It seems like everyone has some kind of fun treat they tend to seek out, especially while on vacation–my father-in-law can always be counted on to find the best ice cream in town, my friend Emily is a doughnut connoisseur…and Dave and I love few things more than a delightful coffee shop. Coffee dates are a sweet part of our daily lives (they’re much less intimidating than restaurants with a baby in tow!), and I tease Dave regularly about the number of coffee-making appliances he has collected (six and counting). Charleston has no shortage of adorable coffee shops, so as my last recap of our recent trip, I wanted to share the ones we visited!
Favorite overall: The Rise. Housed in the beautiful Restoration Hotel, The Rise has all of the qualities I look for in coffee shops: adorable branding, a thoughtfully designed space, a few tasty treats and snacks available, and, of course, delicious coffee. Dave had a large drip coffee and I had a vanilla almond latte with almond milk, and we were very happy with both. We also grabbed breakfast sandwiches since we were there first thing in the morning, and even though they were pre-made (as in, made maybe an hour before), they tasted very fresh and homemade–nothing like the plastic-wrapped ones at Starbucks.
Favorite drinks: Black Tap Coffee. I can’t count the number of rave reviews I’ve heard of Black Tap, especially their lavender lattes, so it was a must-visit for us! It was crowded with College of Charleston students when we stopped by, so we unfortunately didn’t hang out there for long, opting for to-go drinks to enjoy on a walk instead. Dave had cold brew (on tap–so cool!) and I had an iced lavender latte. In both cases, they were our favorite coffees of our trip.
Photos by Lindsey Harris
Favorite atmosphere: Skinny Dip Charleston. I mentioned this on Instagram, but we almost skipped Skinny Dip’s coffee/wine bar and outdoor patio because there were no elevators, and we had the stroller with us. Dave ended up asking an employee what we could do, and they kindly offered to keep the stroller by the downstairs register for us. We headed upstairs, grabbed iced coffees at the bar, and enjoyed them on the adorable outdoor patio while Charlie played on the floor with some toys we had brought along! I’ll be honest, the coffees were a little weak for our taste (I maybe should’ve opted for the frosé instead ;)), but the experience made for one of our favorite weekend memories.
I’d love to know: are there any treats you seek out on vacation, or even in your day-to-day life?
Coffee shops (or cafés as we call them in Europe) are my favorite and I have been known to plan entire weekend trips around where we need to have coffee :D Even though I am not the most adventurous coffee drinker (I like to stick to my soy/almond milk cappuccino) I love a good cup of coffee and the atmosphere at a nice coffee shop always beats a nice restaurant anytime if you ask me. Having lived in Berlin for four years, where the coffee scene is simply amazing, has turned me a bit into a coffee snob and now my friends always make me pick out the coffee shops we go to so that I don’t complain about bad coffee :D
Totally agree that the atmosphere is what makes it–even if we just get simple iced coffees, relaxing at a coffee shop (or café :)) is one of my favorite things to do with Dave and Charlie! Love that you’ve become known as the coffee connoisseur among your friends!
We always stop at at least one brewery (but it normally ends up being more) on our trips! Matt loves the craft beers and I love that it normally takes you out of the super touristy areas.
Both great things! We love going to breweries in town, but haven’t made too much of a point to do so while traveling–may need to change that! :)
I am so interested to know what Dave’s six coffee appliances are…!!
Ha! 1. Regular drip coffee maker, 2. Chemex, 3. French press, 4. Mini French press, 5. Bialetti, 6. coffee bean grinder (doesn’t technically make coffee, obviously, but I still count it toward the grand total :))
These all look great! A lavender latte sounds so tasty!
Coffee shops are my favorite destinations to try in new cities too :) We try to hit one in each new city we visit (we recently had great luck with this in both Nashville and NYC!). It is a fun treat and I love that you can experience a bit of the city’s culture without having to spend much money.