Thank you Matari for such a great 1st time experience at your Peoria location. I'm so glad I…read morestopped in and had the opportunity to try out the drinks and pastries while I was in town. I highly recommend checking it out - Yemeni coffee, etc. They have a HUGE selection of pastries and diverse/unique coffee and tea drinks. They've done a really solid job on utilizing the space they have. It's spacious, clean, organized, and decor is really cool. Employees were very nice and patient as we made decisions about our order. My sister and I had the Iced Matari Tea. It was soooo amazing. It had green tea, pink Himalayan salt, spices, milk, whipped cream, and pistachios....and my sister got the Lotus Milk Cake and I went with the Nutella Tiramisu Cake Chocolate Cup (the cup was edible - all chocolate!). They have cards and uno and some other games available for use while you're there. I love the vibe and am so happy to support a new business in Peoria. I can't wait to go back!

The most upscale coffeehouse you'll ever visit…read more My dad needed a ride to an eye appointment and I asked if he minded we dropped by this coffeehouse on the way back. He said he was totally down for that. So, we stopped in around 9am to one of the fanciest coffeehouses around. This is one of the first coffeehouses my dad has ever been to and he was also blown away by how fancy and how nice everything was here. He declined to get a coffee but I got my usual iced americano. The barista taking my order was beyond friendly and super communicative on everything. I appreciated that since the pick up counter is at the far left side of the counter and you order on the far right. While we were waiting for my coffee, we took a long look at the delicious-looking baked goods in the display case. We didn't get any since I am focusing on what I eat lately and my dad was a bit too shy to order anything. We took a seat and chilled for about 10 minutes since I still had to report to work that afternoon. When I was given my americano, it was on the lighter side of brown, so I knew it was going to be a smoother one and I prefer the darker, more bitter ones. But, it wasn't too bad. It started off smooth and then turned into something I wasn't a huge fan of as I got towards the bottom. Even so, the overall experience was great since my dad and I got to hang out and neither of our schedules really allow for that all too much. I would most definitely check out Matari, not just for a nice ethnic take on coffee but for a real fancy take on a coffeehouse. I did spy a basket of card games at the register, so they have some fun activities you can partake in while feeling like royalty.

I stopped here on my way home for a blended drink. I got the Caramelishous blended drink. I had…read morethem add extra Caramel and an extra shot of expresso. It tasted like a water down ice drink with a hint of Caramel. If I didnt get the extra shot of expresso it would've just tasted like water. Not impressed. The young lady who took my order outside was very friendly and informative. The young lady at the windo was not. She behaved as if she was doing me a favor just to serve me. The prices were good and they had a nice selection. The facility is pretty new. Even though the line was long I felt it didn't take to long for my drink. I may give this place another chance and order something different.

We stopped here to have an afternoon treat. We got a regular coffee with half & half, a sugar…read morecookie latte, and a Mr. Narwhal. There were a few issues. The young lady taking our order mumbled even at the window. While the Mr. Narwhal was beautiful and was tasty, the latte was WAY too sweet, and the regular coffee was not hot and tasted like old, scorched coffee. The line moved quickly, and we didn't wait long; the prices were good. I will give them another chance, but unfortunately, I do not think this will be a regular stop on my way to the office for my morning coffee.

I've been there several times and everything has been fabulous each time!…read more If you need guidance they are generally willing to help you decide and understand your options. I have recommended it to a couple of people who all loved it as well.

Dang, that's some good boba…read more After devouring a large meal at Hong Kong Buffet and walking around a bookstore to let the food settle (and pick up a few books), I asked if Tim if he had room for some boba. He said 'sure' and here we are. I completely forgot this place existed until I was looking around on Yelp for new places to try. Thank gosh for a dull moment of internet browsing at work. We waddled in and immediately didn't know what to order. The menu was a lot bigger than I expected for a space so small. Tim tried to explain a Poke bowl to me but said it was something you just have to experience or google. Seeing as we were both still full from lunch, the time to learn from experience would have to come another day. I settled on a Coffee Milk Tea with cinnamon boba and Tim got this unique Matcha with cream cheese foam with strawberry jelly. We plopped down on some chairs and waited for our drinks to come out. It took a bit longer than I expected but the place was hopping and there were tons of orders being picked up and there was almost an endless line of people placing orders. The wait was probably 10 minutes but not too bad for how steady they were. Tim and I slowly put down our drinks as we chatted about the various aspects of life. My first sip was extremely delicious and sweet. After a few sips, the peak delicious faded and turned into a drink that was good but leaving you yearning for that sweet sweet sweetness. Could be that it needed blended a bit more. Either way, it was pleasant even with the drink settling as the cup became more and more empty. In hindsight, maybe it was best the drink evened out after demolishing plates at a buffet. During our time, we saw a lot of college kids come and go while a few couples hung around and enjoyed their food. Bradley University students probably love this place. The interior is very narrow and the sitting area, while plenty of seats, isn't conducive to a long term hangout. Grab your meal, enjoy, chat for a bit, then head out. But not every place has to be geared towards people like me who likes to sit and chat for awhile. It's cool to see Peoria have such a varied amount of cultural places to sample; from Chinese to Vietnamese to Italian to Mexican to Mediterranean. If time allows, I would love to come back and try one of these mystery Poke bowls. Until then, stay boba-licious!

We went in for coffee education and advice at their Lake Ave store (old Ventures store/across…read moreparking lot from Kroger's, old Venture reference lol) we have a latte machine w/grinder, and bought a drip maker bc we need to cut back on the lattes...aromas and inventory that lets you know your at the right spot for coffee! Though there are drinks avail., this first visit was about beans...great staff asked us our coffee habits, what flavors/roasting we liked and then made a few suggestions. We chose two varieties of beans we could use for the new maker, and one for our espresso/latte maker. I thought prices were reasonable and above all; LOCAL!!! Kick the chains and try this place!

