I stopped in here with friends before work this week, visiting from out of town. The spot is cute…read moreand looks like it would be fun for after hours. Our coffee shop experience was ok. I was fine with my drink and service but my friends were unimpressed and found the employees not friendly/welcoming and said they needed to wake up. We opted not to come back and ended up at Starbucks other mornings.

When they are good, they are SO good but this is probably the most inconsistent coffee shop in town…read more(apart from McDonalds or Dunkin). I typically order their specials (love a good cold brew extreme) but the SAME drink will taste different almost every time I order it. For example- this morning I ordered the Caramel Apple Cold Brew Extreme. It was AMAZING! My husband tried it and wanted one so I ventured back the same day in the afternoon to get 2 more (one for me, one for him- don't judge me) and just prayed that the same barista would make it. It was likely a different barista as it didn't even taste similar to the drink I had in the morning. Very bitter and not good at all. I wish I could say this is a one off situation, but it almost always happens when I find a drink I like. One time fantastic, next time terrible. Anyhoo- they could totally be five stars at their best but I have to leave 3 because you never know what you're gonna get.

Barista (good looking quiet guy with longer hair) was wonderful. He was very knowledgeable of their…read moreselection of drinks and pastries. Enjoyed the cookie I had as well as my drink. Ambiance was good, but looking at their website showed a significant use of Artificial Intelligence. Personally, I don't like supporting companies that take away jobs from creative digital designers and give them to soul-less robots. Also was told by a friend that they have Al generated Tee Shirts and other merchandise... minus one star for AI use Barista and food: 10/10 Al use: 0/10

Coffee (ordered the matrix) is amazing! The atmosphere and specifically the bathrooms are ABOVE the…read morelevel. The bathrooms were not only immaculate but they literally had everything you would ever need in a bathroom situation, including baby wipes!!! So accommodating! This place, it's atmosphere and its cleanliness is at the level or should I say above the level. Anyone who says otherwise is a curmudgeon!

One of the best coffee places in town and they have two locations. We always pickup a bag of Red…read moreDog when we stop in as it's our favorite to brew at home. Tried this pistachio raspberry pastry today and probably one of the best things I've ever eaten!

What a cute local coffee shop! I just admit, when I am home I rarely go out for coffee, but when I…read moredo- I am going to find a local small business. I was suggested the Coffee Hound by a local while I was in town for an IEA event, and I was pleased with my purchase. I appreciated the open support of the LGBTQ community in the signage, and the service was very friendly. I went with an ice vanilla latte- my starter beverage everywhere- and it was great. If you like your coffee sweet, I'd ask for some extra syrup- but it was perfect for me. The next time I'm back in Normal I'll stop in here again for sure!

Who knew vikings could brew up some delicious coffee…read more On a day trip to Bloomington, Emily and I picked a random coffeehouse off my list of ones I have yet to try and we landed on Viking Brews. We both didn't look it up beforehand so we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. As we pulled up, I was surprised to see that there was an attached Viking Liquors and there was a gaming parlor inside as well as a spot for ice cream. I was starving for both food and coffee, as was Emily. But we had birthday lunch plans so I grabbed my usual Americano and decided to get a bagel to hold me over until we got to the restaurant. Emily grabbed a latte concoction that she made up based on the menu offerings. We took a seat at one of the couple tables available and waited a few minutes for our drinks and my bagel. I kid you not........ this was the best bagel I've ever had. Most of the time, a bagel will be dense and tough to pull apart while eating. Not this one. It was light and fluffy and full of flavor despite being a plain one. They use these for their sandwiches and it really makes me want to come back and try one out. As for the coffee, the americano was really good. Nothing to really highlight besides it being about what I prefer from one. Emily was really happy with her latte and I gave it a sip and it was indeed really tasty. The baristas that were working all had to be in high school but had stellar customer service. I asked them for a few of the stickers they put on their cups and they kindly hooked us up. All in all, Viking Brews would be my go-to spot for americanos if I lived in the area but sadly do not. It was a great start to a day full of shenanigans and lost cellphones. Stay caffeinated, my friends.

