Best coffee house. Not only do they offer a selection of great pour over coffees as well as lattes, frappes, iced coffee and tea.

Java House is a staple in Iowa City! I love supporting the local coffee house and their employees enjoy being baristas. They are always nice, helpful, and understanding. There will never be enough seats, but I think that is part of the lure and charm. read more

Chill af. Good coffee. Gooder sandwiches. 10/10 would recommend for hangover food. Coffee is the best way to get a hold of yourself. Go state. read more

The Java House is a locally-owned Iowa City institution and brews the best cup of coffee in town, maybe in the entire state. Each cup is brewed individually to order, the baked goods are fresh and made locally each day and the atmosphere is warm and cozy. There are several locations around town. My favorite is the Mormon Trek store near my home. Highly recommended! read more

The pastries are good. The ambience is good. But much of it is unimpressive. The tea selection is inconsistent. The internet is unreliable. Service is not great either - you order tea and toasted bagel, the bagel consistently shows up late and already cold. read more

if you've never been there, the drip coffee service is very impressive. and to follow, the coffee was fresh & excellent. we liked the lighting, ambiance and spaciousness of the space too. noise level is not too loud that you can't study, but not dead that you want to go somewhere else. read more

The Java House - Downtown - drip coffee - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Got me through college back in the day. best scotcheroos ever, delicious coffee, great atmosphere, etc. never failed me.

Great prices, great coffee, great atomosphere. I always come here when I'm back in town. I would reccomend The Java House for all of your coffee needs. read more

OK first coffee, GOOD coffee second time. We really enjoyed our lattés and the space was very open, able for those with kids to let them play, studiers to study, and talkers to talk. My reduction of one star is because our first set of lattés were uneven and not very enjoyable. Consistency in coffee is very important, I hope all baristas are well trained! read more

To answer a previous post, the coffee comes from the Santa Cruz Coffee Company out of California. My understanding is the Santa Cruz Coffee Co also has a patent on the drip brew bar that the Java House uses. I think that the owner Tara Cronbaugh doesn't want other shops to copy her system. Personally, I wish others would copy her so we could get some more good coffee in this world. I've been drinking Java House Coffee since 2001. You can't find a better cup of regular coffee anywhere. The recently changed the roast they serve for their espresso products, and the new roast is a huge improvement. Good atmosphere got me through college. read more

The dark mocha was good. Good coffee and chocolate flavor.

Overall, great coffee, great service. Misses out on 5 star rating only because it's often too crowded and loud for this rater's expectations of a coffee house. read more

Good, strong coffee! Ghirardelli syrups.. Pumpkin spice latte is on point today. Yum.

I really like their coffee! They would get 5 stars, but I do believe they should cut a break for refills on coffee. A great place to go if you are not in a hurry. read more

Regular latte to go. Thumbs up! Great taste and very nice presentation. The staff was very nice and friendly.

I fought it for years, but this is the preeminent place to study for law students in Iowa City. Forget the stuffy law library with its rigid rules and forced isolation. Forget trudging to foreign libraries with their eerie lights (med school) and their enviable awesomeness (MBA & engineering). Sure parking is a hassle and yes, you will have to accept the awkwardness of sharing your table with a complete stranger, but after your first sip of their fair trade coffee the warm, soothing feeling that blossoms from within makes it worth every damn inconvenience. You win Java House, I surrender. read more

Good food, and great service. I have been coming here for over 15 years, in addition to sister stores around town. I had an order snafu this morning. They bent over backwards to make it right, including delivering my order to my meeting. I love this place, and appreciate that they go so far above and beyond what a chain would do. Thank you, Java House. I remain loyal. And I love your food and drink. read more

There aren't enough words to describe how great this place is! The service is always outstanding, and I am always satisfied with my order. The coffee is delicious and the pastries are always fresh. The one time (out of probably 50) that my order was messed up, they gave me a 20 dollar gift card to apologize. Their service can not be beat. I love all of their locations and I am sad to see the Java House leave the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. read more

Great coffee in the heart of the quintessential midwest college town...what's not to like? The coffee is brewed to order, which I think helps make it good...but that also means service is a bit slow for a regular cup of coffee. Their selection is a plus - they always have a large number of coffees available for brewing. I've found better espresso in Iowa, but it's not bad. The downtown Java Houses are, as expected, overrun by the college crowd...but you can still find a place to curl up and read if you want. Plus, they stay open late! read more

Best coffee in town! I love the individual drip...Tanzanian Peaberry is the best. St. Louis Blues has more caffeine. You can always add a depth charge (shot of expresso). Many locations in Iowa City as well as at the University of Iowa Hospitals. : ) read more

Best latte I've had. I love my Starbucks, but I have to say this place took the latte crown. Rich coffee, perfect froth.

