Simple, friendly, and refreshing would be the perfect description of my experience at Custom Cup. Custom Cup is a two-part business that consists of a café and roastery. It is owned and run by Brent and Kendra Boesdorfer, who are both extremely passionate about coffee. They take pride in knowing where their coffee beans come from and being able to freshly roast them every morning.

According to Kendra, Custom Cup was originally started because the Boesdorfers were unable to find a place in town that met their needs. They were in search for a place that had freshly roasted coffee, but only found places that had imported. Kendra also mentioned the importance of knowing where her food comes from.

For this reason, Custom Cup only buys from small farms that provide quality, single-origin coffee. This allows for the coffee to be traced back to where it came from, which is important to the couple. All their coffee comes from superior growing regions and the choices vary over time. Their coffee selections change as the availability of certain beans change.

They sell coffee beans in small batches. Their beans are roasted according to your preferences. According to their website, they offer suggestions on the best roast for each bean, but it is truly the customer’s choice. There are three levels of roast offered; light, medium, and dark.

The light roast allows for the coffee to be at its most distinct and have its highest caffeine content. The medium roast is described be dry, medium brown in color and to present a full flavor without being masked by the roast. Lastly, the dark roast is less dry with a dark brown color. The flavors of the dark roast tone down some of the characteristics of the bean, but it does bring out a sweetness that is great for expresso.

At the Brew Bar inside Custom Cup, they have pot, drip, pour over, and cold brew coffee. On their website, pour over is described as a bright and clean brew, drip is brewed for efficiency but maintains coffee quality, and cold brew is slow, overnight brewed cold coffee over ice. They also offer pastries from local bakery Incredibly Delicious.

During my visit, I enjoyed the cold brew with a pumpkin spiced scone for $7. I was served by Kendra, one of the nicest people I have ever met. She spent time showing me around, explaining her business in great detail, and informing me of their products. Aside from great customer service, their products are truly phenomenal.

The cold brew was delicious. It was incredibly smooth, non-acidic, and the flavors were perfectly balanced. Cold brew is coffee that is brewed overnight, with cold water then served with ice. It was refreshing and completely different from the common iced coffee.

Cold brew contains more caffeine and does not become extremely watered down when the ice melts. Also, the cold brew is not loaded with a ton of sweeteners. I had the coffee black because the flavor was absolutely delicious by itself. Similar to the cold brew, the café does not offer sugar-loaded drinks. It is purely about the flavor of the bean and the method used to brew that coffee. To find a place that is truly about the flavor of coffee and its origin is refreshing.

Along with the cold brew, I enjoyed a pumpkin spiced scone. The sweetness of the scone was perfectly balanced and the flavors of each ingredient came together nicely. The scone itself was not very sweet, but it was pumpkin flavored. The frosting, however, was sugary and crafted to perfection. There was a white icing, probably vanilla flavored, and a pumpkin spiced frosting. Together, they sweetened and flavored the pastry perfectly. It was also not too dry or dense, which is usually a problem that I have with scones.

Though I took my scone to-go, they do offer both indoor and outdoor seating. The environment is simple, yet comfortable. The décor is very minimal and clean.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Custom Cup. The customer service was great, as well as the coffee. Although Kendra knew I was reviewing the place, I did not receive preferential treatment from her regular customers. She treated everyone nicely and engaged in conversation with them, and seemed to personally know everyone that walked through her door that morning, which is something I absolutely adore about small cafes. I will definitely be visiting again. They are located at 321 E. Monroe St. and are open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.– 1 p.m.