The Great Coffee Adventure: Just a wedding photographer + her coffee-enthusiast husband on an adventure through Pennsylvania; discovering, photographing and otherwise enjoying the unique, independently-owned coffeeshops and cafes of our great state. Coffee makes us happy.
Throughout The Great Coffee Adventure, we’ve made a point to travel to coffee shops wherever we are going. While on a road-trip to Bruce & Mandi’s fantastic Berkleigh Golf Club wedding, we took a morning coffee break and visited Global Libations in Kutztown. Yes, we were in professional wedding-photography finery, and yes, that looked a little funny, but hey, we do what we can.
Kutztown is a fascinating mix of old-school architecture and new-world culture. See this hotel (restaurant?) as exhibit A.
However, our focus is this coffee-shop. Note the bikes parked just outside the front door. Evidently, this is a frequent stop of biking townspeople. It makes sense to me. Bike a few miles, burn some calories and then stop to fill up that food/drink tank of your stomach again. Bike away. Everyone’s happy!
Welcome to Global Libations.
Two words: Warm and Busy. Warm, welcoming, with rust-colored walls and black accents. Busy = full of things and people and bins of coffee and food overflowing from the counters and art covering the walls. Colors everywhere. Little children’s toys in a special place to the side. Overstuffed chairs. Tables. Clocks. Paintings. Pictures. So much to look at and consider and observe. I loved the fullness of this place.
This artwork evokes immediate emotion and fully illustrates the overall artistic, earthy, organic vibe of Global Libations.
The largest clock I’ve ever seen in a coffee-shop. Who knew that a clock could be art?
This place was more spacious inside than it appeared at first glance. It was cozy enough to overhear your neighbor’s conversations (but that’s pretty much every coffee-shop), but big enough that you’re not tripping over everyone else’s toes.
Oh my, these chairs… I liked them.
That is a water feature. On the wall. Pretty background noise.
One very-important fact about Global Libations: They roast their own beans. Some coffee shops do this; some don’t. I consider it a great challenge for a local coffee-shop to roast their own beans and roast them well (well = not burnt). They did it right. The aroma of coffee beans was fantastic. If I was about two inches tall, I would swim in the buckets of coffee beans. Just because they smell that good.
Brandon will share some coffee review with you!
Coffee. I decided to get the organic dark Columbian, which had one of the best aromas I’ve aromafied in a long time. I usually start any cup of coffee by cupping it, which has probably conjured up an image similar to what happened. I put my left hand almost completely over the cup and breathe deep. I’m gonna risk sounding like the new guy at this and tell you that the organic dark Columbian smelled like coffee. Yep. I’m a genius. Specifically, think of that very, very nice scent that pours out of the coffee aisle at your local grocery store—you know, from the bins where you can buy their (usually overpriced) coffee? You know how wonderful that smells? You ever wonder why your coffee doesn’t quite smell like that after you brew it? Because you didn’t brew the organic dark Columbian at Global Libations, that’s why. Who’s the new guy now? 
Following the aroma is a very neutral flavor (not too acidic, not too dark, but not lame either) that went well with cream and sugar, although I think with this one I would prefer it straight black.
Espresso. GL’s espresso was very balanced. It seemed like most (if not all) of the blend was South American. A lot of African or Asian espresso comes at you intense, but GL’s was just a nice, balanced taste, with overtones of cocoa from start to finish.
Find them on Facebook and Twitter!
~Naomi Elle
[...] Place to Close Your Eyes (and Smell the Coffee) – Global Libations in Kutztown, PA. They roast their own coffee beans. The air is filled with the most comforting [...]