Coffee Categorization!
By Caleb Parker
Photo taken by Caleb Parker
With the winter looming closer, sweaters aren’t the only thing becoming more prevalent amidst the chilling cold. The frigid air can be fought with a cup of joe in the morning, stopping the onslaught of rising goosebumps appearing on people’s skin as they drive to work or school each day. This warming convenience has become a popular choice for many people, even outside of the wintry season. Thankfully, many places around Owasso offer coffee better than your average Keurig—but which shops are the most ideal and suited for your coffee-sipping purpose?
Categories
With seven coffee companies in town, preferences in your choice of coffee are crucial. Do you want a quality cup of coffee since you have a few minutes to spare, or are you in a time crunch and need a quick drive thru order before heading to work? These characteristics were then taken into consideration at each coffee shop in Owasso.
Timeliness: each place was timed to make a small vanilla latte.
Quality: smooth, rich, dark, frothy; how was their performance?
Manners and service: how did they approach and communicate with customers?
Convenience: could you find them all around Owasso, and do they have a drive-thru?
Variety: did they have more options than just their regular, vanilla latte? Did they have food options, and if so, how many?
Environment: how did the room make the customers feel? Could you walk in, or was it just a drive-thru? Lighting? Music?
Price: compared to quality and to the average price of other coffees sold amongst the shops
Some of these categories are subject to vary; for example, timeliness and the service of the employees could vary based on the individual rather than the company. Instead, these certain characteristics should be taken with a grain of salt.
Bru
With locations spread throughout Owasso and Collinsville, Bru scores high on convenience. Their coffee baristas showed speedy service when serving coffee while providing customers with quality drinks. On top of this, the menu offers a set of specialty coffee combinations, such as the Honey Bee and the Fireside, which are a sweet treat for any coffee connoisseur.
Bru’s coffee is good, but not the greatest. They put a large amount of syrup in most of their options, making their coffee versatile but quite sweet. Their prices aren’t the greatest, with a small vanilla latte starting at almost six dollars. However, their environment (when it comes to their coffee house and not their drive-thrus) is very relaxing with plants placed around the shop and large windows letting in natural light. Bru really shines in their breakfast options: burritos, muffins, bagels and so much more. Overall, Bru is not a terrible coffee company; their best work is most notably in the quality and variety of their breakfast foods.
Evergreen
If you’re looking for speed and convenience, Evergreen is the place for you. With locations on 86th, 96th and North Garnett Streets, they’re easily accessible throughout Owasso. Their coffee has a bit darker of a roast than others, providing a contrast used in a latte that differentiates itself from the cream on the top. Evergreen has good coffee, but it isn’t exactly a home run. However, while some could argue that evergreen is more quantity than quality, their variety is exceptional. This concept exhibits itself in the drinks outside of their coffee, including teas and lotuses. When it comes to pricing, they are reasonable: a small vanilla latte costs around $4.93. Their coffee house has an okay environment, but at times it felt as if it was a little crowded and less breathable, with the music being a tad bit loud. All in all, Evergreen is a great first choice for quick but decent coffee.
Misty Brew
Similar to Evergreen, Misty Brew’s menu includes a wide variety of lotuses, coffee, specialty coffee and tea. They scored lower on convenience than Evergreen; they were slightly slower when making coffee (although this is subject to vary). Additionally, Misty Brew only has one location in Owasso (a drive-thru) in the center of 86th Street. Their service is top notch, being
very polite and efficient. They are also similar to Evergreen in that their coffee has a darker taste, which is interesting when paired with the foam of the latte. Lattes are traditionally very frothy and their taste is spread through the entire drink; their latte was closer to a soft top (foam/milk and espresso/coffee being separated and distinct from each other). Their small vanilla latte comes out to around $4.50, making Misty Brew one of the best options for affordability and customer service.
Dutch Bros
Hello sugar! Dutch bros has a large variety of coffee, with many options on the menu giving something closer to a party palooza than standard coffee. Although they are sweet, their lattes didn’t have quite the same syrup taste that Bru and Evergreen had in their coffee. In terms of quality, Dutch Bros is very similar to Starbucks and gives a solid medium-dark roast that blends nicely in lattes and other espresso drinks. However, Dutch Bros takes the cake when it comes to quality service, making sure that they greet customers with smiles and welcoming conversations when serving coffee. Their coffee was also the cheapest, with a small vanilla latte being around $4.30. In comparison, their quality of coffee was similar to Starbucks but they kept the price and service of Misty Brew. If you want to make a new friend while paying less for coffee, then look no further.
Jordy Jo’s
While being a little inconvenient due to its only location being a drive-thru located near the seventh grade center, Jordy Jo’s is typically less busy in the mornings compared to other coffee shops in Owasso—which makes it a great place for quick service while being ironically inconvenient at the same time. Its price-to-quality comparison is quite interesting; for a small vanilla latte the small size was a little bigger than a 12 oz cup, yet it was still cheaper than other lattes found in Owasso, coming in at around five dollars with tax. While not having as smooth of a coffee flavor as Fulfilled or Starbucks, the flavor still proved well in its balance with cream and milk, giving a rich and textured flavor. While they are similar to Evergreen in that they have a large variety of coffee and lotuses, their breakfast choices were lacking. Jordy Jo’s is a satisfactory coffee place overall; they’re not the best, but definitely not bad.
Starbucks
Having a large amount of both coffee, food, refreshers and teas, Starbucks ends up being a great pick overall. While not unique to Owasso, its combination of incredible quality, environment, customer service and convenience helps Starbucks shine. With locations spread all throughout Owasso (and also the U.S.), their popularity is apparent. Their decor and seating adds to the environment, making it a great place to conversate and hangout. However, they do have a couple of downsides. Because Starbucks is so popular, it's typically very busy; if you’re trying to be productive, it would be best to bring headphones or another form of noise cancellation with you. Starbucks is also very pricey, with a small vanilla latte being upwards of six dollars. Although expensive, Starbucks deserves its praise, scoring high in all other coffee categories.
Fulfilled
Though they are the slowest in terms of convenience and speed, their quality of coffee makes up for it, scoring the highest out of all the coffee places in Owasso. Fulfilled Coffee Lab’s coffee is exceptional, having wonderful blends of espresso, coffee and milk to make its small variety of choices excel. In their vanilla latte, milk and espresso combined with their latte art spread evenly on top has a rich and delicious flavor that was carefully crafted with their authentic coffee beans and high grade equipment. Additionally, their environment was very calm and relaxing, with natural lighting, comfy seating, deep JBL paired speakers and plants that create a more natural feel. Their menu has the least variety, but is minimalistic in nature, making it the best coffee without additives and unnecessary ingredients. If you have more time in the mornings and prefer quality over quantity, Fulfilled Coffee Labs on Main Street is the best choice.
If you’re looking for a wide variety of breakfast foods to accompany your coffee, or you’d rather just sit down with a mug and enjoy some chill music for a while, Owasso has got you covered.