Ruta Maya Coffee Company

This location is now closed. I miss you so much Ruta Maya.
Electro-​Mondays! There was nothing like it… local DJ’s … sigh

Ruta Maya OK coffee falls into the «where the heck did this come from» category, quite common to the city of Austin. A bit down from the South Congress trailers, this enormous coffee establishment offers everything from Saturday morning yoga classes to dance session alongside a pretty neat coffee program.
Additionally, the whole philanthropic movement bleeds through the DNA of RM. They partner with small coffee producers in the large geographical region below Mexico. As a whole, the beans are better than most indie roasters, though the roasts err a bit on the bitter end of the spectrum. In contrast to typical medicinal truths, «bitter is not better – in this case.»
The establishment as a whole provides caffeine junkies with a one-​stop shop for a to-​go cup of joe, ample seating for an extended period of reading and/​or studying, and a pretty quaint rendezvous point. A couple of other notable things: food, booze, and live music.

Our café, officially known as Ruta Maya International Headquarters, at 3601 South Congress Avenue in Austin, TX. Ruta Maya will be closing our PennField location on September 1 at 2 AM. We have enjoyed our stay but it is time to move on. Rest assured, we will be opening a new location in the neighborhood. :-(
The plans for the new location include a full kitchen that will feature some Mayan inspired dishes as well as vegetarian and gluten-​free options. We will also continue yoga, tai chi, kid shows, salsa, and open mic at our new location. :-(

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.
Have I had to many cups? Maybe not? Maybe yes? IDK? What time is it? I need to grind the beans. Clean the french press. OMG, I’m getting late for work. Oh wait, Ruta Maya is just downstairs.
They have a bar too. Its closed in the mornings though.
They have live music in the evenings. But they charge cover after 10. Booooooo!

This place is awesome. I love their coffee but I just love their family events and LIVE MUSIC. It has a very laid back vibe for a spacious lounge area, i wish they had more squishy chairs to sit in. There’s also a cigar shop within the building which I haven’t really tried except for one cigar. (I’m not a cigar girl I found out).
I giggle whenever I come here because it’s right across from Expose Gentleman’s Club (I have an immature side). They have a children’s show Sundays, Dub Step Monday Nights but I’m a fan of the joint on Saturdays when they have live music. I’m sure they have other drinks but if I’m there for tunes that’s all I want, nothing else.

Great, great coffee. Yeah, the location is a little weird because it’s in this large warehouse of sorts, kinda dark, but if that’s your thing — then there you go. I actually appreciate more spacious coffeehouses and space to relax in. Good spot.

I love this place. The coffee is great and they sell beer. There also is a cigar shop on premises. It’s funky, there’s live music and the coffee is fantastic. I stick out like a sore thumb because I lack tattoos and tyedie but I just love this place and hang out whenever I’m in town.

Their open mic night is a great concept and I took my 15 year old sister to play but she never got a chance to because they obviously favor their regulars over the newbies and after awhile we got tired of their bs and just left.
First off, I have to say that the sound guy is a complete jerk who is on a major power trip because he’s holding the stupid clipboard that determines who goes up next on stage. They called this one group and one of their band members wasn’t there yet and he conveniently called them up again 30 minutes later and told the audience that he «messed up» on the order. Messed up? Yeah right. The only reason he called the girls up again is because he’s probably hoping to get a chance to sleep with one of them. Disgusting prick.
When I went up to ask him what the order was since we obviously have never been there before he was such a complete a-​hole and jerk who thinks he’s too good for everyone. Well guess what? You’re just a sound guy at a failing coffee shop and you suck at what you do! My little sister and her boyfriend were laughing at how horrible you are and I hope this coffee shop closes down soon which it probably will if you continue to treat new customers like crap.
F*** YOU!
Sincerely,
Very Pissed Off Customer

I am torn. I really like their coffee, but the show venue, cigar chop, patio space, and coffee shop thing is a little too much even though I love all those things separately.
We tried to get coffee there the other day and the one chick working was so slow that there ended up being a line of 7 groups just wanting coffee. There were more people in line than for the mid day performers.
we waited about 15 minutes and estimated it would be another 25 – 30 for our 3 drinks, so we left. I think I will stick to summermoon.
my 2 pennies