I go to the JH about 5 times a week, usually later in the day. The coffee is very good but I have to agree with many of the posts, that their service is pretty pathetic. The baristas are friendly enough, but it is SO SLOW, especially when it is NOT busy. Their pastries are not at all tempting...airport food...is a good description. What I would really like to see, in all of the locations, is some replacement furniture. It's dirty, broken down, and generally uncomfortable. I always opt for a table because the furniture looks, feels and smells, like it came from a homeless shelter. Yuk. Better lighting for reading would be grand. I do think it could use some hands-on management. It could be much better. read more

i love this cute lil coffee shop! the drinks are wonderful and kiki is so nice and amazing!!

I read that Java House has the best coffee in Iowa, so I was trepidatious before my first visit. But it's good coffee, and has good ambiance. read more

Java House has a laid-back, yet friendly, atmosphere. Perfect for individual or group studies. The coffee is great and reasonably priced. I spend entire nights at Java House and have no complaints read more

I love almost everything about this café. They have a good variety of drinks and food. They even give you the option of using almond milk rather than dairy or soy milk. I also love that they sell mugs here, they are very nice and make great gifts! The only reason that I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is always crowded, and that is sometimes an issue. It is usually nearly impossible to find a place to sit down, and once when I was there I had to wait 15 minutes for my drink to be made because there was such a large crowd. Albeit, it was worth the wait. read more

I've just moved away from Iowa City (to NYC, indeed), and I miss the Java House painfully. I shall proudly display my little JH travel mug around NY, thank you. read more

With out question the best in Iowa City. And continues to be. Better coffee better staff. I totally recommend it.

NOT all homemade pastries as advertised (some obviously shipped in and baked when thawed), inconsistent coffee blends, arrogant wait staff and overpriced. I thought this was a bit odd, but had the same impressions on a visit the next day. Too bad...I will go elsewhere from now on (The Encounter Cafe a few blocks away is killing!) read more

Good local alternative to Starbucks. Hard to find parking.

I love this place. It has great coffee and great food. Their oatmeal is amazing with fruit and honey. It's quiet with lots of seating for studying or having coffee with a friend. Free WiFi. It's quite busy in the morning but you don't have to wait long. read more

I met up with my girlfriend to study at this coffee shop. She was already there with a friend and had been drinking coffee and studying for hours. I walked in and sat with them for 3-4 minutes. I had fully intended on ordering a drink until a staff member stopped by and said "If you aren't going to order anything you have to leave" I did leave and I haven't been back in 7 years. Good job Java House! read more

Very cool coffee shop. They actually do the pour over in a cubby so when done you can just pick it up and go. Great tasting coffee as well. Would recommend this place if you are looking for a good cup of coffee. read more

Extremely overrated Iowa City establishment. Coffee and pastry products are mediocre at best and yet the real mystery is why locals support this coffee shop despite service that always never comes with a smile and the dungeon-like atmosphere with raggedy furniture that is never clean. read more

I've been going to this place for some years when I'm on my yearly trip through Iowa. The first time was the best - they seemed to really care about coffee and it was the first time I'd ever seen the drip-by-the-cup method they use. The place is very cool to sit in and hang out - I love the art they have on the walls and it's cool to have papers available for reading on Sunday. But this year when I was there it was just frustrating. It's now one of those places that doesn't bother to train their people in how an espresso drink should taste and therefore what works and what doesn't. An americano is supposed to be hot - they managed twice to kill the flavor of the espresso by putting in too much water and also made it tepid. My friend's latte was something you might get at a hamburger chain. A sad ending to a former love affair. I might stop in to read the paper and drink iced tea, but my heart now belongs to the real coffee makers just around the corner. read more

Great atmosphere and drinks. Unfortunately, I had to leave for another cafe because the internet was painfully slow. This was my anecdotal experience, so I decided to ask a local about how it is usually. He said it's inconsistent in speed...If you come here for wifi, be warned read more

Two of my favorite things about this place: (1) they have a rack of magazines and newspapers for your reading pleasure, and (2) they sell half-priced day-old pastries. Haven't had anything besides a latte to drink (don't drink any other espresso drinks anyway), but so far so good. read more

This is a students dream; coffee, baked goods, plenty of seating (unlike Starbucks), outlets, and wifi. Peaceful atmosphere really makes studying or relaxing a pleasant experience. If you need to get some work done with some chai tea or a cookie, this is the spot. read more

I got a 16 oz dirty soy chai to go and when I opened the lid, i realized 1/3rd of the cup was FOAM. Since I was already at work, I couldn't go back. I paid $6.10 for that drink. A huge disappointment. This is not the first time I've had this issue with Java House. read more

Hands down my favorite place to get coffee or tea. When I think about moving away from Iowa City, I lament the idea of no longer having access to The Java House. Frankly, they have spoiled me. Iced Carmel Cream Lattes are amazing. The only problem with trying to go to the Java House to study, is they are usually so busy you can't find a seat. read more