In honor of my continually wandering soul, I thought it was only fitting that my first Coffee Crawl of 2021 be a destination crawl! About a month ago, I took a trip to one of my favorite places in the United States. And of course, what’s a trip out of town without visiting a new coffee shop?
Not only is this coffee shop in another state from my own, but there actually aren’t any within 400 miles of where I live. Which is actually a real shame because I quite liked the drink I sampled. Something this coffee shop does have in common with another one I’ve reviewed is that it’s a drive thru coffee shop! It’s Dutch Bros Coffee!
Dutch Bros Coffee was started in 1992 by brothers Dane and Travis Boersma. While previously in the dairy business, the two decided to make a change of occupation and start a coffee company. Hence, Dutch Bros Coffee was born.
Dutch Bros Coffee has over 370 locations, spanning nine states—specifically in the western part of the United States. I visited a shop in Colorado Springs, CO. If you’ve ever been to this vibrant hiking town, you know that it can get a bit crowded. However, there are nine stores in Colorado Springs alone, so you’ll rarely have to worry about hour-long lines.
The drive up experience is pretty efficient. There was a short line when I pulled up to one of the stores. Two employees were standing outside, holding tablets and moving from car to car to take orders as people drove up. The woman I talked with had a lot of helpful tips when I asked for her opinion on what I should order. I love it when I pose the question of what to order at a coffee shop or at a restaurant, and the person I’m talking to indulges in an active conversation to make sure their recommendation is one I’ll really like. It meals a lot that they’re going that extra mile to tailor their response to me.
Later when I pulled up to the actual building to pay and grab my drink, another employee greeted me and started a conversation about how my day was going and what I was doing in Colorado Springs. Another small, but extraordinary detail in their customer service.
Like any coffee shop, Dutch Bros Coffee offers your traditional coffee options, from the latte to the mocha. They also offer featured drinks, which change every month. I got a holiday, peppermint, mocha-type drink—that’s an oops on me for not remembering or writing down the exact name. It was amazingly good, especially for someone that’s not the biggest coffee drinker—a shocker, I’m sure, for those first-time readers. The drink was light and not overly sweet, but still tasted like Christmas in a cup.
My five or so minutes of interaction with Dutch Bros Coffee was a really pleasant one. The coffee shop wasn’t that hard to find, the line moved forward fairly quickly, and both employees I talked to were incredibly friendly. Not to mention the coffee I ordered was really good.
In my research for this blog post—fact-checking and what-not—I came across some information that sets Dutch Bros Coffee apart from the pack. The thing I found most interesting about Dutch Bros Coffee is that they’re the only coffee shop I’ve reviewed that is seemingly more of a company than a coffee shop. Let me break that down.
Aside from running hundreds of coffee shops, Dutch Bros Coffee, the company, also roasts their own beans at their headquarters in Grants Pass, OR. You can even order their beans to make at your own home. And that’s not the only thing that highlights Dutch Bros Coffee’s business model. They’re also wildly dedicated to the advancement of their employees.
On their website, Dutch Bros Coffee mentions not only their open employment opportunities, but also growth opportunities for existing workers. Dutch Bros Coffee also offers internships for students.
Dutch Bros Coffee also has its own foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to giving back to the community through meaningful engagement in areas of youth, health, and origins—as in where their beans are sourced from.
There weren’t enough good things I could learn about this company. So while my experience was already stellar as it was, I have so many more reasons to keep coming back—even if it is ten hours away.
I got a lot of my information for this blog post from the Dutch Bros Coffee website. Check it out to learn more. And make sure to let me know what you thought in the comments section of this post! I’m trying to branch out and try some coffee shops outside of Oklahoma, so if you have any suggestions, be sure to leave those in the comments too!
Colorado Springs has so much more to offer than its coffee shops. And a lot of it can be done on your time—however much or little of it you have. Stay tuned for next week’s post to find out all of my favorite things to do in Colorado Springs in a short amount of time!
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