Brewed Awakenings

Great coffee and staff makes this a go-​to place for me!
I usually go there every Monday morning. I have some breakfast, usually an omelette. Sometimes when I want to be bad, I will have a delicious scone!
Definitely check it out!

Lovely little coffee shop. Very laid back, super friendly staff. Drip coffee is okay, the atmosphere being the main thing.

Oh Brewed Awakenings
I’m not quite sure what warms me up more on days like these
your HOT lattes
or the warmth of the smiles on your employees’ faces
It is my go-​to destination for breakfast and lunch.
is their a dj that works there? because the music is always poppin.

Had 3 hours to kill and thought what better way then to have a good cup of coffee and some pastry!
The place was pleasant, great to hang out with a book in hand. I must say that the butterscotch scone was excellent!
Unfortunately, the latte that I had wasn’t up to par, came a little to cold for my liking. Or maybe I am picky about my coffee, or maybe today was just too cold. Who knows?

I’m a big fan of local coffee shops, so I consider myself pretty lucky to have Brewed Awakenings across the street from my office. The staff there is super friendly, and they make great coffee — especially if you’re looking for a quality pulled espresso shot. They know there stuff.
I do, however, have one major problem with them. While all of there food is pretty good, I would not say that any of it makes it a destination place for lunch or breakfast. However, that changed recently when they introduced this amazing thing called a breakfast bowl. It was an ooey-​gooey mixture of scrambled eggs, home fries and bacon, topped off with a creamy pepper jack cheese sauce. They finally had a dish that I craved, and told friends to go there and get, and planned to go back for myself.
And then…
They discontinued it after an all too brief stint on their menu!
Anyway, Brewed will continue to keep my loyalty as a customer who loves great coffee. But I hope that they recognize that breakfast bowl for what it was — something unique that you couldn’t find anywhere else around town that tasted amazing. It was something to drive across town for, and it is a shame it is gone.

Solid coffee house, they have a lot of good blended coffee drinks, i got the grasshopper one, plus they have a coffee happy hour which was cool, plus lounge chairs and board games, if I lived in CR I would definitely hang out here

This is for the Saturday lunch visitors. NO LUNCH & the pasties are all gone 12:15 (I bet they where good)
Don’t go for a double espresso because the pull is an embarrassment to PT’s coffee. It was shorter then short, disappointed on lots of levels. The website does not match the décor of the restaurant, a classic example of don’t believe what you see on the Internet, their logos aren’t even the same… if the address wasn’t the same I would have though I was at the wrong place.
Since I didn’t eat any food I could not rate it below a 3 star. Just thought you should know before you go… having walked 8 blocks to stop in. Look for the better coffee shops on the other-​side of town– your choice?

More like bad food awakenings! I rarely write a bad review-but…went for coffee & pastries. There was one apple muffin & one apple bar in the case-​bought both along with a 20 oz iced tea & a 16oz cappuccino to eat there. We were given the pastries as we waited for the drinks. I sliced a piece off my husband’s apple bar to taste-​and immediately noticed a white fuzz on top of the apples on the bar. I immediately spit it out & as we examined the bar more closely also noticed a hair on it! I discreetly brought it back to the counter along with the muffin & pointed out the white fuzzy mold growing on it. She apologized & gave us our drinks. Not wanting to stick around any longer we asked for the drinks to go. I pointed out that I ordered a 20 oz iced tea & when she poured it into the 20 oz cup it was the same size as the 16 oz. When I pointed this out she topped off the cup to over-​flowing & commented «our supplier sent us 18 oz cups instead of 16 oz.». So if any of you are brave enough to try this place pay for the 16 oz iced drinks, it’s cheaper & basically the same size as 20 oz. As an afterthought she asked, «Would you like your money back for the pastries since you didn’t eat them?». Uh? YES! And the drinks should have been free, too! I’m already feeling ill from the moldy apple bar-​and I pray I don’t get sick! Run don’t walk from this place! There must be better places in CR?!

It’s a hipster coffee shop. Cute décor with a study area and chalk board for their menu items, which can be overwhelming. I like their toddies but they always have an unpleasant bitter after taste that I don’t get at Starbucks, dunkin or java. It’s nice for Coe college students but the spacing capacity is pretty slim as well as the capacity to have a coffee date just bc everyone will be able to listen to your conversation due to the lack of space it seems.

So disappointed. My dirty chai tasted like sugared milk. Neither the espresso or the chai spices could compete with all that sugar and cream. Also tried a monster bar, super super sugary as well. Usually monster treats are hearty with lots of oatmeal and peanut butter, this one was all brown sugar and butter. Yuck. My total was $ 15 for a large americano, a large dirty chai and a monster bar. Same order costs $ 11 at my favorite coffee shop. Won’t waste my time here again.

Coe College students are lucky to have this little gem right across the street from campus. As an undergrad, I enjoyed some great class meetings, study sessions, chats over coffee with professors and even some first dates at Brewed. Needless to say, I, like most people who went to Coe, have a lot of great memories here.
Location isn’t the only reason why this is a popular coffee shop. They always play the best music at Brewed, the service is on-​point, and many of their drinks are darn near perfect. Their cold press toddy is one of my all-​time favorite iced coffee drinks, and their Don Correlejo (espresso, milk, and Mexican chocolate) is AMAZING and so unique. Both of these are must-​tries. Also, their lunches are SO good! They use high quality ingredients and the portions are just right.
However, Brewed Awakenings only has a couple of big weaknesses that prevent me from giving it five stars. First of all, the location is very cramped. Seating is extremely limited, it can get really loud, and it is often uncomfortably warm in there. Also, many of their their hot espresso drinks (especially lattes, mochas, and other more indulgent drinks) are weak and super milky. I could never even taste the espresso in these drinks, which is a shame because they’re very pricey.

