 West De Pere and the Lawrence area have no shortage of delicious little cafes to visit, and Vintage Rose is one of them that I’ve been to prior to starting this Coffee Run challenge of mine. Before this latest visit, I knew two things: I have never had a bad meal from their kitchens, and I have never had a bad cup of coffee. Still, it took me many months to finally make it back to them to add to our coffee rankings. I’m still not sure why that is.
Their storefront has changed since my first visit. There are many more places to sit these days, and their collection of locally produced crafts, stickers, and pet treats has expanded as well. I could have sworn that they sold coffee from a roaster in the area I had not otherwise seen when I was first there, and it turned out that that roaster is still with them today: JSA Coffee Roasting out of Seymour. I ordered one of their monthly special lattes to add them to our latte ranking, and from the two I selected the ‘Dog Ate My Homework’ which is flavored with toasted marshmallow & peanut butter cup syrups. The marshmallow syrup was the far stronger flavor in the combination, and its sweetness helped to mellow out the coffee. It was one of the smoother lattes that I’ve had over the course of this extended project, but I found I did miss the slight bite of the espresso I’ve had at other locations. I think I’ll be heading back soon to try the standard vanilla that I’ve had at other locations when there are no seasonal options available, but for now, I’ll give their lattes a solid ⅘.
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The latte itself, even with the vanilla flavoring, was similar to what we got at Delilah’s where the coffee remained the star of the show. The natural bitterness of the espresso was not completely overwhelmed by the vanilla syrup. I like my coffee with a little more sweetness personally, but I considered this meal a great introduction to the batch of beans I was taking home. It kept me warm on a chilly morning walk by the river with my dad, and that was really all that mattered. Mornings are no longer as chilly as they were when I visited their trailer at the Farmers Market, but have no fear, they have iced coffee beverages as well for the summer to keep you cool and caffeinated during your shopping.  The Radiant Blend comes in the bag as whole beans, so if you want to make their coffee at home, you will need a grinder of some kind. The basic grinder I use does not come with settings to help you get a specific type of grind, so when it came time to make this coffee at home, I loaded ten grams of beans in my grinder and prayed. For my drip method brewing, I think that I did not take the grind far enough. However, I will say that the Radiant Blend lives up to its promise.
Low acidity and perfectly balanced, this cup of coffee after the Farmers Market the following week was comforting with my egg in a basket. I did not need to increase the amount of sugar or creamer I usually add to my coffee to get to my usual preference. I think I even used LESS creamer. Heritage Coffee comes in strong with a ⅘. I'd love to see more flavors and varieties in their beans one day, but the current owners have only taken over full time in the last year or so. There is plenty of room for growth. I look forward to seeing where this coffee truck goes. You can order their beans online if you want to try them for yourself at their website, or you can find them in the food vendor section of the Green Bay Saturday Morning Farmers Market along the river.
The Two Birds latte certainly came in on the sweeter side compared to say, Delilah’s from our review earlier this summer. The flavor of the coffee was well accented by the cinnamon bun syrup that the cafe uses, and I finished the entire cup before it started to go cold on me. That rarely happens these days, especially when I’m getting my coffee in one of the paper to-go cups. This brings them in as my favorite latte in town so far, I believe, with a score of 4.75/5.