I’ve never actually patroned this place for what I assume is it’s intended purpose: coffee.
Instead, I venture out here almost every Wednesday night for some excellent salsa dancing. The dance floor is quite large, the dancers are friendly and not uptight, and the drinks are fairly cheap when they’re on special.
They have dance lessons from 8−9pm that friends have enjoyed. Afterwards, a great live band plays from 9pm until midnight, for a cover charge of $ 7. They are fairly salsa heavy, but also throw in some good bachata, merengue and cumbia (I’d actually love it if they played more of these). My only complaint about them is that they take rather frequent breaks and leave just a soundtrack playing. In those 3 hours, I’d guess they take a break about every 30 minutes or so.
The people here take themselves less seriously than at Copa, and there are definitely dancers from all over the experience spectrum. It’s right by St. Ed’s too, so there’s a good crowd of older and younger dancers.
A great place to literally let my hair loose and unwind.

A local hamburger chain was advertising Ruta Maya coffee on a billboard on South Lamar, so I was impressed enough to try their coffee. It was the worst tasting coffee that I had ever tasted. I went to the Ruta Maya website, and I see a Mexican farmer pouring green-​red coffee cherries into a pulping hopper. That is the problem. When you mix green fruit with ripe cherries, your coffee is bitter and acidic. The Texas gods did not teach the Mexican natives how to help produce a great cup of coffee.
Ruta Maya is not listed as a Fair Trade Importer of coffee. They are certified by the state of Texas as organic handlers of coffee beans – which does not certify that the beans are in fact organic. It just means that they did not spray any pesticides on the coffee beans to kill the bugs inside. They say on their website that that their beans are USDA certified organic, but they are not listed in the USDA website as being certified by this certification agency.
Bad dog!
Bad Coffee!

My friends went to Habana House, which is connected to Ruta Maya. I didn’t spend too much time in there and while my friends were still deciding what stogies they were going to get I ventured out to see what Ruta Maya was about. I got an iced coffee, which I actually liked a lot. It wasn’t doused in sugar and the coffee was pretty strong. I didn’t have a problem with service like how some other people have and the girl behind the counter was quite helpful in helping me with my order. Granted, there wasn’t an event going on and I was the only one ordering at the time. With an event at this place I could see how that could affect the service.
This place is very dog friendly and they have a pretty large patio. This place will be great when the weather is a bit cooler. Darn this triple digit heat!

Ruta Maya holds a special place in my heart b/​c this was the venue where I first discovered Grupo Fantasma, Maneja Beto, Cienfuegos, and many other bands. Plus, I heart the hippies. ;)

Never had their coffee, but they open a mean bottle of lonestar. I’ve been for quite a few shows which carry with a distinct crowd of folks. It’s usually packed when a good band plays there so the upstairs/​outdoor areas come in handy when you don’t feel like being shoulder to shoulder with a smelly wookie.
I don’t remember the staff being particularly bitchy. Of course I don’t remember them being incredibly friendly either. Of course if I had to deal with impatient people all day for coffeehouse tips I’d be pretty pissed too.
Maybe I should venture back in the daylight?

i’m not a fan and haven’t been one for quite awhile. I think their coffee isn’t delicious and yet people buy it in hoards.
The venue, I do like and that they do community activities. It’s sort of out of the way for a coffeeshop. This is a haven for little kids and parents.
People mention it and I turn it down automatically.

Grungy, rude manager, awful coffee.
I mean really awful coffee.
So many nice little coffee places in Austin, don’t go to this one!

If you are allergic to patchouli, steer clear of this place.
I’m not a coffee drinker, don’t have kids, and I can’t do yoga. But I do love live music and this place has some pretty cool acts every now and again if you are into jam-​bands or reggae.
This is a beer and wine establishment and they have a pretty good selection of local, domestic and micro-​brewed beers. They cost anywhere from 3.00– 5.00 and they are always nice and cold. Beware that on a busy night, they often run out of what you are drinking. (Note to self: Do not drink 29 beers here).
The crowd is always pretty much the same every time I have been here. It doesn’t change with the music. A lot of wooks outside the back door looking to sneak in for free and avoid cover charge. A lot of people out front asking for a spare cigarette and sometimes even a schwill off of your beer. This really turns me off, so I tend to remain inside for the duration.
The sound system is pretty good, the light set up is pretty good and it’s a pretty good A/​V experience if the right guy is running the lights. I’m pretty sure that the bands have to have someone with them to do this as I have never seen the same person running sound.
The staff is iffy at best. They get overwhelmed easily and don’t seem very appreciative of the dollar fifty tip for twisting the cap off of a beer. It seriously seems like they are pissed at me for ordering and them giving them basically free money.
I’ll keep going because I like to support my friends’ bands and this is where they play a lot of times. I also like the fact that you can smoke inside most of the time with no hassle and have the possibility to run into some other types of smoke if you keep your nose open. :)

