One of my favorite things to do when I visit a city is to explore their coffee scene. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to do this with COVID, so it was exciting to go on a trip where I got to really explore some coffee shops in a city. Here’s an overview of the shops I was able to visit:
Blue Copper Coffee
I visited Blue Copper first on the trip, which is located in downtown Salt Lake City. It had a really nice patio area and incredibly friendly baristas. I ordered a small batch brew of a Colombian coffee, as well as a can of their new sparkling cold brew. My wife ordered an iced latte and it was likely her favorite of the trip. I was very impressed with the chocolatey profile of the Colombian coffee. Since COVID, I find so many coffee shops have stopped pour overs and instead stuck with batch brews. Batch brews never meet the quality of a fresh pour over, but this one was quite good. The sparkling cold brew reminded me of a cold brew tonic and was a perfect treat for a very hot afternoon.
The Bean Yard
After spending a few days in Bryce and Zion, we headed back towards Salt Lake City to fly out and were able to hit up a few more coffee shops. The Bean Yard is located in Sandy (~10 miles south of Salt Lake City). I got a pour over of their naturally processed Mexican coffee that was very sweet and had lovely baking spice and cinnamon notes. The space was very cool with their roasting area is right next to their seating. They had a nice meeting area and an open space to sit.
Three Pines Coffee
Three Pines is located in the heart of Salt Lake City and is a small shop with a really cool vibe. They served Heart coffee (a Portland roaster I really enjoy). I got a batch brew of their Ethiopian coffee (again, no pour over unfortunately) and my wife got a traditional latte. The Ethiopian was very good, though it didn’t have any stand-out characteristics. I was quite impressed with my wife’s latte though. They weighed out the coffee for the espresso and took some nice care to prepare the puck and pull the shot (something that isn’t incredibly common even at specialty coffee shops). We got to spend a few moments talking to the owner of the shop who was really nice and quite knowledgeable about coffee (always a plus!).
Campos Coffee
Our last stop of the trip was to Campos Coffee. Campos is an Australian-based roaster, with a few US locations. Unfortunately they were recently purchased by Peet’s Coffee and decided to close their US locations, so this one won’t be around for long. I got a pour over of a washed Ethiopian coffee that was sweet and quite floral. My wife got an iced latte, which was very good. The shop is nestled in what feels like an alley side street in the middle of the city, but once inside it is an incredibly cool space with a great vibe and their roasting facility right next door. It was definitely the busiest shop we visited with most tables full when we arrived.
Bonus: Saint Anthony Industries
I recently received a Bloc Party from Saint Anthony Industries for my espresso making. I didn’t realize they were based in Salt Lake City, but after seeing their products at Campos Coffee I looked them up and saw they were only 5-10 minutes away. I was able to stop by, meet a few of their team members and see their office and workshop where they make all of their hand-crafted wood products.
There were quite a few other shops I wanted to visit, but ran out of time (and caffeine threshold) on the last day. I was impressed with the coffee scene in Salt Lake City that I was able to experience though and can’t wait to come back and try some more.