It goes without saying that I recommend them for your breakfast needs as well. This time around, I ordered their quiche instead of a breakfast burrito like I usually do. The egg custard was so soft, and the mixture of vegetables chosen for their veggie quiche presented a difference in texture and taste against that soft custard that helped brighten the meal. It’s hard to balance all of that with a well cooked pie crust, and Two Birds managed just that. If you're interested in my previous coverage of their food, you can check that out under our restaurant reviews section, or at this link!  Downtown Green Bay is flush with coffee spots, and while Delilah’s may be a brunch restaurant first, it’s not a bad spot to find a latte. I didn’t know what to expect out of their coffee program when I first arrived despite knowing that Delilah’s is another venture from the folks behind one of my favorite brunch spots in De Pere, Toast and Co. I hadn’t been to Toast and Co. in quite awhile, and as far as I could remember, I never ordered a latte specifically. Whether the lattes are comparable or not remains to be seen at this time, but I can say this about Delilah’s:
The vanilla latte I ordered that morning was much more coffee forward than vanilla forward. The bitterness of the espresso sung strongly. Their lattes are for those that prefer the espresso to be front and center rather than tamed down by a sugary syrup. I prefer a sweeter latte myself, so this was not one of my favorites in our Coffee Run series so far. If I must give it a score, then it falls at a 3 out of 5. There are other options, however. Delilah’s proudly displays the local roasters that they’re using during service on the wall behind their bar. During my visit, they were serving coffee from Coffee Wizards here in town and Terra Verde out of Chilton. These boards let you know what flavor notes to expect from each roast so that you can make your choice from there. If you are interested in the brunch service at Delilah’s, you can find my review of the visit in our restaurant review section, or you can click here. With the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays back on, coffee runs will be coming on Sundays while I visit the cafes downtown and the vendors at the market each weekend. I'm an early riser no matter what day of the week it is, and I need my coffee to be early too. That is sometimes a struggle when one is looking to go out for coffee on the weekend. Shops with early hours during the week to support commuting workers sometimes delay their Saturday and Sunday openings, which I understand. One such location that's open on Saturday at the same time as their weekdays is The Exchange in downtown De Pere. I've reviewed them before, but never in the context of this coffee run. So, I chose to go with the familiar this morning. It was also a beautiful, perfect morning to take a walk in De Pere. I arrived at The Exchange just a short while after they opened, and in my opinion, that’s always the best time for a coffee shop. The line hadn’t had the opportunity to expand as I know that it is capable of doing after the location has been open for an hour or two. I found a seat comfortably to work on the list of other coffee places that I’d made to guide me through the Green Bay area in search of my favorite coffees, and I settled in to await my vanilla latte and avocado waffle. The Exchange features a seasonal drink menu, but the latte flavor of the season was not one that I thought I’d enjoy. Honey lavender may be attractive to other diners, however, and if it sounds like it might be to you, I highly encourage you to give it a try. I opted to avoid the seasonal menu selection for the latte and, as you saw earlier, chose a vanilla latte. This is my usual choice at the Exchange whenever I am visiting outside of the Fall menu. When the vanilla latte arrived at my table, I greeted it warmly. The seasons changing has left me struggling with my allergies, and I truly believed that a warm coffee could make all the difference in the world for me. Vanilla is an undercurrent in this latter. The coffee speaks much more strongly, allowed to be savored without much sugar other than that vanilla syrup. I chose a to-go cup in order to be able to take my coffee with me when I was finished with my breakfast, and of course, I didn't even think to get a look at the foam beneath the lid. I tasted it, however. Whole milk is their default, and thus I took whole milk. If a latte that still clings to its bitter soul isn’t your cup of coffee, I'd recommend a milk alternative since barista blends of oat and soy often have additional sugar. The whole milk does not, of course, so I tasted a measure of espresso's natural bitterness still present in my drink. It turned out to be the perfect companion to my light breakfast. The bubble waffles at The Exchange are perhaps one of their most attractive features that separates them from other cafes in the downtown De Pere area. I can’t say I’ve seen these anywhere else since I’ve been doing these restaurant reviews all over the country. After some research, I’ve found that this style of waffle may have originated from Hong Kong, and good on the Exchange to bringing it to northeast Wisconsin in an accessible way. I almost always order something from their menu featuring them, and today was no exception.
As a result, the Vanilla latte at The Exchange earns a 4.7/5 on our Latte rating, and it’s the first to be entered onto our spreadsheet. If you want to plan your own visit to see if you agree with my rating, you can visit the Exchange Monday through Saturday beginning at 7 am. Their doors close at 2 pm each day. Sunday is the only day during the week that they are closed. I recommend you look at their menus on their website, https://theexchangecoffee.com/, before making your own visit. Menus are available while you’re in line if you aren’t sure what you want to get, but being prepared ahead of time is always a smart move.  I came upon Village Roasters on my quest to visit Paulie’s Chop Shop. Being neighboring local businesses open at the same time during my trip, I couldn’t avoid going in to see what was going on under the bright sign indicating that the folks inside were actively roasting coffee. I’ve just started to get back into drinking coffee, you see, and Green Bay has no shortage of local options. Village Roasters had evaded my notice since I moved into the region. In fairness, I had no idea the little shopping mall that it resides in even existed.