I am lucky enough to get to drink Ruta Maya coffee everyday, since they stock it in our breakrooms at work. Yum!
Went here recently for some live music. The sound and lighting here are great, of course. I mean, it is a coffeeshop, so naturally, the sound and lighting would be better than a lot of places that actually bill themselves as music venues in this town. Keep an eye on the event calendar since sometimes, they have cool music events here.
I like the selection of beers that they have on tap, again, better than you’d find at some bars in town. They have bottled and canned beers as well, and some house wines. A minor gripe, my «pint» was not actually a pint. I know this because I poured a Lone Star Tall Boy in my pint glass, and at least an ounce or two was still in my can. Maybe it’s a metric pint? Maybe they were just selling me a «glass» of beer and not a pint? Anyway, a small transgression and probably universal.
Coffee is some of the best in town. I do like to get specialty espresso drinks here, but be warned, they seem to steam their milk up to the 160 degree range. I prefer to keep the skin on my tongue, so I have to remember to tell the baristas «not too hot». Food offerings are good.

I had a hard time finding the place– because I didn’t check Unilocal first. D’oh! I had to call the place to get the address again, because on GMaps I got 200 Congress, and was lost. It’s buried inside the huge Alpine Center and is a little bit challenging to find.
I scheduled a business meeting here, thinking it would be an alternative to Starbucks, and I’d be supporting some local businesses. Little did I know it would be incredibly loud inside and people would be salsa dancing. The service was slow, but the coffee was good and cheap. They have free yoga occasionally, and salsa and sewing classes, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I probably won’t be back, but it’s definitely got the hipster Austin-​y vibe going on.

Ruta Maya was a below-​average coffeeshop experience for me. However, if I don’t consider it as a coffeeshop, it was a fun, multi-​use place.
They sell a lot of typical local Austin food like Green Cart sandwiches/​wraps, Buddha’s Brew kombucha tea, etc… I believe they also sell beer. One unique thing they sell is pita chips with hummus. I haven’t seen a coffeeshop in Austin selling that.
There are a nice variety of places to sit: the outdoor patio which surrounds much of the coffeeshop, the second floor that opens to the first floor, the first floor tables around the stage, and the kiddie area. There were a lot of hippies of various ages hanging out in the patio.
The second floor area had one free outlet that I saw. If you bring a book to read here at night, only the three lit tables on the second floor are bright enough to read under. On the second floor are also a few bookshelves with old books, six or seven really old and beaten-​up looking tables, uncomfortable-​looking chairs, and electrical cables leading to the ceiling and stage.
I went on a Saturday night and there was a band playing on the stage. There were also multi-​colored lights shining around the ceiling. The band was really a band in the traditional sense with drums and various other instruments. It was really loud. I didn’t bring earplugs with me so I had to leave. I really can’t see students coming to Ruta Maya to study. When the band wasn’t playing, they played good background rock music.
One factor contributing to my rather poor experience here was the difficulty in finding Ruta Maya. It’s not visible from the street if you’re driving down Congress Ave. It’s located in an industrial office park called «Penn Field» which occupies the roughly-​square block enclosed by Congress Avenue, Alpine, Woodward, and Willow Springs Rd.
The fastest way to get to Ruta Maya is by driving onto Alpine from Congress and turning left into the shopping center. Ruta Maya is the first store you’ll see.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SALSA!
Now that I’ve composed myself: head over around 10:00 for the awesome salsa band that takes request for salsa classics. $ 5 to get in. They also have a lesson at 8:00, I think, for anyone who wants to learn. And they don’t just play salsa: merengue and a little cha cha come on now and then, too. Soon as I get my new feet in the mail I will be back, drinking some (pretty good) sangria and scarfing down an empanada for dance energy.
Funky people outside, for sure, but a fun place all the same.