Caffeine Roasters
There are very few things in this world that I’m one hundred percent certain of, whether on a global scale or personal, but one thing I’m fairly certain of is that Caffeine Roasters has one of the, if not THE, strongest cold brews in all of Tampa. For this reason, I decided to pay them a visit and try their espresso and see how it stacks up. To back my cold brew claim, I plan on testing the cold brews of some of Tampa’s best coffee shops, using a refractometer, and seeing which one has the highest strength of coffee. Stay tuned for this in the upcoming future. For now, let’s take a closer look at the shop, located just off Kennedy Blvd in Tampa’s SOHO area, and their coffee.
Experience
Being that this wasn’t my first, nor my second, time visiting this shop, I was already quite familiar with the environment and the staff. Their employees are always friendly and accommodating and can typically steer you in the right direction when selecting one of their coffee bean offerings to take home. The shop features an open floor plan that allows for a generous amount of seating options which tend to be reasonably intimate for those who decide to stay and work.
During this visit, there really wasn’t a queue to place my order so I didn’t have the time to do my normal scoping of coffee shop-branded items, but, even if I wanted to, Caffeine Roasters made it a bit difficult. Unlike most places that put their retail products near the front where customers wait in line, the shop chose to place its products on the far right side of the building behind where customers would normally sit making it a bit awkward to walk over and ponder.
They do, however, place their coffee bean offerings right by the POS which is all I really ever care about. On this day, you had the option to go with either Colombian, Italian, Ethiopian, Kenyan, and one other blend that I wasn’t able to get the name of. I usually opt for the Italian beans being that they’re roasted specifically for espresso and the taste is just fantastic. For the record, I like to attribute their cold brew quality to the beans that they use which is why I tend to stick to buying from their selections. But this of course is just personal preference.
The Coffee
Prior to giving my thoughts on the coffee, I’d like to preface this by stating that this is in no way meant to be a dig at anyone nor would I ever want a business to be impacted by a personal opinion that I have. We all know that people have off days and businesses are no exception. With that being said, I was a bit disappointed with what I was given.
The order:
Oat milk flat white (no extra shot this time)
Doppio
Everything bagel with cream cheese
For starters, the espresso, which would become the base for my Oat milk flat white, tasted entirely too bitter and the wrong side of acidic. I could very slightly make out hints of nuts and chocolate notes that I know the bean is capable of but something during the extraction went wrong which resulted in an unbalanced flavor profile. This ultimately played a big part in why I wasn’t overly impressed with my flat white.
The flat white, regrettably, was just too weak and tasted almost like nothing. I couldn't make out any of the notes previously mentioned and even the bitterness of the espresso beneath was masked. Eventually, I decided to dump the remaining doppio liquid into the flat white which did improve the potency of the coffee taste but really only made the drink just -OK- to drink.
Conclusion
Although I wasn’t a fan of the coffee they delivered during my visit, I know what they are capable of producing and can confidently say that this wasn’t representative of who they are. With that being said, I am still more confident in recommending this place to my fellow cold brew drinkers as I have yet to find another shop that could stand toe-to-toe with their taste and strength. I’d also recommend their coffee beans as I tend to always go back to them whenever I want a bean I know can deliver in taste and consistency.
As I stated before, my thoughts on the drinks were solely my opinion and aren’t indicative of what this place is capable of producing. I ask that if at any point you were thinking of visiting this location, please do so and form your own opinion based on your own experience. You never know what you like until you try it.
When I go back, in my quest to find the strongest cold brew in Tampa, I’ll be sure to try my same order and see how it compares to this visit. For now, thank you for reading, and stay to for what’s to come.
