The Pourhouse Café

I stop into Pourhouse either before or after work about three times a week, and I am ADDICTED to their iced Tuxedo (dark and white chocolate) mochas! The staff is always friendly, and they know how to make coffee! As a former barista myself, it shows how dedicated the majority are to their craft. I docked them a star just mainly cause it’s always a little dark inside, as they seem to rely mostly on the light from the big windows in the front of the café. Otherwise, it’s an awesome Kirkwood Ave stop! Check it out!

Good good and coffee. Nice place to see and read or have a quit conversation. They staff are really helpful in making recommendations and always polite.
There is plenty of room and not overcrowded.

Very solid cup of coffee and they legitimately support good causes. While it is a religiously affiliated company, you won’t find the people here judging or proselytizing. I personally am not religious, but I do support this organization simply for the fact that they are a good coffeehouse.

I’m a New Yorker who spends lots of time here when I have Occassion to visit Bloomington. I love NS (Not Starbucks) coffee shops and Pourhouse is as good as many I frequent in my area of Manhattan, except it has one thing I can barely dream of when I’m in my home turf — space, lots and lots of it. :-)

PARKING
We parked in a lot nearby and walked to the café.
INTERIOR/​EXTERIOR
This little coffee shop or café is so cute! Interior design is beautiful, with a wall of the world map that works well with the rest of the hipster-​like décor. There are many tables available and it seems like a great place to read a good book, study, or get some work done. There is a board in the back with each barista’s recommended drinks if you are having trouble deciding!
Towards the back, there is a wall with a quote that reads: «If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.»
MENU
We came by in the morning to grab a coffee. Upon recommendation, we decided to go with the Iced Polar Bear which was two shots of espresso, some sort of maple syrup, and your choice of milk. I went with the almond milk and the drink was amazing!
SERVICE
Barista working was awesome! Great recommendations, patient, easygoing, and very friendly! Great experience here.
If I am ever in Bloomington again, this is definitely a place I want to stop by.

I have a feeling I will be stopping by The Pourhouse Café quite a bit in the future. Their PB Banana smoothie is absolutely amazing. Open atmosphere with lots of seating perfect for studying, catching up with friends, or even enjoying playing board games which they have available. This place was highly recommended to me by friends and it did not disappoint. Can’t wait for my next visit!

Fair trade delicious coffee, super friendly staff, almond milk & good internet. There are also aware of what’s going on in the rest of the world and are collecting tips to aid the refugees in Europe. That’s big likes all round from me!

The atmosphere is pretty cool and the size of the place is an added bonus when you consider that alot of coffee houses in Bloomington are ridiculously small. If you come in the off hours I’m sure finding a place to sit and study/​work isn’t an issue.
I got a coffee of some sort (mocha maybe) and it was pretty much what you’d expect. For the average customer there isn’t much to turn your nose up at. The prices are fair (if you mainly go to Starbucks literally ANY local coffee house is going to save you money.) and the service was pretty concise.
It’s a nice place to start if you want to get to know the coffee bars around town.

Good drinks, but pretty slow. They really don’t handle being busy well. If you have plenty of time, good place to get drinks.

Don’t go here. Mediocre food, and the worst service I’ve ever experienced in a coffee house. The green tea was awful, the Mocha frappé, while more expensive than Starbucks, wasn’t any better, and my friends’ bagels took 20 minutes, and then didn’t even come with the cream cheese on them; they came on the side! Even worse, my Pesto Chicken sandwich took 30 minutes to make, and then didn’t have the cheese on it! There are way better places to go for coffee and quick bites. Unless you enjoy merely decent coffee, mediocre food, and really really really slow service.

They have a really nice staff and nice food. Unfortunately it’s across from the library and near where a lot of undesirables hang out. But I guess that’s part of what their mission is, to minister to the undesirables. It’s better to go during the daytime.

