i try not to give such low ratings but i truly was disappointed by the drink i got here. ayer coffee is super hyped up right now, so i wanted to give it a try since i was in the area! on a saturday afternoon, there was a line out the door and it took a total of 30 minutes of waiting to get to the front.
the two star review has nothing to do with the service--the person taking my order was very nice when i asked to swap my milk from oat to whole, and the person at the cash register also was very nice. the staff will personally hand your drink to you, which is thoughtful and very sweet considering it's busy.
that being said, let's get into what was unsatisfactory. i ordered the hojicha with a salted vanilla cold foam and whole milk. there was no extra charge for whole milk or switching the milk, and it came out to $8. when i finally tasted the drink, i was immensely disappointed. firstly, the hojicha was VERY chalky. i've had really solid hojichas in the past, but this is the first time i've tasted one with such a chalky mouth feel. i also noticed a very slight sour taste to the hojicha? secondly, the salted vanilla cold foam was not salted at ALL. it tasted very sweet and very artificially vanilla, almost like a vanilla candy. i was shocked because again, i've had salted creams in the past and this cream was just sweet. very very sweet. lastly, the vanilla syrup completely overpowered the taste of the drink and made it taste intensely of just sugar. i could barely taste the hojicha over the vanilla syrup. the typical depth, nuttiness, and fragrance of hojicha was drowned out (not that i felt it was very strong in the first place).
i was really disappointed by my drink :( i can admit if i ordered the wrong drink off of the menu (i know that ayer is famous for their matchas in particular) but i also feel like if the drink is on the menu, it should be solid enough to hold on its own. i was really shocked because all of the reviews were really raving about the hojicha being the best in socal but it was just an unpleasant experience.
a few last notes about the location: ayer is in a small plaza and the parking lot was PACKED. the shop itself is very small and really only for the purpose of ordering (not sitting down). i was a little miffed at the fact that the line for the shop was blocking the doorways of multiple other businesses that people were actively going in and out of. i tried my best to keep my distance from any entrances, but many others did not care to do the same. i'm not blaming ayer for any customer's behaviors, but i think the line and ordering system could be improved. blocking the doorway of other businesses is an accessibility issue and also seems pretty inconsiderate :/ having an online ordering system or placing signs could be helpful in mitigating this!
tldr; don't get the hojicha it was not worth the 30 minute wait..
(no picture because i was so shocked by the quality of my drink) read more