Coffee: Ipsento Coffee House, Chicago

My third cafe in the most recent visit to Chicago was Ipsento. This place came highly reviewed and I was pretty happy with the quality. Ipsento is on a standard main-street like street with some nicer shops around but hardly the feeling of a gentrified neighborhood. The cafe was pretty small for how busy it was but ordering was quick and they had 5-7 people working @ once at 9AM on a Friday moving people through as fast as possible. I ordered a Chocolate Croissant, Espresso, Pour over Geisha cup and a Chai Latte w/ Almond milk and the total was around $17 which isn’t bad considering I ordered for myself what usually 4 people would drink but that’s the commitment I have to these reviews :) Ipsento roasts their beans a few blocks away so not on-site but close enough for this reviewer.

Espresso:

My Goodness, it was so amazing! Thick, fudge-like with a little bit of berry, tree bark and even some vanilla creeping in there. This would be a daily drink for me if I was just walking by on my way to work…a dangerously good espresso shot. I hope this wasn’t some accident never to be repeated again. 10/10! It was served with a chocolate malt-ball and Pellegrino.

Geisha Coffee via Clever Pour Over:

Another example of a third wave cafe / roaster using half the beans needed to make a cup of coffee. I know Geisha coffee preparation tends to be a little weak compared to a blend but it basically tasted like black tea to me, thin, almost no lingering flavor at all except bitterness. Really disappointing for the price, 4/10. If anyone can clue me in on why cafes are making their coffee so sweet outside of the goal of providing “nuance” to the drinker of aspects of beans, I’d really like to know more.

Pastries:

GF and I split a chocolate croissant. Cold, not flaky or even buttery. Had a frozen and reheated quality to it and I didn’t get clarification of where they source pastries but unfortunately it was not great. 4/10

Chai Tea Latte:

I forgot to snag a sip but I was told it was really great and not too sweet. They’re probably using unsweetened almost milk.

Closing thoughts: I’d come here for the espresso only or perhaps buy their beans to brew @ home.