Good coffeee… and right at down town. The gelato is delicious. The profit goes to non profit organization…

Sometimes, reading through Unilocal reviews for a business isn’t a good thing. I’m not a very religious person and though I respect them all, I’m not all that thrilled, either. However, I do like supporting charities (especially local ones even though I’m only visiting), so I brushed it aside and decided to try out this place.
I came in a little past 8 AM on Tuesday to get some work done. I was the first one in (this seems to be a trend) but a couple arrived just a minute after me. I let them go first because I wanted to study what they offered first… and to take a look around to scout out that day’s Work Station. Their menu was pretty decent and so were their food choices. However, I already ate some breakfast in my room so I was looking for something more light or of snacking quality.
I decided upon the Banana Spinach Smoothie, mainly because I would normally make myself a breakfast smoothie at home and I couldn’t do it here. I missed my daily smoothie. It tasted pretty good — not too sweet and perfect, but in a smaller cup than I’d like. I also got a brownie on the side, since I would be staying for a while so I sort of wanted to pay my «rent». Plus, chocolate is great anytime of the day! The brownie itself was good — dense and rich, but a little sweet. I would have loved milk to go with it, so I only ate ¹⁄₃ of it before saving the rest.
The entire place was pretty large with tables and chairs scattered about. There is a decent amount of spots to camp out at but if every person camped out at one table, it’s not really that much. It is a pretty nice place to study/​work/​catch up, though. Most of the people that morning appeared to be there to do work of some sort. There were some people that came in and brought a whole lot of noise with them, though. Not very welcome, but I was too engrossed in my work to be too bothered. I think the open area also lets sound (especially from healthy lungs) travel pretty well. It’s primarily self-​serve; like Starbucks, they call out your order when it’s finished and you pick it up at the counter. When finished, you bring your empty plates/​cups to the red bin in the back.
It was clean. The drinks (at least the one I got) was good. I may try an espresso drink later on the week and maybe even something savory if I can. If I didn’t know that a church owned it, I would have never known. I find that I really don’t care all that much, either. I loved the tables and I do love it when they have tables facing the window so I can people watch. :) You bet that’s where I set up camp! Although spots by the windows had enough light, if you find a table towards the interior, it’s more dim, so if that bothers you, stick to the windows. Funny enough, I only spent about 2.5 hours there today, but during that time, I enjoyed it.

I decided to go with an iced Tuxedo latte after consulting with the (very friendly) barista. It is rocking my world.

This little coffee house is a regular snack place close to my work. So it sort of goes unnoticed like a comfortable chair for me. I was there recently for an after hours dessert booking. What a lovely time we had. Service was very pleasant and helpful as always. The cake was delicious and the local source gelatos are wonderful. What a treat this was. Wish we could have hung out longer but it was getting late! Yes, it was part of the progressive dinner mentioned on their Facebook page. I would put them in the dessert slot any time.

The place is big and they have games! Sadly some pieces were missing to a game I had chosen, but there were more options. I just like that the place is so big and has an air of human rights activists.

The Pourhouse Café is a coffee house I can stand behind. Here’s why:
–100% of their tips go to helping others (their charities vary month-​to-​month)
–their quality coffee comes from Brown County Coffee Co., which you can purchase by the cup or buy a bag of whole beans for home
–the space allows plenty of room for studying, catching up with friends, reading, or working on your laptop
–several food items are vegetarian or vegan-​friendly
–they serve quiche ALL DAY
If I were you, I’d forgo your usual coffee chain and do a little good while getting your caffeine fix.

This is my go-​to coffee spot in Bloomington. I go here all the time because the Americanos are always on point and because there’s enough room to feel comfortable enough to study with some privacy without lingering eyes looming over you. Their food is also surprisingly good! And I say surprisingly because some coffee shops falter but you can’t go wrong ordering a sandwich from this place because each of them will fill you up! Wi-​fi is good. They have plenty of seating in the front and back. A variation of tables. A solid room temperature set so it’s not too cold or too hot. No loud overbearing music though the social atmosphere might be more social more during certain hours. This place to me is just perfect… I am always here.

