We appreciate craft coffee in all of its forms and could not wait to try Lumiere while in Branson over several weeks. Our first attempt was on a Saturday in the summer. Huge mistake, because the crowds in downtown Branson were insane. Came back a couple of weeks later on a Wednesday. Lumiere really is a beautiful venue which excited us at first. We often find coffee shops where we become fixtures, feeding a cash register continuously while we do online work. We get to know staff on a first name basis. It's quaint, like Cheers but with more caffeine. We won't be doing that at Lumiere though. They have a sign hanging up proudly stating they don't offer wifi because they want people to have face time. Graciously, they will "let you work on your laptop at one of" their "two bar seating areas." It's a free country, and we wish them the best, but we don't patronize coffee places for life lessons and we left childhood long ago. So, strike one. As for the long awaited coffee, we were incredulously underwhelmed. Most of our coffee shop dwelling occurs in KC and the competition is admittedly stiff there. From all outward appearances, Lumiere was going to be on par. We ordered a black drip, a La Flame and a Golden Hour. Kudos on the creativity behind the La Flame, but we just didn't love it. The Golden Hour should have been pretty reliable given the combo of flavours, but it wasn't more than passable. And the black drip felt anemic. So, strike two. Steamy Joe will likely be our lock stock go-to for coffee work in Branson in the future. The coffee there isn't anything superb, but the baked goods are on point, the view is lovely and its far less pretentious. read more