Big windows and an obvious coffee pick here, had a good mocha and selected a tonic in a can too,…read morethey were so busy! Parking and Wi-Fi were easy. It's a special space to be for a small town. The park nextdoor, cobbled streets, and ambient relaxed vibes are good stuff here.

Review Visit: February 10th, 2020…read more Eli's has opened a coffee shop in Metamora on some historic grounds. A long, long time ago in a city far away, there was a coffeehouse named Historic Grounds. Upon those grounds, one was able to find delicious coffees and baked goods. As time passed, people grew older and wanted to retire to a simple life. With that, Historic Grounds became just that. A page in the history books of Metamora. But, all was not lost for the building that was permanently etched with the aromatic scents of coffee beans and cookies. Eli's Coffee House, founded out of Morton, IL, caught wind of the vacancy and decided to expand it's business enterprise there. Finally the day came for me to visit one of my old coffeehouses and see if the new place does the old justice. Having had Eli's before and it being a good experience, I went in with some slightly higher than normal expectations for a new place. The second I entered, I could tell that Eli's made the place their own without covering up the antique-feel of the aged building. In place of the old normal counter was a big jetting one that offered barista access from multiple sides. Affixed to the wall was a giant and well-designed menu offering coffees in your usual varieties along with some yummy-sounding food options. Running on 3 hours of sleep, I chatted with the ladies working behind the counter, telling them of my much-needed need for some coffee if I was going to be in any state of awake to talk with my friend. Their patience was immeasurable as I looked over the menu longer than I should've and settled on just a black coffee. Too tired to try and order anything more complex, they offered me the pipping hot coffee in an Eli's-branded mug. I found my friend on the other side of the wall that cuts the coffeehouse in almost two. I quickly took a seat and blew on my coffee to cool it down while I woke up enough to have a conversation with my friend. Sensing one cup wouldn't do, I revisited the counter after I drained my first cup and expected to pay for a refill. The lovely barista took my cup and refilled it with the black liquid I so desired. I asked if I owed her anything and she said it was free. Free refills on great black coffee. I was truly in heaven. Eli's has taken a former great coffeehouse and kept the spirit alive. While they've definitely added their identity to the interior, they are tasteful upgrades and changes. Metamora is the kind of town that revels in it's history and small town vibe; them keeping a lot of the original feel and artwork on the walls was a wise decision. They even kept the Historic Grounds logo that is painted on the side wall. While I was standing in line for my refill, I was browsing over the food options and was drawn to The Southern Comfort melt. I loved every single ingredient on the list. Chicken with melted white cheddar, apples and brown sugar BBQ... give me 2 of those. One for lunch and one for dinner later. So, I will definitely be back to try out their food and baked goods. When I do, I will update this post with probably a perfect 5/5 and details on how the food tasted. Until then, stay caffeinated.

The Knight and The Bible…read more On a drive up to Chicago to catch a vacation flight, we stopped at The Cup and The Scone to get us caffeinated for the rest of the drive. We got there about 30 minutes before close and the barista was super nice as we ordered our drinks. Emily got a caramel latte and I got the.. you guessed it... an iced americano. We also grabbed a blueberry-lemon, cranberry-orange, and birthday cake scone. While we stood there as the barista was making our drinks, we chatted her up a bit and we were able to get a few free stickers from her. She said they don't use them all too much and was happy to give us two each. Once we got our drinks, we took off to the upper part of the coffeehouse and promised we wouldn't be too long since they were closing soon. Before we headed upstairs, I took some photos with the suit of armor that is by the counter. When we got upstairs, I was surprised to see another suit of armor, so I took a photo with that one, too. The Cup and The Scone specializes in a lot of gluten-free products and a small bit of religion. I don't know if their entire menu is gluten-free but as someone who's mom is gluten sensitive (and I will probably be at some point), the care about GI issues is great. As for the religious stuff, if you don't see the occasion bible strewn about the place, you'd honestly never know. But, their website seems to support helping people and I think that also is super great as this world is getting rough and scary. Any who, Emily and I really enjoyed our drinks. The americano hit all the right notes and Emily was delighted with her latte. We were split on the scones. I really liked the birthday cake while she really liked the cranberry-orange while we both thought the blueberry-lemon was just alright. We held true to our promise and dipped out before 2pm and hit the road. If I find myself in Pontiac for some reason in the future, The Cup and The Scone will definitely be my spot to get some americanos.

I was initially drawn to this spot by the big knight in shining armor that I saw on Yelp (I'm a big…read morechess fan) and then pleasantly surprised at how cool this place is. The decor really makes this spot, with lots of fun themed signs throughout the restaurant. This definitely gives it a different and more fun vibe than the average coffee house and the upstairs loft is cozy to hangout in as well. The coffee flavors and preparation are quite good here -- flavorful, and made with high quality ingredients. I also enjoyed the mini scones, with a nice texture that was soft but a little more firm than a muffin. Overall, definitely worth a visit if you're in Pontiac. Great vibe and delicious food.