Wasn't greeted from start to end of our conversation…read more Ordered a plain latte and it was full of grounds. Overall, not a welcoming or warm place despite all the colors and 5+ workers on the morning shift.

CxT passes class with a 'C'…read more Located in Campustown, where a Starbucks used to be, is a new extension to the CxT Coffee Roasting company. I've been patiently waiting for the day they opened to finally pop in and try their americanos. I've only ever had lattes from CxT so I was excited to try my tried-and-true espresso and water here. Emily ordered their Coconut Cookie Butter Latte and I got my usual plain black americano, iced. We had a long day ahead of us so I also ordered a blueberry bagel to stave off the appetite while we ran around Peoria for the afternoon. The person taking our order was very nice and courteous. The place wasn't too busy and our drinks came out fairly quick. My americano was first and when I went up to grab Emily's drink a few minutes later, the barista putting it together said he doesn't know what is in the drink and hopes it was good. That did not instill a lot of hope in me as we settled down to enjoy our caffeine. I actually thought they forgot about my bagel since it wasn't until about 5 minutes later that they called for it to be picked up. The bagel itself was really good, even without any topping and was toasted to the right temperature. When I had my first sip of the americano, I knew it was going to be one of those 'lighter' varieties that I am not a fan of. It reminded me of a slightly better version of the one I got from 392Caffe. Just light on bitter and watery-tasting. To each their own but not really my cup of... coffee. Emily loves to get a seasonal drink and said this one was just not for her. I took a sip and thought it tasted fine but I am not big on the flavor of coconut. She said she liked her drink enough to finish it but wasn't really what she was feeling on this day. Being neighbors with Bradley University, there was a lot of foot traffic in the 30 minutes we were in there. Lots of young people coming in for coffee and heading out for their next class or study session. I actually joked with Emily that we are the old people in a coffeehouse now and how out-of-place we were in a sea of college students. I'd imagine a lot of college kids will be crashing this place throughout the year to get that last minute study session in while sipping some coffee and eating some tasty baked goods. I've had good experiences at the other two locations. One is down the hill from this location, on the same road, and is their Apollo location. Up near Peoria Heights off Knoxville Ave is their Keller Station location and that one is probably my favorite of the three. This one is nice but has a very clean, very modern vibe to it that feels more like Starbucks than a local coffeehouse. I will definitely be back to the CxT coffeehouses in the future but may stick to getting lattes or flavored drinks now that I know how they do americanos. On a side note, I did ask one of the cashiers if they had stickers and they do but it's the ones they put on their own stuff. He was nice enough to give us both one for free. So, if you are a sticker freak like we are, don't hesitate to ask and they might hook you up.

So happy to have found this super good coffee house! Amazing Chai Tea Latte and drip coffee! Don't…read moremiss out on this gorgeous coffee house!

Review Visit: April 15th, 2023…read more Jesus that's a strong drink. Like anything with life, you explore enough and you will experience some wild things. Coffee Connection happens to be one of the more unique coffeehouses I've ever visited. After breakfast at Busy Corner, it was time for coffee. We walked up and as soon as we walked in, I knew that we were in for a treat. There was Jesus stuff everywhere and a bookshelf near the entrance that was crammed full of Jesus books, movies, audiobooks, and etc. Not that this place being a Christian-themed is a bad thing. Just my first religious coffee place. No, what made this place unique were the random stuff you'd probably find unsold (or sold ASAP based on trends) at Goodwills or Thrift Stores. You should be able to see some of the oddities in the photos below. To note, there was also a lot of St. Louis Cardinals craft items around so if you are a Cards or Cubs fan, just take note. I was standing there, looking at the menu on the counter and things in the display case when out of the corner of my eye I see someone standing there. This spooked me as we were the only customers at the front of the store. Turns out... it was Jake from State Farm. As a life-size cutout. I knew I had to get a photo with it. Emily saw a Strawberry-type drink on their FB page and ordered that. I got a plain ol cold brew for my sipping pleasure. We stood there while the barista made our drinks and took in the unusualness of Coffee Connection. Once we got our drinks, we wandered to the back and to check out the giant artwork painted on the wall. You can see that below. We headed up to the front and say by the big window, playing Speed with a deck of cards on the aforementioned shelf. I took a sip of my cold brew and instantly knew it would be a slow sipping drink. I've had some strong and bitter cold brews and this one is in the Top 3, easily. Not that that is a bad thing but something to keep in mind if you try one here. Emily enjoyed her drink and said it tasted like a mix of beer, coffee and strawberry. I took a sip and would have to agree. We both agreed that it didn't taste bad... Emily said she enjoyed it, actually. Just an interesting drink. They did have baked goods and refrigerated items for sale but seeing as we just ate breakfast, we weren't in the mood for anything besides caffeine. Some of them did look appealing despite full bellies. Sadly, you can kind of assume this place doesn't do gangbusters in sales as a lot of the fixtures and odds and ends were just not in fantastic condition or shape. Some of their decorations were covered in some dust or showed signs of not being touched since opening. We ended up leaving with half our drinks left. Normally I finish mine while I'm at the place but with how bitter it was, it was a slow sipping drink. Once it was watered down a bit, it really hit the spot after some yard work. I can't say that would return here or would suggest people go out of the way for but if you are in the area and need a caffeine hit, Coffee Connection can connect you with what you need!

The staff is so kind and knowledgeable! It is a perfect spot to relax and sip on coffee. There is…read moreplenty of seating. We both got delicious custom cold drinks. I highly recommend.