Located on the Lower level of the General store you will find Amana Coffee & Team. They offer a…read moreHUGE selection of beans and loose leaf teas along with samples! We make it down the the Amana Colonies two or three times a year from the Des Moines metro. Sometimes it's intentional and sometimes we are down in Williamsburg at the outlet mall and main Amana is just a few more miles down the road. The General Store is a must stop location for us. If you want to take home a momento of your visit or want to find something Amanda Colonies centered this is the place for you. Hard goods, food items (refrigerated, jarred/canned, dry), souveniers, some locally sourced goods, and a wide varitety is seasonal holiday items are available at The Christmas Room (connected but technically next door). And don't miss the teas and coffees downstairs at Amana Coffee & Tea... If you can't make it to the individual shops throughout main Amana you can find a lot of the same goods here like a small selection of meats and cheeses from the Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse. So if your time is limited... The General Store is your spot! Service is always fantastic, the shop is clean and well organized, and it usually smells wonderful in here. It seems we always walk out of here with something! And I can almost guarantee that once you'v been in the General Store along with Amana Coffee & Tea and the Christmas Room, like us, this will be a location you venture into every time you come back to the Amana Colonies.

As a tea drinker who uses loose tea, I haven't found many local places with a variety of teas to…read morechoose from. That's why I take a drive to Amana to buy tea every few months. Located in the bottom level of the Amana General Store, Amana Coffee & Tea is a quaint little spot that has a good variety of loose teas to choose from. I'm able to mix it up and work my way through all the different flavors depending on my current taste when I visit. They have a number of black, green, and red teas, including some that are organic. Worth a visit if you want to explore some loose teas, and as a bonus you can stop upstairs and grab some other foods or trinkets from the General Store.

This bakery has a wide selection of cookies, breads, pastries and more. They had a strawberry…read morerhubarb bread-like-cake on sample when I went and I really regret not buying that because it was very tasty. I did get 3 items from the bakery cases. First was a chocolate eclair. It was like a long creme puff with chocolate ganache on top and yellow filling in the middle. Reminded me of a Boston cream pie only in cream puff form. I thought it was ok. I would have really liked the filling to have more vanilla flavor. The puff part was a good texture. The ganache was mildly chocolatey. The second item was a blueberry cream-cheese pastry. I wasn't wowed by it. The cream cheese maybe needed more vanilla. The third item was a creme horn. I liked it, but again I wished the filling had a bit more vanilla. Also at the very end, it was hollow, so save some of the creme at the big end for the little end so you get a more balanced bite. All of the items are presented with great care and beautifully displayed. I just wanted a bit more flavor. I would go back and I would try different items.

The coffee and sweets were delicious though it did seem a little expensive. The cafe is family run…read more It seemed like they were training a new person when we were there so it was a little slow service given it was us and one other pair of customers. The baristas were friendly though. The store was clean and offered two levels of indoor seating and the front porch outdoors. There's sweets and gifts you can purchase to go as well.

After a long day on the road, a great cup of coffee is non-negotiable--even if it means venturing a…read morelittle farther from the exit. Brickhouse was absolutely worth the detour. Tucked away in a charming small town off I-80 in Iowa, this coffee shop is a gem. The beautifully renovated historic building adds to its warm and inviting atmosphere, making it the perfect place to recharge, whether you're grabbing a quick cup or settling in for a break. The staff was friendly and welcoming, and they made me a fantastic Americano--my go-to order since it delivers a consistently bold espresso experience without the variability of drip coffee. If you find yourself in the area, do yourself a favor and make the stop. It's well worth it!

From New York to San Francisco, my wife and I have traveled to coffee shops across America…read more Brickhouse has now made it into our Top 5 best coffee shops we've been to. Expect to be greeted with a smile and warm vibes in this small town gem. This is a can't miss coffee shop if you're passing by!!

The hotel suggested I head to the Chocolate Haus for a latte, and I was happy to oblige. I chose…read morethe Black Forest - cherry, almond and chocolate - and it was delicious! Also picked up a box of toffee, some stickers and a cute pin. Plenty of small gifts to choose from as well as the expected chocolate - and not-chocolate candy.

Fantastic chocolates, ice-cream and customer service! This…read morewas our first visit to the area and we were very impressed. Very homey layout and the smelks hook ya! We purchased Bearclaws (Chocolate, Carmel, Pecans) a few Truffles (Chocolate Cheesecake and Mint)...then ordered some ice-cream (chocolate for the Mrs and Butter Pecan for myself)....then the fudge bars caught my eye so we grabbed a "brick" each of a Chocolate Mint and a Chocolate/Peanut Butter one.

Eclectic little tea room and antique store in Anamosa, IA. This is not a restaurant as most would…read morerecognize, the owner offers a different menu daily based on 1-2 dishes she has whipped together with fresh organic ingredients raised locally. She has wonderful teas and can provide an authentic tea party experience. If you have little girls looking for a tea party experience this is the place for you. The owner provides dresses, boas, and party hats for the total tea party experience. My group enjoyed tortilla soup, chicken fajitas, chicken salad and delicious key lime pie. We had lavender lemonade, peach iced tea, and hot tea. It was a fun afternoon I would recommend a visit.