I just love this place!
It was a little noisy and boisterous so don’t try to study hear unless you have a good headset. I was here during lunchtime though — so maybe not always as crowded.
Coffee has such great flavor and baked items were so fresh! I will be returning when I am in Bloomington.

This is a cute café with spacious seating. A nice place to study or read a book while sipping coffee.
Friendly staffs and a nice interior set up.
I ordered the turtle mocha hoping for it to taste sweet like the turtle chocolate candy bar. For some reason, it didn’t have a sweet taste to it. It had a roasted scent to it but it just tasted like a milky mocha drink. However, when I got to the bottom of the drink it was SUPER sweet. I didn’t mix the drink thinking that the barista would do it. So, it made sense all the chocolate sweet goodness was on the bottom. It was overwhelmingly sweet that it just ruined the taste for me.
Overall, I think this place is a solid 4. Café that serves coffee with spacious seating.

Atmosphere is nice, coffee is ok.
It’s a good place to come and work on something or do some reading

Pourhouse is a nice place to relax and study for a bit. They have a nicer vibe than Starbucks, and they have good desserts including a delicious mango gelato (among other gelatos). They do coffee, teas, smoothies, sandwiches and some breakfast foods. It makes an effort to be sustainable and has a very relaxed feel.

Definitely my favorite café to go to in Bloomington. It’s very clean and has a great environment for catching up with a friend or working on some homework.
I can’t comment much on the coffee because I mainly drink tea, but they have really good smoothies as well. And who doesn’t like buying their drinks from a local place that gives back to those in need?

Not impressed by their coffee. Turned off by signs to keep buying if you stay there long. I definitely understand trying to make income and their altruistic efforts, but their badgering signs are off putting.

This is a great coffeehouse. The espresso reminds me of Italy, rich and delicious. Their espresso-​based drinks are naturally great as well. To my taste, the flavor is a bit richer than Soma.
They also have gelato and some small lunch items for those seeking something more than coffee.
Seating is plentiful although frequently full. Overall, it’s a great place to grab a cup and talk, read or study.

It’s a front for a church group, so beware if you don’t want to support religion
They’re very secretive about it, probably because they know people won’t go if they know what it’s about. I think the church ha Sherwood Oaks

I don’t come here frequently, but I have been here several times before. My main reason for coming today was to avoid the Soma location on Grant and still not go to Starbucks on Kirkwood – the Pourhouse seemed to be a happy medium between the two.
Today I ordered a speciality drink that I hadn’t seen on the menu before – it’s called Cream & Crimson. It’s an espresso based drink that is pretty much a white mocha with raspberry syrup. Not bad… just average.
The lighting in the Pourhouse is also really dim… especially in the back area, so something just to be aware of if you want to get some work done here.
It should also be mentioned that the Pourhouse is a nonprofit that is run by a Board of Directors. I was told that while it is not run directly by a church, many people on the board are members of the Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.
Come check it out and see for yourself.

Best coffee shop in Bloomington. It’s my favorite place to study and feed my coffee addiction.
Very casual, welcoming atmosphere with an almost corporate feel. Probably because it’s the kind of atmosphere Starbucks tries to create, but it actually works here. Less kitschy and quaint than Soma, but also less pretentious.
The coffee here is great and every specialty espresso drink I’ve had has been excellent. Not overtly sweet and creamy like Starbucks, but a good, well-​crafted balance like it should be. Plus this is the first place outside of Europe that I’ve seen gelato affogato (gelato with an espresso shot pulled over it).
Lots of seating, outlets and WiFi makes this an exceptional study spot. The gelato and baked goods are great as well.
They also have sandwiches and soups here. I’ve had neither, so can’t speak about them.
Pourhouse is also a non-​profit venture, so go ahead and feel smug about dropping $ 4 on a specialty espresso drink; it’s feeding kids in Somalia instead of ending up in some corporate chain’s pocket.
Pourhouse can get busy, but for good reason. With so many great coffeehouses in Bloomington it makes me think that the only people who actually go to Starbucks are international students and parents from out of town. It’s also slightly cheaper than most places as well.
Check it out next time you’re on Kirkwood.