Aroma's Coffee House (82nd & Slide) Avg. 4

Drink ordered:

Traditional Cappuccino
Loose Leaf Tea

The atmosphere of Aroma's is drastically improved from what it once was. No longer does it feel like a crowded study lounge, it is more spread out with an added leather couch and a bench made from an old church pew.

Their selection of loose leaf tea is in plain sight and is served in single serve French Presses.

Unfortunately, the lack of natural teas in favor of a mass of flavored tea varieties leaves much to be desired for the tea purist. Still. Loose leafe tea served in french presses is a huge step up in the tea market for Lubbock.

The coffee is from Panache Coffee of Portland, OR. The coffee appears to be roasted far too dark for flavor of origin to be a determining factor in the espresso blend. The beans were almost black, and were entirely coated in oil. To some, the ideal espresso blend.. for professionals, a bad sign.

The grinder's doser was completely full, and the person behind the counter (I'll not insult the title of Barista in this case) failed to perform and adequate tamp.

Traditional Cappuccino

The cappuccino was served in a traditional brown and white Italian-made ACF cup and saucer. Very cool. I wish more cafes in Lubbock gave a nod to the Italian tradition.

Upon first glance, the liquid was too dark with no sign of crema, and the foam was comprised of gigantic bubbles. Anyone who knows good coffee knows that big bubbles in foam is a sure sign of ignorance, apathy, or both of quality coffee.

Upon first taste, the espresso is thin, bitter, and some of the worst I've had in Lubbock. The milk was thin, with all foam being wasted as larger, flavorless bubbles which were, without my consent, dusted with ground cinnamon powder.

Sugar could not save this drink. The combination was so bad, it was beyond repair.

Grind per shot: no
Tamped: no
Shot time: NA
Milk froth: terrible

The only point given is for the nod to the Italian culture which gave us the beverage made from the very essence of coffee we know as espresso.

1 out of 10

Loose Leaf Tea

The tea is not served with timers for steep time, and the customer is left to guess when to press the tea leaves.

Using the stopwatch equiped with my mobile phone, I timed 4 minutes of steep time, which was a bit too long. I would not time past 3 minutes.

The tea, while loose-leaf and better than tea-bags, was a little on the stale side. Still, though, it's a better experience than other places I have visited.

pre-heated ACF latte (or cappuccino, depending on what is available) cups are handed out with the french presses.

Overall, the tea is good. Not great, but definitely good.

The lack of steep timers is an issue, as is the cleanliness of the french presses and lack of freshness of the tea leaves due, in part, to the storage method.

for Tea, Aroma's Coffee House (perhaps a change of name is in order) scores

7 out of 10

Directory List

Actively linked locations have been reviewed. Click the name of the company to see the review.


CLOSED-Aroma's Coffee House (82nd & Slide)

Arrogant Texan (University & Broadway)

Barnes & Nobel (TTU campus)

Barnes & Nobel (Slide & Loop 289)

Brother Martin's Coffee Haus (2615 19th St.)

CLOSED-Coffee Haus (14th & University)

CLOSED-Coffee haus (82nd & Frankford)

DayBreak Coffee Roasters (82nd & Quaker)

DayBreak Coffee Roasters (19th & Quaker)

CLOSED-Dot Com Coffee (82nd & I-27)

Hardback Cafe - Hastings (82nd & Slide)

J&B Coffee Co. (Boston & 26th)

CLOSED-Mangia Bevanda (Frankford & 4th)

CLOSED-MudHen Espresso (19th & Frankford)

Oo La Lattes (29th & Slide)

Peet's Coffee and Tea (Market Street, 50th & Indiana)

Peet's Coffee and Tea (United, 82nd & Frankford)

Smokin' Java

Starbucks Coffee (University)

Starbucks Coffee (Slide & 4th)

Starbucks Coffee (Quaker & 82nd) - Temporarily Closed

Starbucks Coffee (Milwaukee & 50th)

Sugar Brown's Coffee (50th, E of Slide)

Dot Com Coffee (1303 82nd) 2.5 avg.

First of all, the location is kind of awkward. It's almost to HWY 87 it's so far east. On the south side of the road, in a tiny strip-mall.

The atmosphere is absolutely fantastic. I love the setup. In my opinion as a practicing barista, the layout is just perfect. There is seating at the bar, there are booths, and there isn't a seat in the house that would feel claustrophobic in any circumstance. Very impressive.

Nuova Simonelli espresso machine. Grinder is unknown.

Whole bean coffee is kept in clear transparent bins very close to the door completely open to the elements and in broad contact with direct sunlight. Not good.

Too much emphasis on food offerings and not enough emphasis on the coffee.

Drinks ordered:

Polar Mocha
Double "tall"(12oz to-go) cappuccino

Polar Mocha:

The milk is not ice-cold, but cold enough. Hershey's chocolate is used (not so good), but it balances really nicely with the coffee and milk. Great job on the balance of flavors. Sweet, but not too sweet. Coffee flavor is quite obvious. Would recommend if the coffee involved were actually good.

4 out of 10



Double Cappuccino:

Only cups are to-go. 12oz double cappuccino was ordered.

Portafilters left in head: yes
Filterbasket rinsed and wiped clean: no
Grind per shot: no
Proper tamper(was it used?): yes(yes)
Timing: <15 seconds.. POOR

This is possibly the worst espresso experience ever had in Lubbock. Under-extracted, astringent, thin, weak, bitter, all at once. Words cannot describe how awful the espresso was. Two entire packets of sugar could not save this drink which ended up in the trash.

1 out of 10 (why 1? the milk was about average for Lubbock, but far from great)


Go for the environment and layout. Beware the espresso. The food offerings and shop atmosphere alone may be worth the trip. If great coffee is your goal.. avoid like the plague.

J&B Coffee Co.(Boston & 26th) Avg. 2.25

Drinks ordered:

"Tall" Latte
"Tall" Masked Rider

*Portafilters left in group-head: yes
*Grind per shot: no
*Distribution technique: poor
*Used tamper properly: yes
*Shot pour time: poor
*Milk frothing technique: poor

** (out of six)

The "Tall" latte was 16oz. in a to-go cup. Be careful to look before ordering. No traditional cups in sight.

The espresso was bitter and under-extracted. DayBreak's over-roasted low-quality coffee is used. The foam on the latte was minimal, but not dry. The coffee was stale.

Nuova Simonelli Mac series espresso machine. Nuova Simonelli primary grinder, Mazzer secondary (assumed to be decaf) grinder.

Drink: Latte
Technical score:2 out of 6
Overall Score: 3 out of 10

The "Masked Rider" is a frozen blended drink made with ice, icecream, coffee, and syrups.
The coffee was extremely weak. Coffee type and brew method is undetermined. Espresso is suspected.

The beverage was overly sugary resulting in a sickly feeling after consumption. The coffee in the concoction did little to offset the overly sweet flavor of the icecream. Blend consistency was good. Presentation was average.

Drink: Masked Rider
Technical score: NA
Overall Score: 1.5 out of 10


Tea:

Loose leaf tea is stocked, but freshness is unknown. Brewing process is with tea invusion bags.
No french press, no tea "infuser", no tea pot.