Java Joint

Recently I renewed my quest to discover coffee shops in the Greater Cincinnati area, visit them, and post reviews here. On a tip from my uncle, I visited a coffee shop called Java Joint in Edgewood/Crestview Hills, KY, near Thomas More College.

Normally I like to write my review of a coffee shop while I'm there or shortly thereafter, but this time it's taken me nearly three weeks. I visited in the late afternoon on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and there were very few customers the entire time I was there, which made for a peaceful setting, and made picture-taking a little less awkward. I was told that it was unusually slow that day, probably due to the holiday.

The coffee

I ordered my customary mocha, and I was told right off the bat that they make their mochas with dark chocolate, which in their opinion—and mine—gives the mocha a better taste and keeps it from being too sweet. Unfortunately, I put an Altoid in my mouth before going in, and so while it seemed to me that the mocha could have stood to be slightly sweeter after all, I had a strong suspicion that it was just the breath mint causing that effect, so I will really have to try another mocha to be sure. Oh, the sacrifices I make!

The food

It wasn't a meal time for me, so I didn't order any food to review this time. I did, however, purchase a banana, which I was thrilled to find there, as I had meant to bring one from home. Also, I stayed until nearly closing, and as I left, the lady behind the counter gave me a free chocolate chocolate chip muffin, for which I was most thankful, and which I greatly enjoyed having for dessert at home.

The place and the people

The people at Java Joint were very friendly, and seemed to know many of the customers by name. The shop itself is nice and has a friendly atmosphere, enhanced by a checkerboard table and a bookcase full of games, puzzles, and magazines. Out-of-the-way seating—my preference when I'm going to be hanging out for a while—is somewhat limited, however there is one booth near the front, a couple of armchairs near a fireplace, and a conference room in the back that I was told I could sit in if I wanted to.

My one real complaint, though not all that serious, was the music. It's impossible to please everyone when it comes to music, but what was playing at the time of my visit seemed to be sort of an 80's pop/rock mix. That isn't normally what I think of as standard fare for a coffee shop, but I suppose it depends on your customer base.

Free wi-fi Internet access is provided, but to ensure that it is being used by customers the network is secured and the password is printed on your receipt. I found that to be a clever and not-too-troublesome approach.

The conference room is really a great feature. Until recently I worked with a website team, and we would occasionally go to a coffee shop to have a meeting and/or work, and a conference room like that would have been ideal at times. I didn't get any details on group usage policies, so it would be best to call before taking a group in to use the room.

Java Joint opens quite early, but isn't a late-night coffee shop, closing in either the evening or the afternoon depending on the day of the week. You can get directions and the phone number from Google Maps. For a view more pictures that didn't make it into this post, see my album on Picasa Web.

Conclusion

I very much enjoyed my time at Java Joint. The warm atmosphere, friendly people, and good coffee put this shop on my list of favorites. The conference room gives it great potential for business uses as well. I'm looking forward to my next visit and a dark-chocolate mocha unfettered by a curiously strong breath mint.