King State Tampa
Today we take a look at one of Tampa’s more popular shops—King State— that resides in Tampa’s up-and-coming ‘Heights’ district. If you couldn’t tell from the outside photos, the owners took an abandoned auto repair shop and completely remodel it from top to bottom. As if that wasn’t cool enough, King State also has a full liquor license which gives them the ability to serve their guests any acholic drink they desire.
One thing to note, if you plan on making a visit here just know that they DO NOT offer WiFi which can make working here a bit of a challenge but if you have a mobile hotspot or can work without internet then this should be of no concern.
Experience
Due to its popularity, it was no surprise that on the day we went, the line extended out all the way to the parking lot. During the weekends, around late morning/early afternoon, the shop is usually at its busiest but if you plan around this then you shouldn't have a problem. Thankfully for us, the baristas were more than capable of handling this spike and were able to get us taken care of within 10 minutes.
While we waited, I took advantage and did my normal scoping of merch as they had a decent selection of items conveniently located only steps from the ordering window. If you were impressed by the coffee they served you, you could pick up their proprietary blend called “yuh!” or stick to their other single-origin offerings that included countries such as Ethiopia and Colombia to name a few. They also carried King State branded T-shirts, hoodies, and hats that I’ve personally purchased on a couple of occasions… I have a bit of a compulsive buying problem…
Lastly, if coffee, beer, wine, or even liquor weren’t what you were looking for, they also have a fridge stocked with a varying array of sparking and flat waters to wash down whatever delicious menu option you’ve decided to go with.
Coffee
As consistent as the sun raising every morning, what they served me were two perfectly executed coffee drinks and a top-notch espresso shot. As I wanted to give my readers a better idea of the quality of espresso being served in each shop, I ordered a shot of espresso alongside my drink of choice, which on this day, was an oat milk iced latte with an extra shot of espresso. With this much caffeine, you would think I hated sleep.
Now, and this is just my opinion, I believe that King State has one of the best iced lattes that you're going to find anywhere in the greater Tampa Bay area, possibly in all of Florida!
I know I know, this is a huge claim but let me explain why. To do this, I first have to tell you what I thought of my espresso. Preparation and patience were clearly factors in making my shot of espresso. The flavors were bright and vibrant with sweetness coming from what I presume were some type of berries, a bit of nuttiness, and a solid base of chocolate. The texture was silky and left a pleasant feeling in my mouth that was far from the acidic, bitter taste that you would normally get from a poorly extracted shot.
So now that you’ve read about what I thought about the espresso, I can explain why I think they might have the best iced latte. To make any drink good, you need a solid foundation to work from, as we established in the paragraph above, they’ve got this taken care of. The next part is where all the difference is made, like a bartender shaking up a margarita, the baristas shake the latte in a Cocktail Shaker to give it added texture and a very subtle layer of foam. This combined with the oat milk and espresso makes for a very well-balanced latte that can be enjoyed on a hot, sunny afternoon.
Just make sure to order it with an extra shot if you’re looking for a drink that isn’t too weak.
Summary
King State is a place that just seems to do everything right. From the way they take your order, down to how they craft your drink, they take pride in what they do. It might seem as though I have some bias toward this shop but this is truly just a testament as to how good they really are. Please, if you haven’t done so already, do yourself a favor and check this place out. I promise you won’t regret it.
