I love my coffee, so when I travel, I always seek out a local roaster, and I am SO GLAD that I…read morefound Uncommon during my first visit to Lake Michigan!
I'd come across them while doing my HW for the trip, but without really knowing the area, I'd thought that staying in South Haven meant I wouldn't get the chance to visit, but after stopping in to The Flying Saucer in South Haven and picking up their beans there for the house, I learned everything is kinda close on this part of the coast!
This is their main location, right in the heart of Saugatuck. It's cozy and colorful, warm and inviting, and filled with some incredibly sweet people. Oh yeah. They have A LOT of great coffee too!
Their specialty and seasonal drinks all sounded delicious, but I'm a purist in pursuit of the best cup of black coffee, here for the single origins and blends that are sourced and roasted by this skilled team.
Walking in I was faced by a massive wall filled with beautiful bags of beans from all over the world, each labeled with notes on origin, processing and flavor profile.
I set my sights on a pour over and when the cashier said I could choose anything from the wall, I was gobsmacked (that's a funny word). The range was so impressive, with great representation from all over the world, processed in all different ways, making the choice quite difficult.
It's a good thing I used my time in line to look at all of the options, and I settled on a white honey processed coffee called Villa Sarchi, which was delightful.
If I have one quibble it's that they didn't have an actual pour over menu and this is simply because I enjoy asking the baristas about the coffees. This spot is super hot, with a line out the door at all times, so despite the barista at the counter being incredibly accommodating, I couldn't in good conscience hold up the patrons behind me with too many questions or returns to the wall.
I also tried their espresso lime tonic for a beverage to stroll with and enjoyed the slight sweet and tart drink very much on a hot day.
Uncommon also has a great menu of food offerings and we had a bagel breakfast sandwich and one of their MASSIVE savory scones. I wish I'd asked or been asked about warming the scone because it definitely needed it, but holy hell this thing was packed with cheesy goodness and the perfect foil to my naturally sweet coffee.
Normally I go home with one bag of coffee as a souvenir, but I couldn't help but buy two, which were in addition to the beans I also bought in South Haven! In total I think I sampled about 5 different Uncommon roasts and loved them all!
I loved this place so much I looked to buy merch, but sadly they had run out of the sizes I needed.
There's always next time. Or maybe they'll ship...