Short Version:
Fantastic place to walk to if you have the cash to pay typical coffee store prices and have the ability to walk. Parking is kinda a pain, and the prices were on-​par with typical coffee shop prices ($ 5+ per drink-​ish), but I love the home-​y, small-​business feeling that this place has, and they have a huge menu of coffee choices to select from.
Long Version:
If someone told you to make a home-​made version of Starbucks or other chain coffee shops, Brewed Awakenings is about what would come out of it. It’s cute. It has its own charm. There’s lots of local art by artists on the wall. There are staff-​chosen books and games on bookshelves. There are mis-​matched chairs and tables that look like they came from thrift stores (but are in decent shape). There are delicious-​looking (but clearly home-​made) treats available for purchase. There’s a neat bin that asks you to leave your dirty dishes or empty bottles/​garbage so that they can recycle it for you. All of the small business charm is there, but it’s all the types of things you find at a typical café.
This place did feel cramped when I came. They have three sets of tables and chairs outdoors for outdoor enjoyment. The indoors has couches, lots of tables with two chairs, and some giant wingback chairs for seating. There wasn’t a single table available when I was here (aside from outside), and the place was buzzing from activity. I felt constantly in the way while waiting for my drink to be prepared. I’m not sure if I just came during a busy time, but they could definitely use larger real estate.
Lots of drink choices to pick from. They have cold drinks, hot drinks, and lots of other types of drinks. This isn’t just a standard «here have coffee with cream» place. There are lots of unique, home-​made type drinks. Neat combinations.
Someone recommended a Don Correlejo. I normally only exclusively drink cold drinks, but this one is a hot drink with espresso and mexican chocolate. It’s basically a coffee version of hot cocoa, and it’s served at the PERFECT temperature. Warm enough to make your insides feel happy (except it was 90 degrees out today so maybe not the best day to order it) while not so hot as to burn. Seriously perfect, and this is the only hot coffee drink I’ve tried that I instantly loved. For 5 ounces of coffee, though, the $ 5+ price tag seems pretty high.
The biggest complaint I have, though, is the parking. They do have their own little parking lot, but it’s a giant pain in the butt, and for all of the traffic and people they have that come and stay to enjoy their coffee, they need a lot more room. Plus, in order to get out of the parking lot, you have to back out of the entire parking lot — which I could see potentially causing accidents with incoming coffee-​goers.
Coffee does take a bit to make, so you might be sitting around for a bit, but it’s clear that the baristas take a lot of pride in their beverages, so it makes it worth it.
As a note, no drive-​thru available here. This is definitely a sit-​down type of place.

A good coffee. Nice selection. Well made. Friendly faces. I stop in here frequently for a good to go snack and coffee

Took a bit to get the coffee but it was good and the place is cute. Parking is a bit odd, but they have a few spaces. Right across the street from Coe College so it makes for a good meeting place.

Brewed is wonderful. All of the staff are incredibly friendly and the coffee is always high quality. I also have to mention the sandwiches. The waldorf chicken salad is my favorite.

I’ve visited this coffee shop at least six times now and each time I try and get something a little different. They make great coffee and have personable staff. They also play really great music inside. If you are looking for a nice little coffee place to go that has more of a homey feel this is definitely the shop. Everything I have gotten off the coffee menu has been really delicious.

Good food, great coffee, slow service.
I love the coffee here, but it always take longer than I think it should. This makes it a perfect for a lazy Saturday, but hard to swing through in the middle of the day for some coffee or a lunch.

Why?
Nearly no place to park.
Old over used seating.
Small & noisy.
Over priced for mediocre quality.

The couches are comfy, and the don correlejo is one of the best coffee drinks I’ve ever had — and I say this as a depravedly obsessive caffeine addict. The downside is that it’s in Cedar Rapids, also known as the Speed Trap Hell Of The Universe. So this is only my second time here in two years. But I get to be here more often now, because I just bought an extremely fancy radar detector! So, 5 – 0 po-​po, this review, and this yummy coffee, are dedicated to you and your delicious oinky frustration. We’re really bacon now!

It’s part of the curriculum of Coe College to have a drink at Brewed at least once a semester. It’s not a written requirement, but it’s definitely not unusual to see professors bring entire (mostly well-​behaved) classes of students in for coffee.
There are many people who attend Brewed who aren’t Coe students, however. The entire atmosphere of the place is comfortable: there are big, comfy chairs and couches, as well as a nice landing area for people who want to look out onto the street. (Beware during the winter, though, as the windows will fog up completely, giving the shop a sort of effervescent coffee-​scented glow.) There is always a nice mix of ages and personage – business executives meeting for lunch, professors chatting about the humanities, students crying into espressos, knitters spinning, new mothers balancing scones and babies on the same knee.
The coffee is phenomenal, it’s true, but don’t forget their awesome lunch specials, served 11 – 2. My favorite sandwich anywhere, of all time, is the turkey pesto. They make great soups, and the sandwich/​soup combo of the day is always appropriate for the weather. There’s nothing that their chicken soup can’t cure you of, which is useful when you have six papers due in one week.
The baristas accomplish being fashionable while still Iowa friendly, a combo I would like to see taught to baristas everywhere.