Coffee Shop Saturdays: Foxtail Coffee Co., Winter Park, FL
Orlando, FL.
The land of theme parks and Mickey Mouse. Shamu. Harry Potter World. Tourism central.
I've had to travel to Orlando at regular frequency over the past four years. Except for a couple of gatherings with Orlando clients at Epcot's Food and Wine festival, most of my time was spent far from theme parks.
I typically stay near the airport. The five-mile radius around MCO is a coffee dessert. Nothing there but mermaids.
In the opposite direction of Disney sits the quaint Orlando suburb of Winter Park, home to the original Foxtail Coffee.
I've discovered this Orlando treasure within the past six months. Foxtail has several shops around the city. The original is in beautiful Winter Garden. Earlier this year, this location added the Foxtail Farmhouse to their coffee space, making this a great location to hang out, morning or evening.
First Time Faux Pas
I was on a work trip the first time I visited Foxtail. We had some pre-event preparation work to do, and this seemed like a great spot to get some work done. My colleagues and I ordered breakfast and coffees for the job.
Here's the catch.
I ordered a round of single-origin Guatemalan pour overs. Turns out, my server was new and he failed to let me know that this particular coffee was a rare commodity. It was an $8 cup of coffee.
Here I thought it was the quiche that was expensive.
Once we figured out how to ordered, we were able to get pour overs at a bit more reasonable of a cost.
And I will say, they are delicious.
In fact, normally priced coffee is actually better the pricey rare one.
A place to refresh - and get some work done.
During my last trip to Orlando, I spent a good bit of time at Foxtail. With two different meetings, plus some additional personal work time. The environment is comfortable and vibe-y. I've tried several different pour overs, an Americano, and their cold brew - and all were excellent.
Should you stay long enough that there's a need for calories, the "Farmhouse" side has a selection of paninis and pastries well worth their weight in calories. I particularly liked the veggie panini. And don't leave home without a cinnamon bun. Everything is fresh, homemade, and farm-to-table good.
A word about cold brew.
Cold brew is all the rage in coffee right now. I have to say - a lot of it is not good. I'm picky about my iced coffee. Much of the iced coffee I've tried (no matter how it's brewed) has a wonky taste with cupping notes ranging from dirty dishwater to show polish. Many places add a nitro tap, thinking that will improve the flavor. For me, it doesn't. It's usually bad coffee with a head. Great iced coffee is rare.
I prefer the Asian method of brewing iced coffee. A strong coffee brewed directly onto ice and immediately placed into the fridge. It's rare to find shops who do it this way.
Foxtail's cold brew made the cut for me.
I enjoyed a smooth cold brew that didn't need extra cream or sweetener to hide the flavor. It was a refreshing glass of iced coffee on a warm Florida afternoon.
I'm a fan of Foxtail. If you're in Orlando, check out one of their soon-to-be four locations! My bias is Winter Park.