Love the Blend!!! They have wonderful drinks and snacks!! Great place to go visit with friends…read more Nice cozy place to hangout!

I've coming here for a long time, but every year that goes by the service and coffee gets worse…read more The cashiers are surly at best, no smiles, no greeting, I actually want to leave. This last time I ordered a signature drink, I dont know if it was made wrong, but it tasted horrible, I could taste the grounds. So, I asked for a new drink. No apology for making a terrible drink, just charged me for a new one and literally told me it was my fault for ordering something bad. Customer service has become terrible, not worth the stop anymore when I'm back in town. There are better options. Seriously, how hard would that have been to fix the situation and offer a refund or not charge me for a new drink.

Review Visit: August 26th, 2015…read more Located in Lacon, IL, The Coffee Hub is a fantastic little coffeehouse in a little town. Between some pretty good coffee and a delicious-looking menu written in and on a unique backing, this place is a gem. I got my usual Iced Caramel Latte and is was good. The staff was friendly. I wanted to sample more of their menu, but I was headed to Matthiessen State Park, so I had already eaten a decent meal before heading out. I would love to go back some day and try their ice cream and baked goods! :3

Had a wonderful spiced chai. Great friendly service. Lots…read moreof interesting li CA Al art for sale in variety of price points. Charming cozy vibe. Will be back. Wish I lived closer. Craving one as I write this.

We loved this placed!…read more It was very off season so we were waiting all week until Thursday when they were open to try it. Our large group of 3 families enjoyed breakfast here and the lovely staff were very accommodating to our chaos. 3 grandparents, 4 parents and 4 toddlers to order, eat and we all enjoyed ourselves. We all loved the treats, the food, and best coffee we could find in the starved rock area! I got for the 4 I was in charge of: 2 hot vanilla latte, a kids French toast with bacon, a biscuit and gravy, cream horn, cinnamon roll, and more treats I can't recall now. Highly recommend this cute little stop and if we are in the area again we'd definitely stop by!

Cute shop on the outskirts of town. Staff was super welcoming and friendly. The baking goods were…read morenot only delicious, but incredibly affordable ($3!)

How sweet it is!…read more Let's preface this blog post by saying that The Sweet Bean is set to close on May 13th. Not only did I recently hear about this place for the first time but in the same breath I heard they were closing. So, I knew it was a high priority to check it out. It just so happens that my girlfriend also loves coffee and sweet treats, so we booked it there the first chance we got. I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of how Pekin is laid out so I never would've stumbled upon this place without either being told about it or finding it on Yelp/Google/other sources of information. Thank gosh for GPS We arrived in the later part of the morning once we woke up and got moving for the day. We both were in need of some coffee and something to put in our bellies. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly person behind the counter who ended up being the owner. She asked us what the photo taking out front was about and I briefly mentioned how I like to try out local coffee places. She said they only have the basic coffee choices as they are more of a bakery and I said that as long as you serve coffee, that is good enough for me. Emily got a flavored cold brew and a giant turtle cookie and I got a plain cold brew and a dark chocolate cherry... scone? I'm not 100% sure it was a scone. I just pointed at what I wanted and she told me what it was but was too distracted by all the delicious-looking treats in the display case to remember what she said. The total for two 16 ounce drinks and two baked goods was only $13. That is a really good deal, imo. We snagged a table and sat there, sipping our coffees and trying each other's snack. Emily was jealous of my treat and I was a bit jealous of her treat. They were both super delicious and I am glad we got them heated up as I think that really make their homemade deliciousness POP. I couldn't get over how thick and chewy my treat was. It tasted exactly like how it sounds but cranked to an 11. The cold brew was just that. Long-steeped coffee over ice. I don't think I've ever had a cold brew that wasn't just that and that is perfectly fine in my book While we were checking out, we noticed some stickers for sale. I tried to buy 2 but was told I had to use venmo to pay for the stickers as they were being sold by an independent seller. We ended up grabbing 5 for $15 once I worked out how to pay the person directly. This might be the first time I've seen something sold in a store that wasn't able to be rung up at the register. I didn't get a photo of the 5 we bought but you can rest assure they are mostly coffee-themed. I am truly sad this place is closing up it's doors. You can see on their FB page the reasons why so I won't go into that here. Make sure you pop in while you can before the oven is turned off for good.

Love this new little place in town! Fresh homemade muffins - love the banana nut, wow. Haven't…read moretried anything else yet but the coffee is great too. Comes from a coffee place in Peoria that roasts their own they said. Really good. Beats Starbucks any day

The atmosphere, the people, the drool-worthy coffee, and the fresh local donuts--what's not to…read morelove? Every visit is amazing! The guest service is truly the best, and from day one they've always made me feel so welcome. Thank you for always serving up such deliciousness!

