 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. |
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