CxT passes class with a 'C'.
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. read more