MadMac's: Fury Roasted…read more Maria and I popped in on a day that was supposed to be rainy and storm but ended up nice and sunny. We both hadn't heard about this place until I did some Googling and we made quick plans to visit it at our earliest convenience. We just happened to pick a day when they were doing road construction and I wasn't sure I would even be able to get in but there were other cars parked there so I knew coffee was soon in my future. The parking lot itself was very small and shared with the other businesses in this... interesting building. We parked and headed in and I was instantly feeling like we were in a house converted into a coffeehouse. No complaints there as that is one of my favorite aesthetics for a place that slings caffeine. The interior is rather small and tight but the decor was a homerun. I loved the things hanging on the wall, the cork coasters with fun little coffee sayings, the general vibe of it all tied together. Maria ordered her latte and I ordered my usual Americano and we took the seats next to the front door. It didn't take long to get our drinks and we settled in to our usual coffee hangout routine. While I loved the coffeehouse, I was indifferent on my drink. It wasn't as bitter as I usually like and had a weird... I don't know... diluted sweetness to it. While I always enjoy what I get to a certain extent, I would definitely ordered something different if I ever came back. If you are hungry, they don't have a food menu but there was some slices of cake or baked goods on hand. Not really sure what they were as there was no labeling to identify what they were (aside from one being GF, which would be for Gluten Free). Luckily, I really enjoyed the coffeehouse itself despite the cramped lounge/parking lot and the lackluster (in my opinion) Americano. It's a place I wouldn't hesitate to come back to for a caffeine fix.

My husband and I love to explore little towns in Illinois. El Paso was adorable. This coffee shop…read moreoutshines any I have ever been to. The ambience was A+++, the avocado toast was so yummy and my vanilla ice coffee was perfection. The service is warm, friendly, and fast. I will come back.

Java Café is such a cozy little spot in a quaint town. I had the veggie avocado toast and it was…read morefresh and flavorful. The veggies are served raw per the kitchen and it worked well, though I do wish there had been a little more avocado. Still, it was delicious and satisfying. I paired it with the rooibos hibiscus tea which was light and refreshing. They also have self serve water and a clean up yourself setup which keeps the vibe laid back. Food is served during breakfast hours only, but they do keep a grab and go refrigerated case stocked with premade items if you stop by later. Staff were friendly and kind, and the atmosphere is extremely inviting with plenty of nooks to settle into. One of the highlights is a painted chess table that adds to the artsy charm and is perfect for a photo. They also have a shaded outdoor patio if you want to sit outside. Definitely worth stopping in if you are in the area and looking for good food, tea, and a comfortable place to relax.

Update: I just had to come in here and remind everyone how wonderful this shop is! I love all the…read morefresh baked goods and tasty coffee! I'm so glad you're here! 1/6/2026 I stopped by Reverence Coffee for the first time on Saturday for a quick pick me up. There was just one other lady sitting down in the coffee shop doing a little bit of work, and Sly just happened to be working that day. He was very polite and professional. We talked about business and he said he was looking forward to meeting the people in the new apartment building next door. I saw that there was one brown butter chocolate chip cookie with sea salt left in the box, so I absolutely had to try it. I have to say it's probably one of the most freshest cookies I've ever had, he said they always mix it up and have all kinds of different pastries. I also ordered a 12oz Caramel iced Latte, and that tasted great too! I absolutely love the vibe of the coffee shop, the color on the walls, decorations, customer service, and look forward to returning more often!

Lovely little shop dedicated to crafting delicious drinks. Friendly and welcoming staff complete…read morethe experience!

Review Visit: June 6th, 2016…read more If you visit the blog often, you will notice my trend for visiting coffeehouses and see that I tend to order Iced Caramel Lattes at most places. Black Maple was no different. A perfect blend of milk, espresso and caramel made this one place I would love to re-visit. It would've scored a perfect 5, but they are a walk-up/drive-thru only, so if it was a rainy day, it could possibly affect trying to get something from there. Also, they could've used some benches outside, but since it is located in the parking lot of a hotel, they are doing great with what they have. I don't frequent Canton, but I am going to always visit this place if I do.

We were really excited to try this place but very unimpressed. They didnt have anywhere hardly to…read moresit inside. When we ordered we asked how sweet drinks were and were told they weren't sweet. My husband ordered a vanilla latte which had hardly any flavor (including coffee flavor). I ordered a caramel macchiato which was SO sweet. We also ordered a bfest croissant. The croissant was panini style so smooshed and burnt. Sorry to say we will not be back. Hope others have a better experience then we did.