intelligentsia which I like as well.

I kept hearing about Calibre from a lot of my church friends (my church is in South Barrington), but never really knew where it was until I met a friend here a couple months ago. For all the times I went to Pinstripes, I had completely overlooked this neat little coffee shop!
Calibre is a cute & modern coffee shop that has a great selection of coffee, tea, gelato, sandwiches, etc. The place is kind of small, yet spacious, with different seating options, tables, and plugs for laptops. Unique artwork decorates the walls. My friend and I were there for about three hours, so we got up several times to order different things. I had a delicious [Intelligentsia!] coffee and my friend enjoyed her lemonade and sandwich. The gelato was good too, although I was a bit bummed that their ‘gelato’ was more like soft-​serve frozen yogurt/​ice cream from a machine. Everything was well-​priced; for a place that’s located in South Barrington, it wasn’t very expensive at all. The baristas were also very friendly and knowledgeable.
Overall, a very pleasant experience. I can see why my friends love this place and will definitely swing by for a cup of hot java the next time I’m in the area.