I pushed my way in with a bag full of local meats from their neighbor, and I was greeted by the delicious smell of fresh roasting coffee. The walls are laden with their various flavors and roasts, but also maple syrup and chocolates produced locally. I did not expect the sight in front of me. Granted, I didn’t even know this place existed. A tiny storefront like this with the roasting going on right there behind a pane of glass while I browse the coffee roasts felt welcoming. It smelled incredible. Naturally, I gravitated to the wall of coffees to make at least one selection before I left. I couldn’t just wander past a local business that I’d never seen or heard of before when I was in the ‘review visit’ mentality. The flavored coffees that one can come to expect from a midwestern roaster such as a Highlander Grogg featured on that shelf, but I also found things like a tiramisu coffee, a rarity that caught my eye as a gift for friends in the future. I chose neither for myself, however. Cinnamon forward coffee drinks have always been my favorite. The cinnamon sticky bun roast caught my eye, and so that’s the sampler bag I bought for myself to try at home before dedicating to any of the larger bags that Village Roasters features. All roasts are displayed in their whole bean form, but when you check out, the clerk at the desk will pass the beans through the grinder behind the counter for you if you aren’t likely to grind your own beans at home. This was perfect for me. I love coffee, but I’m no pro-coffee maker at home. I understand that once the bean is ground, the flavors will degrade with time. Still, that’s an extra piece of equipment that I don’t consider myself serious enough about coffee to keep in my house. If I start buying my coffee from the Village Roasters, however, then that coffee is being ground in front of my eyes. I’m not getting coffee that was ground six months ago.That is one of the benefits to buying your coffee directly from people that you can see with your own eyes. They offer multiple grinds as well to go with the style of brewing that you’re going to do at home. That’s not something you see every day. The Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavor happens to be their number one selling roast, and it was that roast that I brought home. It brewed smoothly and cleanly. A spoonful of sugar and my preferred vanilla creamer later, I was happily sipping from one of the best cups of coffee I’ve had in months. I’m not sure that I ever cared to know where the coffee that I brought home came from before being roasted, but the Village Roasters used a Brazilian bean for this particular roast. Perhaps as a result of this project, I’ll find out that I have a favorite origin bean. Village Roasters is the first stop in our Coffee Run project, and so I may be a little biased at the start toward this coffee. The two ounce sampler that I brought home cost three dollars, and I was able to get three cups of coffee out of the bag. The sample size offering in the store is a great way for new visitors to explore their offerings. These sample sizes, however, are not available on their website if you want to order their coffee for delivery. You’ll have to go in to visit. I think that’s more than fair. The flavor of the Cinnamon Sticky Bun coffee is strong enough to overcome the added flavor in my vanilla creamer and stand strong. I get the feeling that the custom grind that the shop did for my preferred brewing method made a difference to the bitterness that came out from the coffee to the point that there hardly seemed to be any betterness at all. Stop one on our Coffee Run, and I’m already convinced that I need to stop getting my coffee at the grocery store. Compared to some other local coffees that you can find in the grocery store, the price is also a bonus. A 16 oz bag will cost me $16.00 USD. That’s a larger size than most grocery store varieties of coffee come in, and by the price per ounce, it may even be cheaper than your favorite grocery store coffee already. I hate to assign a number to a local business, but in order to rank Village Roasters against future visits in our Coffee Run project, I give them a 4 out of 5 with distinction in pricing. To browse their coffees yourself, visit their website at thevillageroasters.com, or take a detour on your next trip to the Mall to visit them face to face yourself. Their physical location opens each day at 9 am, closing during the week at 6 pm. If you’re planning a weekend visit, you better be quick. They’re closed on Sundays with their Saturday hours ending at 1 pm. Let’s face it, Green Bay has no shortage of coffee places. We have a number of fantastic local roasters, coffee shops, and little cafes serving up a variety of treats. It should be our responsibility as locals to shop local, eat local, and drink local. We’re surrounded by people pouring their passion into something that fuels us all for the work day ahead. I want to know who’s the best of the best. I want to know who roasts my favorite beans in town so that I can get a similar fix when I’m at home. This desire has led me to only one conclusion: I need to try more local coffee. So begins The Coffee Run, my quest to find Green Bay’s Best Latte and Green Bay’s Best Roaster. Almost all of our local coffee roasters also host cafes, but not all. There’s a potential that the best cup of coffee in town may not necessarily have the best beans in town for home brewing. It may almost be preferable that these two are not one and the same. If they’re different, I can gladly support two small businesses at once with more regularity. If I’m lucky, maybe I can help you, gentle reader, find new favorites. But how am I going to do that? Coffee is so subjective. My parameters will be different for prepared coffee versus roasts taken home to prepare.
Coffee Roasts Not every coffee joint in town prepares their own beans, and that’s okay. Therefore, the roast will be a separate category to consider. At each location I visit that roasts their own beans, I will ask the staff if there is a signature blend that they use in the cafe or consider their flagship blend. I’ll take that coffee home to try, at which point a single cup will be brewed using the pour over method. I’ll then prepare it with a spoonful of sugar and two tablespoons of my preferred at home creamer, the Chobani Vanilla.
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