Tierra Coffee Roasters

When you first walk in you might feel immediate dread at the pretentious inferior and staff who you can’t read right off the bat. You’re almost afraid to order because you know it will be the wrong thing no matter what. But the staff was actually really cool, super fast, and very helpful. The coffee here is very good. If they’re roasting their own beans (which I’m assuming they are because it’s a roasting company), they’re doing an incredible job. Different roasts available daily. The lattes are also good. They sell alcohol too, which is neat.
The entire place smelled very strongly of bacon when I walked in. It was overwhelming, actually. Not that bacon isn’t a good smell, but I carried it with me in my hair and on my clothes for four hours until I was able to shower. This drove me a bit crazy. However, judging by the amount of bacon they were making, I have a feeling the food items are probably bomb! Get them!

I’ve been here twice now and I really enjoy coming here! It’s a funky little coffee shop with a breakfast and sandwich menu. They also serve beer and wine. The first time I was here the BF and I were just killing time before seeing a movie at the Madison Theater. We had more fun drinking beer and hanging out with the bartender than we did at the movies! We recently came here Saturday for a quick lunch after some exploring in VT. I had a grilled cheese with pepperjack on gluten free bread. It was paired with dirty potato chips and a gluten free oatmeal stout. My sandwich was cheesy and delicious. The BF had a turkey panini and it was made with real turkey, not deli meat. He’s hard to please when it comes to food and he thought it was fantastic. It was happy hour and beers were only $ 3. We ended up drinking a few beers and people watching at the front window. Yes the chairs and stools are wobbly, but the staff is funny and polite. Add in good sandwiches and reasonable priced beer and you’ve got yourself a winning lunch spot!

Funky is a good description. The price of a cup of very good coffee was under $ 2, which is fair. You share a table with others unless you like stools. I had two complaints. First, no NY Times for sale. I like to read the paper with my coffee. Second, raucous, loud music. So excellent coffee but not my scene.

funky café. decent coffee. friendly people. nice neighborhood. fair amount of on street parking. worth checking out if you need some caffeine. had a fair amount of vegan and gluten free baked goods!

Organic coffee and gmo free milk. This place has a good vibe. The chairs and tables are not too comfy but the food is good with vegan choices.

Nice spot to meet up with a friend for lunch or tea. They have live music and a pretty friendly atmosphere.

First Friday brought me in for our first visit. Very cool atmosphere and the service is on point. The wife and I had a red wine. The manager was very attentive and made sure we were completely taken care of

Love this place. Fits right in with the college atmosphere, and is a great place to come get a bite to eat and do some work. Very relaxing vibes and awesome staff! Will be back.

Woman decided it was lie to the customer day. I received yesterdays bagels and paid for 2 eggs which my sandwich came with 1 paltry sized egg for $ 5. If you care, care. If you don’t, work retail.
The word organic blistering among the product signs should be put forth with relation to the customer experience.

The location and interior are super nice here, but that’s really the biggest reason to go. Nice that it’s not crowded like a Starbucks, and they have a ton of gluten free options, but the food isn’t really something to write home about. I will say this, the chai latte is delicious. And they do have live music play sometimes, so it’s nice if you want to hear local bands.

Not great! Horrible service and kind of dirty. Not the place to drop $ 5 on coffee. Trust-​fund babies pretending to be hipsters and retirees with 401k’s pretending to be hippies.
Awful death metal music in the background.

It was alright, very hipsteresue. Ive gone on a couple of first dates there and I realized quickly don’t go out with girls on tinder who want to meet up here. The coffee was solid and the bathrooms were clean. Movie Theatre right next door which is cool

Casual atmosphere, good menu and an excellent drink selection, Café Tierra is an excellent place to whittle away an evening.
The turkey sandwich I ordered was great and the freshly brewed, iced Earl Gray tea was fantastic. More places should have that option!
Free wifi makes it a good place to read — you certainly don’t feel rushed.

