My wife and I were in Old Town Glendale, Az at a cool taco shop that had a beautiful mosaic in the front and was full of great Mexican art (food was good too). I was in the mood to check out a coffee shop and get my first review up. Old Town Glendale is a neat little spot. It is in a very old part of town (as its name would imply) and much of the area is run down. There is a cool pocket of good restaurants and an artsy vibe. A really great place for a cool coffee shop.I hopped onto Yelp and picked the only open coffee shop (economy has been hard on mom and pop shops in Az) and thumbed through the pics (http://www.yelp.com/biz/mighty-cup-glendale). Looked interesting enough. It had a "New Times Favorite Coffee Shop" poster. Surely that applies to the coffee too, right?
It was a quick drive from the restaurant. Parking was open and easily accessible. The approach wasn't quite and enticing as I would have liked, but I was willing to hold judgment until I had the coffee.
I approached the bar and asked what coffee they were brewing. The lady behind the counter said it was a Kona Blend. I said, "OK, lets do it." I had to probe around to find out they were brewing Passport Coffee (http://passport-coffee.com/store/kona-blend.html), roasted in Scottsdale, Az. I was excited! A locally roasted coffee, brewed in a local eclectic coffee shop...I was hopeful.
My wife ordered a Pumpkin Spice Late (one of her favorite drinks). While the barista made her latte I took a few notes on my coffee. My initial response to my Kona Blend (black) was that it was surprisingly lacking body and flavor. Not quite knowing exactly what it means, my thought was that it was under-extracted. The more I drank the more I had a kind of sour taste in my mouth. I looked it up when I got home and confirmed that the sour taste did coincide with under-extraction. I have had 100% Kona coffee and it was beautiful. I also know that a lot of coffees use 10% Kona Beans to try and cover up 90% poor quality beans. I don't know enough about Passport Coffee to make that accusation, but the taste of this coffee made me think that.
I watched the barista as she made my wife's latte and there were a couple of technical pieces that were missed, but overall provided an enjoyable cup of coffee. The espresso aroma filled the whole room when she pulled the shots. The only problem was that she pulled them before she even started steaming the milk. The milk was not frothed at all when steamed. My wife let me try it. The pumpkin flavor was balanced, not too sweet. The coffee was smooth and brought a nice caramel darkness to the drink. I have to say I was jealous and snuck a few extra sips of hers to wash the sour coffee taste out of my mouth.
It may be a favorite to locals (according to New Times, a source I no longer find credible), but I can't say I would visit again. The baristas didn't really know coffee. The motif was going for the eclectic (use of random articles that seemingly did not match) but ended feeling like it was purchased at a yard sale and tossed together. It lacked the the cohesion needed to make for a great experience (coffee, people, motif).
Unfortunately, I do not recommend The Mighty Cup and Spoon (http://mightycupandspoon.com/).
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