Winans Coffee For the Win! Our Search for Great Coffee

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So, let’s talk about Winans Coffee! I’m going to be up front and say, I was not a fan of coffee at all. I wanted no part of it. Furthermore, I didn’t want to like it, because that was just going to be an “addiction. ” I didn’t need or want any part of that!

My Coffee Journey Begins

I had stopped drinking pop when I was 10 years old, and never really had caffeine until I was about 23. At that age, I found a great vitamin energy drink by XS Sports Nutrition. But I was just fine with that! Yeah, I thought it was cool how people would get their fancy coffee every morning and spend $5 a day on some nasty, sugary drink. So that’s where I was about 5 years ago. I didn’t want to like it, so I didn’t try it. Typically, if I try something long enough, I eventually start to like it. I didn’t want to spend my money on coffee, so I decided not to try it.

I was going to my friend’s about 4 years ago. She had been mixing her coffee (cold brew) with a vanilla crème protein shake. It made the coffee a little sweeter without all the sugar, and also added some protein. It sounded like an interesting concept to me, but I was a bit hesitant. She decided to make me a cup when I was over, and I told her “Not bad, but it still tastes like coffee.” She added more of the protein shake, but in my mind, I thought what’s the point. If you have to add something to make it palatable, why drink it in the first place?

Just like steak. A good steak DOES NOT need A1 sauce, amen? Well, I’m not sure what happened, but I decided to start having a splash of cold brew (like 2oz) mixed with about 4oz of shake mid-morning and a bag of popcorn as my snack). This was the routine for quite a while, and then overnight, I started drinking my coffee black. Yes, my friends. Black. No sugar, no cream, no nothing. I would drink it hot, cold, lukewarm, room temperature. Good coffee, bad coffee and everything in between. It didn’t matter if it was hotel coffee, gas station, French press, or pour over. It was all good to me. Obviously, I had my preferences, but I wasn’t going to turn anything down.

When I turned 30, I became an utmost coffee snob. Hey, I’m willing to admit it! No shame in my coffee game! My husband, who also wasn’t that interested in coffee, found some whole beans at the store, ground them fresh and started making cold brew. Truthfully, my husband is more into cream, with a splash of coffee. You know the cups of coffee that end up looking like a glass of milk? Yeah, that’s my hubby. But the coffee he was making was spectacular and fresh. No longer did I want hotel or gas station coffee!

winans coffee

Winans Coffee Changed the Game for Me

We were making cold brew for a while, when a great friend of ours (who I trust with everything, including the food and coffee department) told us about this place near her house called Winans. She also was not a coffee person until she turned 40. My friend had gotten a Chai Tea Latte from Winans and was ranting and raving about how great it was. I personally am not a chai tea person, but I trusted her opinion when she said they had good stuff all around. I was on my way to her house one day (already had made my own coffee at home), but asked her and my other friend if they wanted me to get them anything. They of course agreed to a cup full of delight from Winans Coffee!

When I walked into Winans coffee shop, I was met with a friendly greeting right away. I took some time looking over their menu and asking about their other coffee options. After browsing for a bit, I asked if I could taste their favorite brew, and it was delicious! My other friend asked for one of their seasonal drinks and she enjoyed it.

winans coffee

The location had a clearance section with a handful of marked down, whole coffee beans, so I started smelling all the flavors! While they all smelled amazing, there was one that really caught my nose, Cashew Buttercrunch! You have to understand, I like cashews, a lot….. Like way too much sometimes! I was already imagining how great this would be.

I’m not a huge butterscotch person per se, but this combination was incredible. So good that even my husband was excited when I brought it home! He made us some, and let’s just say, that bag didn’t last long. The only issue with the Cashew Buttercrunch is that it’s a Summer flavor, so now I have to wait a few more months to get my hands on that again!

The good news is, I have yet to try one of their coffees that I 100% didn’t like and wouldn’t drink. I became immediately hooked, so much so that we drive 35 minutes out of our way to go there. It’s worth every penny! This place is the real deal! They also make their own chocolates at the factory (there are multiple Winans Coffee locations). When I was there for the first time, they gave me a free sample of chocolate, and they did the same for my husband when it was his first time. Such first class service!

One of my other favorites is the Highlander Grogg, straight up. Leave no room for cream. It doesn’t need it! It is so smooth and full of caramel and butterscotch flavor. You can tell the beans are ground fresh! This is, in my opinion, the best Highlander Grogg I have had at a coffee shop so far! It’s been a challenge for me to order Grogg anywhere else because it’s just that good! You know when you have your favorite, you don’t want to be disappointed by anything else!

Now, for those of you who are looking for a good workspace, Winans is doable, but probably not the BEST option for that. There are only a few tables, and it’s set up like a shot gun house. We have worked from there a couple of times, and met friends for coffee, but just know ahead of time there may not be an open space!

We haven’t had an issue, but I don’t want you to drive across town to plan on working from there all day and not be able to! They do have a couple tables outside, but you’ll want to wait until Summer rolls around for that! Winans Coffee also has a drive thru that’s open until 8pm every night but Sunday.

I encourage you to grab a friend and head to Winans. In case you are wondering what to try, here are a few of our recommendations:

  • Chai Tea Latte
  • Any of the seasonal drinks (they have the descriptions listed at the shop, so take a look and pick what sounds best for your palate.. you can’t go wrong)
  • For my no cream no sugar friends, these have been my favorites (in no particular order):
    • Highlander Grogg
    • Cashew Buttercrunch
    • Smore’s
    • Caramel Cream
    • Toasted Almond

I have not made it through all the flavors I want to try yet, but those are just the top ones to get you started! You can always reach out to us to see what new flavors we have explored! Oh yeah, and make sure you grab a chocolate too!

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