Tierra Coffee Roasters will sell you the best brewed coffee in the area. I’m not exaggerating here: their light-​roast brews are superior to anything I’ve had in the area over the last few years. Daily Grind, Prof. Java’s, Uncommon Grounds, etc have nothing on this place’s coffee.
However outstanding the coffee is, I feel there are three areas that the proprietors could work to improve.
The service is earnest, hardworking, but often times inadequate. I recently stopped by on a weekday morning for a fix, and one luckless young woman was by herself, tending to the needs of a lengthening line of people ordering drip coffee, barista drinks, breakfast sandwiches, and whole bean coffee. As she was hopelessly overwhelmed, a quick stop for to-​go coffee took about 20 minutes. This is a recent example of a common situation there; even when there are 3 folks working there, the workflow behind the counter seems ad-​hoc, and could benefit from some investment in both hardware (proper food prep areas and permanent fixtures, rather than a portable griddle, eg), ergonomics (why is the griddle surface at chest level?), and all the other things that can affect speed-​of service and the perception of sanitation.
Another routine annoyance to this place is the panhandlers that have taken up positions in the area; one older gentleman is stationed just to the right of the coffee shop almost every day. I’m not sure if this is anything Tierra really has direct control over, but it’s not something that’s typical for this part of Albany, and it contributes to the perception of the businesses in the area.
Finally, and this is a concern only for those who might choose to enjoy their coffee on site, some of the chairs and tables are clearly no longer in good repair. Chairs can be wobbly and even unsteady, suggesting that some routine maintenance or investment in commercial-​grade furniture would be a good choice, lest a collapse or injury happens.

Tierra Coffee Roasters is a vast improvement on the grungy Muddy Cup that was in the same spot a few years back. Tierra is super cute and had a quiet, laid back vibe. The place was peppered with small groups chatting and people on laptops when we came in around 3pm last Friday.
The group I came in with planned to come in for coffee and some egg sandwiches we heard were very good. We got bacon egg and cheeses which were off the chain. I opted for gluten-​free bread which was surprisingly nice (it tasted like actual bread, which unfortunately isn’t always the case with the gluten-​free stuff).
They also had two beers on tap– which the lovely girl behind the counter let us sample. My boyfriend wound up getting the blonde ale (which was delicious and I unfortunately didn’t catch the name of) and I got the Ninepin cider (also delicious; very champagne-​y).
An all around wonderful experience! If I’m ever in Albany again, I’ll be sure to return.

Their breakfast is pretty good. Plenty egg choices. There are seat on the sidewalk too.

I wanted to go to Café Madison for brunch but the line was overwhelming so Husband and I stopped here to grab some breakfast. We each got an egg and cheese on a bagel, mine with bacon, his with ham and I got a cup of coffee. The line was a little slow, not because of the help but because of the people in line ahead of us who were too busy yammering to figure out what they wanted to order. I mean, come on, it’s not like there’s an extensive menu! The total was under $ 12 and the food was pretty good for an egg sandwich. I don’t live close by but if I’m ever wanting to grab a breakfast in the neighbourhood this is where I’d go.

I love this place. For the past 3 years I have lived in Albany, it has been my go-​to location for good coffee (and beer!) and working/​meeting with people/​reading. It has a very calm, quiet atmosphere that is great for doing work (schoolwork, writing, research) or just chatting and catching up with friends. There have been days that i’ve camped out here for hours.
The staff has always been very nice and friendly. Plus they have a sidewalk patio which is lovely in the summer and great if you have a dog.
Also, now the Madison Theater next door has been revamped and is showing classic movies, so you can meet up with friends for a beer/​coffee at Tierra before or after your movie!

I love Tierra Coffee Roasters. The café has great coffee, a nice atmosphere. I just enjoy it. We love the farm store as well. We pretty much only drink their coffee at home and we love visiting the café to meet friends for a chat. The staff isn’t consistently friendly otherwise I would have given 5 stars. There is one gentleman who is never friendly to guests but everyone else is friendly enough.
The nut butters are awesome. go to the farm store and try the cashew butter. Or sample a 15 hour cold brew coffee.
At the café I like the iced coffee. Mocha iced is especially nice AND they have happy hour where all beers are $ 3. Very surprising for a café to have beer. Just another nice touch. Vegan brownies also delicious and Im not even vegan.

Local, organic, fair-​trade, culturally sensitive, all the hip buzz words… yada yada you get the point.
Basically, a great cuppa’ joe and a decent enough bagel egg and cheese sandwich, in a hip space, and in a great location across the street from The College of Saint Rose on Madison Avenue.
A café like this is ubiquitous in most major U.S. cities. Sadly, there aren’t enough of these places around the Capital Region.
Also, you can buy good Vermont beer here and walk over next door for Kung-​Fu Night at Madison Theater to see Jackie Chan’s «Drunken Master» and the 80’s cult camp classic «The Last Dragon».
And like Christian Slater in «True Romance», I am totally down with that.