Review of It's A Divine Bakery

For my birthday a while back, we went to a new BBQ place (it was disappointing, so no free plug for the place). After dinner, I noticed a little bakery that was advertising coffee so we stopped in to try it out.



Going into It's A Divine Baker (itisadivinebakery.com), I had a few assumptions. I assumed they would have some very craft oriented coffee because the place is in Cave Creek. This is a tourist town and there is a fairly well known roaster in the area. I expected them to have that coffee, or something very local.

Walking in, I was fairly charmed by the baked goods. Have you ever walked into a place and was like, "I want to buy all the stuff!" That's what it was like. The breads and desserts looked fantastic.

I approached the counter and the one teenage employee greeted me nicely. I have to say, even in Cave Creek, I didn't like that she was there by her self. I prefer 2 employees at all times (its possible someone was in the back, but it sure didn't feel that way). The girl was very nice, had good energy. Unfortunately she did not know much about the coffee. On the flip side, she knew the baker side very well. She told me about how the owner traveled Europe and learned traditional baking from all the regions. It was a great story and even better that the employee shared it with me. I had to remember that the focus of this place was the bakery. The coffee was kind of a side piece.

The coffee came from a local roaster called Carefree Coffee Roastery (www.carefreecoffeeroastery.com). They had the flavor profiles written out on the chalk board. I got a cup of the Columbian coffee. It is described as, "orange, cola and plum." I was super excited because this a fairly unique profile. I was a little disappointed because the coffee was roasted a little to dark to get those subtle of notes (in my opinion). The coffee was good, but it didn't rock my socks off. It was, as it was intended, something to go with the baked goods.

On the other side, if I am being charged $3.25 for a 12 oz cup out of an air pot, I feel the coffee should be good enough to stand on its own. I paid $3 from Portola who won roaster of the year and is California (high cost of living) and it was brewed specifically for me. If the coffee is going to be a side though, I feel the price should be a little lower. I would have had a better review of the coffee if it had been in the low $2 price point. Price may have been high because they are in a very rich part of a tourist town. So, if they can get the sales at that price, more power to them.

Overall, it was a mixed bag. I would recommend this place only because it is local and I like to support local. The baked goods looked great, the coffee was a little dark and the prices were pretty high.