Cupz Coffee - $
Arizona State University
777 College Ave, Suite 101
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: (480) 557-5245
Hours: Mon - Fri 6am to 8pm
Weekends 6am to 2pm
cupzcoffee.com
Cheaper than Starbucks and Just Around the Corner – Cupz Coffee
It’s a safe bet that building a coffee shop right within walking distance of Arizona State University, you’ll be getting a lot of foot traffic from the student population. A student population that might not have completely discerning tastes, considering how full McDonalds is during Finals Week. That said, with four Starbucks on Campus, and a couple of roving coffee carts, not to mention Dutch Bros over by Cholla Apts (think Eaaaaast Campus), what does make Cupz Coffee such a big hit among the students?
Well to start off, the Starbucks on campus are less than professional and you’re more likely to get a bad-shot (that badly timed, metal tinged espresso) than anything else. Not to mention how much you’d be paying for that Starbucks. The carts are carts so they’re not always right where a student needs them to be (and easily missed), and well, Dutch Bros isn’t exactly a hop-skip-and-a-jump to the nearest classroom. Location alone was enough for a college student (namely me) to take a trip over to Cupz for the first time. Right at College and University and right before the Fulton Building Parking Garage is the only coffee place in the myriad of tiny food shops built for college students tired of campus cuisine.
On first trip the baked goods were all gone, but according to the menu there is a random assortment of danishes, cookies, and muffins. Opting for one of their Eye-Opener Breakfast Sandwiches ($2.99) with a choice of English Muffin, Everything, Blueberry, Cinnamon Raisin, or Plain Bagel, and Croissant (add 50¢), egg or no egg, ham, sausage, or bacon, and a cheese of my choice from America, Swiss, Cheddar, and Pepper Jack, and a cup of cappuccino ($2.60), I felt promise. More promise when I bit into my toothsome Everything-Bagel-Egg-Sausage-Swiss sandwich. Hot and exceeding fresh it had more of a homemade feel without any of the work, the egg was consistent in texture, not overdone, and a little fluffed. The bagel was toasted perfectly on the outside and inside, leaving a crisp bite to it. The sausage was the right blend of sweet and savory – and the Swiss topped off with a mellow flavor. All in all it worked very well, except when I drank my cappuccino.
To be fair to Cupz and coffee markets everywhere, coffee tastes are very personal, and the current trend of making cappuccino into basically a flavorful latte has left me completely surprised for an actual portion of espresso mixed with steamed milk and foam. The problem, after reassuring myself that this was the real thing, was that the espresso was vaguely bitter in a way that left a mildly astringent aftertaste. It wasn’t enough to suddenly have the urge to tip the coffee out into a trashcan or put a drinker off, but it wasn’t as exciting as my sandwich.
The atmosphere of Cupz wasn’t exciting either, but for a smaller place was very nice. It wouldn’t be great for quiet studying, but watching the D-backs game on the fairly large television and sitting on one of the couches would be a comfortable fit for light conversation. There are also some tables that are a little too close to the front for my liking and some booths in the back away from the crowd.
On my next outing they were out of baked goods once again, so I opted for the drink of the day, hoping for better fare. What I got was a Raspberry White Chocolate Mocha ($3.45), a mix of ridiculously sweet flavors that really knocked my socks off. Espresso with white hot-chocolate, raspberry syrup (sans the whipped cream) blended together to create a mix of flavors, after getting the smooth culling flavor of the white chocolate a shot from the mildly sour raspberry would kick in. And as one who likes my coffee either dark and delicious, or so sweet I’ll get a cavity, this really hit the spot. The only unfortunate part, like all drinks of this sugary caliber, is the aftertaste that cries out for water once the drink is done. It can’t be helped, however, so I won’t hold it against them.
On my last trip, I finally got my hands on some baked goods and had my choice of a mini apricot danish (.95¢), a three-times as large cherry danish ($1.95), a Co-Co bar which looked to have chocolate and coconut ($1.85), and some bagels (.95¢). I opted for a cherry danish, which was probably too much danish for one person to handle. The cherry filling was tartly sweet in a way, similar to my ras-whi-choc-moc (name not on menu) from before, mixed with a tough dough with icing, that didn’t exactly wow me. I topped this off with a frozen vanilla latte ($3.45), which had a nice placid flavor (not exactly worth the price, which was comparable to a Frappuccino at Starbucks). Once I’d finished my desert and coffee it was time for lunch.
For lunch, I was excited to try their grill again and ordered a half-sandwich/ half- soup combination ($6.49) that includes Cupz’ Grilled Hot Panini. Ordering the Tomato Basil (the soup of the day, the other choice was Italian Wedding) and a turkey and Swiss, I sat back for an extremely short wait (with great smiles from the workers).
The sandwich once again proved that their grill is exemplary, and while it was no Everything Bagel, the rosemary crusty butter-infused bread really hit the spot, as did Cupz’ knowledge of perfect grilling. The fresh deli turkey was sliced just thinly enough not to flake and piled high, where it was warmly pillowed beneath a gooey slice of Swiss cheese. I was about ready to dip it into my soup, but what I opened was a neon orange that I wasn’t sure should be soup at all. The overflow of onions was also disheartening, as the fact that it was lukewarm.
Not being a rabid visitor of Cupz Coffee, I can’t pass a final judgment: Word of mouth says they have better coffee than most of campus, great Chai tea, and I’ve been told the soup is better than what I’ve had. But with decently priced coffee (except iced) and a great grilling selection, I would recommend Cupz for any college student feeling up to the two minute walk from the Language and Literature building at ASU.
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