Elements

Fun, eclectic bookstore /​café /​coffee shop in Biddeford, Maine.
The walls are full of books and there are nice tables and comfy chairs to sit and sip your coffee. Lots of caffeinated selections to choose from and the dark roast was quite good on my visit… I even got a refill to go!
There is free WiFi for patrons and this seems like it would be a great place to sit and work on those days that you’re not tied to the office.
I’ll be working in Biddeford quite a bit this summer on a contract and I’ll be sure to make this a regular stop!

This is an eclectic and comfortable place to be. They have books you can buy. or read with your coffee. The books are priced reasonably and i have bought several. The selection is outstanding as well. I recommend the new Oliver Sacks books they just put out. The food is small tapas type plates, but excellent. It is a perfect place for a quiet coffee or an intimate meeting. Highly recommend you stop in.

This place is terrific. One of the few remaining book storesin the Biddeford area that I still visit. The coffee is good and so is the ambiance. Great place to meet new and old people.

Overpriced and a little pretentious. The latte I got came out to $ 5 and was the size of a Dunkin Donuts small coffee basically. The bagel I paid $ 3.00 for didn’t even come with cream cheese (they charge .75)…when I was waiting for my latte, the short haired brunette girl at the register was asked by a new customer what sort of drink flavors they had and she condescendingly answered the asking customer «flavors are on the board» like answering was some sort of task and just waited for the customer to find said flavor board behind them. I found that to be pretty rude. The tall skinny guy with glasses is also stand offish.

Great coffee and tea selection with prompt friendly service. Our favorite snack is a toasted bagle tooped with cream cheese and mango pepper jam. So good! Many nights you can enjoy good live music with a local brew. There is always a plethora of new and old books cycling through as well. Great atmosphere.

Biddeford has several Dunkin’ Donuts, one Starbucks and a Tim Hortons out by the strip malls, and otherwise bad coffee at practically every little gas station. What’s a coffee lover to do? Well, that is why Elements, the only real café in the whole freakin’ metropolis, is so unbelievably important for both the culinary scene in Biddo as well as the «renaissance» that people have been crowing about for many years, but which still stands on shaky legs. Mix Yordprom, Tandem, & Hilltop in a bean roaster, grind em up good, and shake out a healthy portion in a huge empty space in industrial downtown Main Street. Stock with lots of books, excellent coffees, multiple, changing yummy draft beers, simple, moderately-​priced, locally-​sourced tapas, add interesting clientele, including the slowly-​mounting tide of hipsters who are discovering Biddefud as the next new thang, stressed-​out UNE med students, and lots of local community, et voilà you have Elements.
I have sealed so many deals here with clients who look around and change their mind about the «ghetto» that is Biddo. For that alone, the place gets five stars, quid pro quo, but even without any skin in the game this place gets four thumbs up for its relaxed, courteous, and most definitely not attitude-​filled service and atmosphere, the almost monkish aspect of a bookstore café, conducive to learning, surfing, chilling, and sweet-​talking clients. The beer selection is great, the wine so-​so, the coffee wonderful, and the food is OK too! What more do you want? Is it worth a trip down from Portland, well of course not, but for those of us who ply their trade to the south, Elements stands out as a beacon of culture and hope for the future.

Elements. Nice coffee house. Friendly, warm atmosphere. Great coffee and soup. Free WiFi. Lots of in-​floor plugs but my Mac charger would not fit into them so I couldn’t access power. Smaller plugs would work fine I’m sure. I had to leave to find power for my Mac to continue work. :/

A jewel for Main St, Biddeford. The other reviews say it all. Great atmosphere, unique vibe. Great people. Delicious coffee and outstanding local beers. A perfect working or relaxing environment.

Decent ambiance, creative décor and OK service; they have a good selection of teas and the taste is fresh and fairly refreshing. Good place to stop by on the way to Old Orchard beach.

I absolutely love this spot. Their ginger orange iced tea and jasmine iced tea is delicious and their wifi is extremely fast.
I’ve been spending most days here to get work done. It’s the perfect place to stay focused and fire off any emails to a co-​worker, write the next chapter to your mystery novel, relax with a good book and coffee or tea, catch up with an old friend, or just enjoy the music.
The people who work here are extremely friendly and soft spoken as are the folks who come in as paying customers.
Beyond impressed with this gem in Biddeford. This city needed something like this!

Dropped in this afternoon for a tea and to relax. Great atmosphere, awesome tea, friendly staff.

When my friend suggested to me the other night that we go out for a latte in Biddeford, I am ashamed to admit that my first reaction was not positive. She assured me that this place was the real deal. I take my lattes very seriously and will admit that I can sometimes border on being a latte snob.
I am sooooo glad that I took a chance on Elements! It really shocked me how urban and warm and inviting a place it was. It had a really cool industrial vibe to it. I loved how the smell of books and coffee welcomed us as soon as we entered the door. We were also pleasantly surprised to hear live music being performed. I got a delicious biscotti and a hazelnut latte. I wouldn’t say it was the best latte that I’ve had, it was a little on the bitter side… But this place was so wonderfully surprising that I’ll be going back again for sure. There is a lot more to see and try.