Sadly, mediocre at best. I would skip this place entirely. Tried coffee and food, both were poor…read morequality, not homemade....meh....nothing special. We ended up throwing both drink and the cookie we bought away as both of my kids said the cookie was "bad"...tasted like a box mix that was overcooked.

Very nice atmosphere and staff with good coffee and excellent cookies. The coffee shop is…read moredecorated with local art and some jewelry. In addition there is a local deli in the back of the building. Overall a very good experience.

This is our favorite spot to stop on our trips to Iowa city. It's the perfect distance from Dubuque…read moreand we love the farmhouse aesthetic.

Their espresso isn't the best I've had but it wasn't horrible by any means. They do have a lot of…read moreflavor options which I love to see in a coffee shop. We sat down to eat, service was quick and food reminded me of home. Their chicken salad is so good!

We met friends for a holiday lunch. The waitress was terrific! Very attentive and very aware of…read morewhat was going on. We started off with some cheese curds, which were breaded and tasty. My husband ordered the special which was a pork chop and I had a Reuben hamburger. It was really big. The hamburger might've been a bit overdone. Friend had a chicken croissant sandwich and said it was delicious. Her hubby had a whisky burger and enjoyed it. We had a dessert pretzel and weren't able to finish it. It was just sweet enough to be a nice ending to the meal. Everyone said their beers were good. I wanted to have a Coke zero but the machine wasn't working and the owner wasn't there to fix it. I had iced tea instead and it was not good. It's bright and clean and a nice place to meet for lunch

Rebecca was our bartender and she was spectacular. Not only a joy to be around, very funny,…read morepersonable, had a heavy hat full of flair and just overall great - the recommendations for beer were plenty, lots of options and and she gave us also some recommendations on what to eat in Iowa City since we were going to head that way afterwards. Inside there was a nice bar area where we sat and was easy to view all the selections while also making friends. The outdoor patio is really cool, especially in the spring / summer - which we were there in summer. Beautiful grassy area outside and just so perfect to enjoy a cold one. Loved the options and the combo of tap and canned. The adult nap time was glorious. Thank you!

This place is literally legendary. Home of the famous Dutch letters and all kinds of Dutch…read moregoodness, Jaarsma Bakery is the kind of place that takes you back to the old school in the best possible way. With a staff dressed in traditional Dutch outfits and fresh pastries filling an entire room, Jaarsma smells and looks about as close to bakery heaven as you can get. The sheer amount of pastries, breads, cookies, and treats is impressive. You can also grab various foods and sides, along with a great collection of Dutch products that won't disappoint. I arrived around midday, and some of the favorites were already gone or running low, which probably tells you everything you need to know. I was on a mission for the letter "S" pastries and the cream-filled bars, and they absolutely delivered. Since I had flown into Pella on a private plane, I also ordered some thank-you treats to bring home for a few supportive people in my life. It was the perfect place to find something unique and memorable. If you come to Pella, you come here. It's really that simple. Do not miss Jaarsma....your stomach will thank you!

Jaarsma is deserving of this 4-star review based on its size, selection and general quality. Please…read moreunderstand that's not a bad thing. They did a nice job on the Dutch letter and Chicago Cubs frosted sugar cookie that I tried. I did find the place to be overrated compared to the mass' reviews and the legend that it has outside of Pella. But no doubt, you kind of "have to" go there if you're in Pella. Hopefully a 5-star experience awaits you.

First time I visited the Amana Colonies, since moving to Midwest and stopped in this winery around…read more11:45am on a Saturday, we walked up to the counter were barely greeted and everyone was busy stocking and checking the orders. Once they noticed we were there, we said it was our first time, so we just read the menu and did a wine tasting with cheese for $14. The lady said okay, sit wherever. We sat in the back of the tasting room, there was no-one else in the place, she brought the wine and cheese to the table and left. No explanation, no entry into their wines, nothing. First off the glasses were thick, like used for beer tasting? no ability to see the legs on the wine. But what was I thinking? I had my doubts just given the names of the wines... Ember wine? Dandelion wine? Marquette rose? I proceeded to start with the ember - a red-ish wine... not full body, lacked depth. The rose, had an after finish of water that just ran off my tongue, a good rose has a crisp refreshing taste with balanced acidity and fruit notes... this was horrible. Next up the dandelion? I'm only to assume it's supposed to be like a chard, but honestly I left it on the table. Should it be warm like a mead? Confusing. I'm from the PNW and we are known for exceptional 90+point wines and family estates, so I know wines, and whatever I drank today, was not it. On my way out, other folks entered and were at the check in and the staff was more than willing to walk them through selections of wines for tastings. Wish I had that!

Cute little store with lots of snack type cheeses and some wine. The lady who was there was very…read morehelpful and friendly. She asked us what kind of wines we liked, explained that this store specialized in grape wine, while the other one next door was fruit. She let us sample a couple of different wines and made recommendations based on the things we said we liked. She also gave a list of all their wines with descriptions to look at. I wish we would have gone here first instead of the winery next door because their was a night and day difference in experience.