From the owner: Products: Americano, Coffee, Cold Brew, Espresso Shots,…read moreFrappes, Hot Latte, Iced Latte, Latte, Hot Chocolate, Hot Coffee, Iced Coffee, Bagels, Pastries, Sandwiches, Fountain Drinks, Tea.

Drive-thru coffee shops are blooming on here recently…read more I suppose that having visited a few drive-thru coffeehouses, this opens the prior closed door on visiting them for my blog. I figured that the lack of being able to experience the vibe and feel for them shouldn't exclude them from my sampling as they can have their own style and their own uniqueness. On a trip to Bloomington with my dad to get lunch, I needed coffee. I slept all morning so trying to get one before we left was a no-go. I figured that since we are visiting Bloomington, I would just visit one that I still have on my list and Blooms Coffee Bar was my choice for today. I drove around the building to see if there was a walk-up window but no such luck. I pullled up to one window (there was one on each side) and the kind barista asked me to pull around to the other side as that's the proper side to order from. I zoomed on over and asked for a moment to look over the menu before deciding what sounded good. Shockingly, I didn't get my usual americano. I was in town for pigging out and decided to treat myself to the Salty Sweet. My dad said he had 3 cups of coffee already and wasn't in the mood for more. It wasn't busy so the lady said I didn't need to pull around to the other window I was just at to pick up my order. So THAT'S how they operate. The drink was made fairly quick and I dipped to the parking lot behind Bloom's to enjoy my drink as we waited for Flinger's to open at 11am. This drink was just the thing to start my day. It was a perfect balance of sweet and salty (which is how I mis-ordered the drink by saying the name backwards). I even went against my usual order style and got a medium instead of a large. I should've gotten the large cause it went down smooth and fast. I pulled around to the front of the building to try and snap a few photos but ended up pulling out too far so my phone's camera put in some work on getting some decent quick snaps for this blog. I am glad that I've started to add these drive-thru only places to my list as each one has been delicious so far. Take this as a lesson to not limit yourself based on silly notions and assumptions.

Our drinks were really bad. I threw out my drink after a few sips. It tasted like badly flavored…read moreice water. I got a Twilight. My husband said his was bad-the voltage. We will not be coming back here. I do not understand how they have such a high rating, we were extremely disappointed.

Fusion Brew was recommended to me by my goddaughter and ISU alum when I was looking for hot…read morechocolate for a marching band. Fusion Brew was SO accommodating. They filled the band's 5 gallon cambros with 12 gallons of delicious hot chocolate. I had to ask for the ingredients for the allergy information and I was pleasantly surprised that there were minimal ingredients. They worked with us to make sure they had staffing to ensure the kids for the hot chocolate--well, hot! I had to drop off the cambros in the afternoon and took advantage of the stop and purchased myself a large blended chai. SO GOOD! It was not too spicy, not too sweet, and the unique blended option was perfect for a hot afternoon, On the flip side, the hot chocolate was perfect for the cool night! Not too sweet, rich, and made the kids happy!

The flavor of the espresso is good, the hot lattes are pretty aerated and are more like cappuccinos…read morethan lattes.

A lot of the local coffee shops close by 3:00ish. We had been traveling and needed a pick me up to…read moreget through the evening, so we were looking for something open late afternoon, and luckily Jasper's was! We pulled up, were greeted warmly, and our drinks were out quickly. They have a lot of different flavor options, but we are basic coffee drinkers, so we got Americanos. Quality coffee - we were both happy with our drinks. We don't live in the area anymore, so not sure if they ever set up tables when it's warm, but maybe a good idea? Regardless, the drive through is super convenient, and we would return when back to visit!

Jasper's is definitely in my top 3 coffee spots in town! I love that they have a variety of drinks…read moreand flavors but still have quality coffee. I find other places that offer fun flavors often skip on the coffee quality but not here! They are also super consistent in making their drinks, it will taste the same every time. I love them so much! My only critique would be that the price tends to change day to day. I think this is likely due to how the cashier enters in the order. I typically order the same drink (including same size) about 3 times a week and the price is rarely the same. Not a huge difference each time, but the same order vary from $.25 to $1.00 difference each time I order. Other than that- no complaints. Amazing coffee and so happy to have them!