This past summer, we visited a large selection of coffee shops around us. We found that while all of these businesses have their perks, there are some that stand out among the others. We ranked these coffee shops based on three indicators: food, quality of coffee, and the environment for different situations like chats with friends or when we had to study for a test. We believe that it is also important that we share our go-to orders which are a cold brew with almond milk and an iced caramel latte with oat milk.

Espresso 22

Coffee quality: 1/10

Food: 0/10

Environment: 2/10

   While this rank might seem harsh, our drinks were very subpar and had a level of separation from the milks that we can confidently say that we were not fond of. We were able to get some work done from school but not before a local businesswoman interrupted our work with her conference call which she decided to take without headphones. It also was not very homey and had minimal seats.

Tim Hortons

Coffee Quality: 4

Food: 6

Environment: 1 

   Tim Hortons was definitely a viable option for on-the-go service when we needed a quick bite to eat or some caffeine to get us through the day. While we did not have the best luck with their cold coffee, we do recommend that you get their hot beverages because they had a higher coffee quality rank and were more consistent. This bumped them up on our list. Although these opinions were solely based on our cold drink orders to remain consistent with our ranks.

Dunkin Donuts

Coffee Quality: 4.5

Food: 6

Environment: 2

   Some days we were on the hunt for a quick coffee and a bite to eat. On these days Dunkin was one of our many options we turned to. A positive was the large food menu that offered various breakfast sandwiches, donuts, bagels, and more. The coffee was also good for a chain restaurant. There was just a lack of consistency with great quality. The environment was also not the best to stay around and study or catch up with friends, but could definitely be a contender for a quick coffee.

Mr. Bean Coffee 

Coffee Quality: 6

Food: 4

Environment: 7

   With plants and soft music played in the background, Mr. Bean Coffee offered an environment that was filled with comfort. Not to mention the coffee was an added bonus. Although it might not have been the best coffee we have tried, it was easily enjoyed as we studied and worked on homework. The food options came down to the classic coffee shop bakery items like muffins or bagels. Not necessarily bad options, but we found that comparatively other local coffee shops offered a more diverse selection.

Ciao

Coffee Quality: 7

Food: 4

Environment: 5

   Downtown Delaware provided a lot of options when it came to a coffee shop to pick from, but Ciao surprised us when we decided to give it a try. Although the building is quite small, there was an array of seats to pick from. The coffees were very fresh, and flavorful. The iced coffee with almond milk was a little strong compared to other places, but that could be a benefit or a negative based on personal preference. An assortment of food options was given, unfortunately, the food we ate was not the best we had. We both ordered sandwiches, and were a little disappointed with the time it took to make them and their quality. We don’t recommend it if you are in a time crunch, but could definitely still be an option for a coffee while you stroll through downtown Delaware.

Olentangy Brewing Company

Coffee Quality: 7

Food: 0

Environment: 7

   As student-athletes sometimes we had to do some late-night study sessions. Olentangy Brewing Company let us study and work late into the night as it was open till 10 p.m., and provided coffee until 8 p.m. Since it also was a brewery though, there were times when the noise level got a little louder than the ideal sound for when we studied.  With the two coffees we would always order, we could count on Olentangy Brewing Company to be consistent with how their coffee tasted. A fall down to its rank was the lack of food options they had. They have a few variations of cookies and sweets, but personally, we were not impressed and would have to make another stop for food after.

Starbucks

Coffee Quality: 8

Food: 6

Environment: 4

   As the largest coffee chain in the United States, Starbucks had a big reputation to uphold. To us it did. From our houses, there are three Starbucks options all nine minutes away, so it provided a place that we could quickly stop without the need to travel out of our way. We both have ordered an abundance of drinks and foods from here, but have always been pleased with the quality. This was not a go-to pick though if we wanted to sit down and work. It is still an option, but we found that some other coffee shops had a better environment to work in.

Coffeeology

Coffee Quality: 5

Food: 2

Environment: 9

   Coffeeology was the place we went to the most frequently, for both how local it is and the calm environment. Although we were not always the most pleased with the quality of our coffee, and it was very unreliable with whether the coffee would be great or more subpar. We also were never big fans of the food that Coffeeology had, and when we did purchase one of the items they were usually at most average. The atmosphere made up for it though. Coffeeology gave the perfect small-town coffee shop we sat in for hours. 

Java Central

Coffee Quality: 9 

Food: 3

Environment: 6.5

   We both agreed that Java Central is our favorite coffee, the brew used makes our coffee orders the best we have had. The sizes offered were smaller than most of the other shops we went to, but we found that a bigger size was not needed with the strength of the coffee. A variation of food options given, and our opinions were not the most supported based on the fact we did not often purchase food from here. The food we had was not necessarily bad, it was just not the best we have had.

Coffee Vault

Coffee Quality: 8

Food: 8

Environment: 10

   When we looked at the collection of coffee shops that we visited over the summer, this name stood out. We were always impressed by the consistency and quality of our coffee and were pleasantly surprised by the food as well. Overall, we would definitely recommend to sit down at one of the tables in the lower level of the shop with one of their coffees and bagel sandwiches for a calm afternoon. 

Final Rank-

         Best -> Worst

• Coffee Vault
• Java Central
• Coffeeology
• Starbucks
• Olentangy Brewing Company
• Ciao
• Mr. Bean Coffee
• Dunkin Donuts
• Tim Hortons
• Espresso 22