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Local Food Journey

The Great Coffee Adventure: Global Libations in Kutztown

Posted by Naomi Elle Schwartz on 06/26 at 07:57 PM

Global Libations. Photo Credit Naomi Elle.

Our next stop on The Great Coffee Adventure took us all the way to Kutztown. Kutztown is a fascinating mix of old-school architecture and new-world culture. While the town is quite interesting, our focus was Global Libations.

There were several bikes parked just outside the front door. Evidently, this is a frequent stop of biking townspeople. It makes sense to me. Bike a few miles, burn some calories, stop to fill up that food/drink tank of your stomach, then bike away again. Everyone’s happy!

Global Libations. Photo Credit Naomi Elle.

Two words come to mind when I think of Global Libations: Warm and Busy. Warm, welcoming, with rust-colored walls and black accents. Busy, full of things and people and bins of coffee and food overflowing from the counters and art covering the walls. Colors everywhere. Little children’s toys in a special place to the side. Overstuffed chairs. Tables. Clocks. Paintings. Pictures. So much to look at and consider and observe. I loved the fullness of this place.

I found the largest clock I’ve ever seen in a coffee shop. Who knew that a clock could be art? This place was more spacious inside than it appeared at first glance. It was cozy enough to overhear your neighbor’s conversations (but that’s pretty much every coffee shop), but big enough that you’re not tripping over everyone else’s toes.

Global Libations. Photo Credit Naomi Elle.

One very important fact about Global Libations: They roast their own beans. Some coffee shops do this; some don’t. I consider it a great challenge for a local coffee shop to roast their own beans and roast them well (well = not burnt). They did it right. The aroma of coffee beans was fantastic. If I was about two inches tall, I would swim in the buckets of coffee beans. Just because they smell that good.

Global Libations’ Columbian coffee is organic, dark, and very aromatic. I tried to drink in the scent, because it was amazing. Their espresso was a nice, balanced taste, with overtones of cocoa from start to finish. For our dessert-type drink, we took the road less traveled and went with a Hazelnut Latte. High-quality syrup made a very enjoyable drink.

Global Libations. Photo Credit Naomi Elle.

Global Libations comes out strong in the food department. There were many varieties of breakfast foods, and the quiche is a notably great seller (always a good sign!). We chose to try a French Toast bagel spread with cream cheese. Because it sounded interesting. And it was delightful! Chewy on the inside, covered with cinnamon-sugar crunch on the outside. With the dairy decadence of cream cheese. If you can believe it, I am actually salivating at the memory of this bagel. A definite WIN-WIN.

We took another look around before we left, and agreed: Global Libations has succeeded in being a little bit different. A little earthy and organic and radical. Your visit will be worthwhile.

21 East Main Street • Kutztown, PA • 484-646-9683

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