Elements is a unique café with lots of creativity. If you think about the periodic table, then the name of the café makes more sense! Aside from having a cup of coffee (Co), beer (Be) is served, there are books (Bk) to read, live music (Ms), trivia (Tr) every Tuesdays at 7 pm and great seating arrangements. If you’re not a beer drinker or coffee drinker, wine and assorted teas are offered too!
Aside from drinks and books, food is on the menu, huzzah! If you’re gluten free, they have snacks when they are available. Bagels, muffins, cookies, scones and biscotti are served daily. Kamasouptra soups are sold seasonally… wish it wasn’t because those soups are so savory! Tapas plates are popular on the menu. The cheese plate (not the small one) is big enough for two. My boyfriend and I were so full after sharing it! Brie, blue cheese, goat cheese, and cheddar are neatly displayed with ample crackers and grapes. I can’t wait to try the hummus and charcuterie plates!
I love unwinding here after a hard day’s work and coming on the weekends to have a chill day! I’ve been trying to find a zen café that I click with and Elements has stolen my heart. The staff take pride in the place and are great to talk to when you sit at the bar area. Fridays and weekends tend to get crowded because the live music is really worth listening and jamming out too!

Simply wonderful! Great service, great books, good atmosphere, good wine & beer… What could be better?

The concept of Elements is absolutely fabulous. The book (Bk) store-​meets coffee (Co) and art (A) house-​meets beer (Be) and bar-​meets live poetry (Po), music (Ms), and Events (Ev) venue is executed effortlessly it seems. I had no idea how a place trying to do so much could do it so well, but they just do.
If you’ve never been, imagine a book store. Now put a horseshoe-​shaped bar in the center of it where you can order specialty coffee drinks, or local brews, or glasses of wine. Now throw a college-​esque feeling study space with tables and couches in it. And finish it off with floor to ceiling windows that make a perfect backdrop to performers of all kinds, and you’ve got Elements. If this was located closer to me, I would absolutely be a regular. I could see this being a perfect place for first dates since there’s a little bit of everything for everyone. I could see this being a perfect meeting space, too. Or first stop with friends for drinks before dinner. Or last stop with friends — or even solo — to take in whatever entertainment is happening. Such a versatile place Elements is!
I’ve ordered a blueberry and chocolate iced soy latte before that was fine, though a tad expensive (anything additional costs quite a bit more, so if you’re building a drink from scratch… be prepared to pay). I probably wouldn’t order something like that again, but I am absolutely a fan of their regular pour-​over coffees (especially their «guest roast» options) and iced coffees, though.
I haven’t always experienced the engaging or warm staff others have mentioned. Truth be told, when they get busy they can come off short and disengaged. Other times, they are as lovely as can be (recently the woman who made our drinks took the time — despite there being a very long line — to reassure us that our drinks were made with soy after we saw her pull out the whole milk around the same time she was building our iced lattes and questioned her about it).
But you’re not here for the staff (St), so don’t worry about it. You’re here for the good company (Co) you probably came with, the libations (Li), and the experience (Ex)!

Love it! My first time hanging out in Biddeford, I needed to kill a few hours and stumbled upon a place that had a sign «Coffee-​Books-​Beer», what’s better than that? Great music, friendly service and super fast free wifi. I love places like this.
I had some soup, a couple craft beers and an iced mocha for the road. All excellent. Highly recommend this place for a laid back Biddeford afternoon.

Great atmosphere and décor, friendly knowledgeable staff. They serve Bard coffee too, which is excellent!

Chill. Super chill. Good atmo. I mean you can’t leave this place without loving it. Books galore, great coffee, great beer, really good snacks, normal prices, nice and informed staff who put on an eclectic playlist, and balance conversation and service. The only downside is you have to bus your own table-​so be prepared to carry what you order.
It’s like if Starbucks sold beer and better coffee in my living room.
I can’t give this place enough stars. I wish it was in my hometown.

My new happy place! The staff is really friendly and make an excellent latte (and I take my lattes very seriously). The selection of books is so eclectic it’s fun to browse through– who knows what you’ll find. They also have nice, comfy seating and will let you sit and read for as long as you want and have free WiFi. The chocolate chip cookies taste just like my mom used to make.
We were lucky with on-​street parking nearby, but it’s worth a little walk if you’re not so lucky.

Driving down to Dover, NH from Portland, ME — I needed a caffeine fix. Unilocal directed me to Elements in Biddeford, ME.
Had a bit of a struggle to find a parking space. I ended up parking a couple of blocks away.
The coffee shop itself is really cool. It looks like a combination of a hip library and coffee shop — with lots of bookshelves filled with books — and a decent amount of seating.
I noticed they do pour overs — so I ordered a medium dark roast pour over. It was worth the extra wait. Rich, dark, sumptuous, bold, flavorful. And provided my brain cells the caffeine they needed!
Staff was awesome!