Sweet Eugene's - Bryan College Station
Sweet Eugene's House of Java is every coffee blogger's dream.
Or so I would imagine. This is the first coffee shop review on this blog. You can chalk it up to me being easily impressed as a newbie, or that I just got really lucky for my first coffee shop blog entry (going with the latter).
According to their annoying website, this coffee shop is "College Station's first coffee-house since 1993." (Look, you are either the first coffee shop in College Station or you're not. So, you have been here since 1993 is what you are trying to tell me.) And if you can ignore the annoying auto-play soundtrack on the website, I promise this shop isn't as "posh" as the site has made it out to be. You will see no pale, red-lipped models casually hanging from sofas here.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Check out this girl, chilling amongst bags off coffee beans. #Effortless
Double props to this girl for fighting the urge to sprint up to the bean bags and land on them (Yes, it was the first thing that entered my mind, but whatever.
Let's start with why you're here in the first place - the coffee.
After one glimpse at the menu, you can already guess why Sweet Eugene's is so sweet.
Many of their coffee items are candy-inspired. This makes a whole lotta sense once you hear their story.
According to the two young, flannel-wearing, just-enough-facial-scruff barista dudes behind the counter, the shop was once a candy store. The tiled flooring, that you can see in the pic below, is from the original candy store. The shop has expanded about three times since it's candy days.
With so much space, this coffee house can handle any season of Texas A&M. Bring on the finals.
Now, back to good stuff.
The Coffee
If you're anything like me, you don't care for the super, super sweet stuff. However, the barista told me he could "lighten up" any drink I ordered.
I ordered Eugene's Cappuccino (I completely butchered that word the first time I spelled it). And even if my order was simple, the drink's quality was far from simple - it was perfect. It had the right amount of foam and it had the right amount of sweetness. There was a kick of the coffee bitterness and yet perfect blend of vanilla aroma to soften it up. (I'm no expert, so yeah. I'm making it up as I go.)
My friend who recommended the place to me (Shout out to my co-worker Chelseaaaaa) has had the Almond Joy latté and can confirm that it was absolutely delicious.
Their roasted coffee is some pretty fresh stuff. It's probably because
Eugene's
roasts their coffee right next door.
The roasting magic goes on behind the walls next door. The shop is family owned and Aggie-operated. They import their Arabica beans from a port in Houston. They couldn't tell me which region of the world they import their beans from, but no matter --- it's all delicious.
***Coffee fact: The two most commonly imported coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica makes up for about 70 percent of the imported coffee. Robusta beans have twice the amount of caffeine in it. It is also mainly used for instant coffee. Some argue Arabica is higher quality then Robusta.
((Ps. Coffee beans are actually seeds. Yes, mind blown. You're drinking smashed up seeds. #DoesThisMakeMeMoreHipster? ))
Back to the coffee shop. Typical alternative/indie tunes play in the background currently playing Coldplay (I swear, I'm not making this stuff up.) And it's not obnoxiously loud like some places I have been too. Also, the people here aren't loud. Currently, the cafe is about half full. And it is not too loud or echo-y (echo-ey?). Whatever.
Lighting
I do have to note that their lighting isn't too great. There are some darkened spots which will leave you squinting if you are reading a book in the evening time. But most people have MACs glowing up their faces. Thank you Apple, for the second-hand lighting.
I, however, totally understand if you choose to wander away from the main room (which may have better lighting) because these rooms are awesome.
Wifi
I was kicked off their wifi once. But I've been here for a couple of hours so, that seems about right. Also, they have three wifi's which seems necessary for the broadband of many students, downloading many important items like class assignments, BuzzFeed videos and whatever else.
The Food
Eugene's has so much more to offer than just coffee. They have pastries, Panini's, sandwiches, cakes, and crepes. Their pastries are all made in their own bakery. The cakes, however are from a local place.
Quick review: Great coffee, good atmosphere, great food, fair pricing and awesome service.
By the end of this post, if you are still reading, you are probably thinking, "This girl is OBESE."
And in response to your thoughts... I am not.
But I will be.
Because of amazing coffee shops like these.
Mugs Up,
The Coffee Nomad.