Caffeination

DON’T LET THEIR PHOTOS FOOL YOU. They don’t do wonderful latte art anymore. I walked 20 minutes from work and back one day only because of the pictures from Unilocal and was informed that they can’t do that anymore. I was so looking forward to adding a little minion to my coffee.
Otherwise, I really like it here. It can get crowded on weekends but that’s to be expected. They have good coffee, and good service. The owner here is so kind and if you’re hanging out and studying he will come and chat with you to make sure everything is okay. There are not enough outlets, unless you sit all the way in the back. I enjoy it here and get a nice homey feel.
I wouldn’t get the food here though. It’s pretty overpriced for regular food with a bag of chips. Stick with the drinks.

Nothing special, pretty lousy ambiance/​décor/​interior, especially for center city. My cappuccino was average at best. I don’t see a reason to go here with so many better coffee options in the city.

Wonderful coffee shop with great coffee and yummy chai latte. They have loose leaf tea instead of that bagged stuff they serve at other places. Great warm atmosphere. My kids loved the food and said it was much better than Starbucks. Would definitely recommend and will definitely go back and try their other drinks.

New staff is very friendly! I’ve been stopping by here every once in awhile for a few years. under the new management the flavored coffee seems more bland/​watered down (less pumps). This has happened the last few times I’ve stopped in unfortunately.

Visited this location since I was looking for a spot to study with Caffeine and wanted to get away from a Starbucks. There is ample seating with a quiet, well-​lit atmosphere.
Many people came through while I was there and whether regulars or first timers, the baristas very very friendly and engaged in conversation.
Unfortunately, I am a boring plain coffee Drinker so cannot comment of the array of unique drink options they have. The coffee was good though!

This place has no idea what a good cup of coffee should taste like. Please. Just stop yourself before you even think about trying this place. And do yourself a favor and save your $ 5 and you might as well head to Starbucks or even McDonald’s is better! Yes I am serious. Overpriced and tastes like bland instant watered down coffee. They are the fraudsters of all coffee businesses! RIPOFF.

Stopped on a whim. Was looking for some caffeine close to the Mutter Museum. Ample seating, quiet. Indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered a large dark roast red eye, which is REALLY good. Bold and strong, as I enjoy my coffee. It sort of reminds me of Starbucks for some reason, except with larger sizes and better coffee. The guy at the counter was friendly.
I will say that if you check in here, Unilocal will offer you a free flavor shot. However, that coupon is not honored. I was informed that the establishment is under new ownership. The cashier was apologetic about it, But it really wasn’t a big deal. I still got my flavor shot. The manager did sit in the corner with nothing to say about it. I didn’t care, but I could definitely see other people giving that kid some hell over it.

Caffeination is a very solid if unspectacular coffee shop. The coffee is not lacking by any stretch but I didn’t really see a reason to go back. The owner is a nice guy and he said he makes lassi and other Indian treats off menu. Maybe if I had tried the lassi I would have given this place 4 stars but at the end of the day it’s a coffee shop, not a lassi shop. It’s better than Starbucks.

Loved, loved, loved the latte here. Creamy, strong and not super expensive. Outdid your average Starbucks latte! The place itself is a spacious coffee shop with basic eats and a quiet ambience. Great stop for a quick breakfast a and coffee before setting out for the day.

How have I never reviewed this place? The girls here are super nice. Maybe it’s because I’m there every week before work. But they’re always very friendly and accommodating. Their breakfast case varies from sweets to bagels/​breakfast sandwiches that can run out very quickly. Coffee is always tasty, never bitter. Definitely one of my go to spots for a quick morning bite :)

This is like an off brand Starbucks with BETTER coffee. I love this place. I got the Irish Crème latte and it was pure perfection. I’d HIGHLY recommend going to this place.
Quick and fast service and made right in front of you… like most coffee shops lol.

It’s a nice place to have a quiet conversation or study. However, their food is over priced and they lack accommodation for the mistakes they make. For example, I ordered a small iced soy chai. However, the girl at the register thought I wanted a warm chai. As I corrected the barista who I also think is the manager, she said that they told her warm and it costs extra for the regular iced drink. Given there is a $ 5 minimum on credit card, I was not going to buy more items to accommodate for the original biscotti I had to purchase to make the initial $ 5 minimum. So, instead of them being kind to replace the drink they initially messed up, I was stuck with a small soy chai which lacked flavor, wasn’t completely filled, and a biscotti that I didn’t even want.
Ps — I also purchased a $ 7.99 grilled cheese when I first arrived that same visit which was very small for the price I paid. A cheap bag of chips does not equate to the unjust uplift in price.
Not coming back unless I have to.

mediocre service, worse food. Don’t ever get any of their paninis or breakfast sandwiches, they’re too expensive for their qualities.
Giving two stars because they’re open early in the morning (the sole reason I went there three times so far, but disappointed every time.)

MICROWAVED SOUP! YUCK!
Like many reviewers here, I wanted to like this place. I really did. Alas, I do not.
I went in for lunch because they had this adorable little sign outside with a picture of a piping hot soup in a cute little bread bowl. On a cold, windy day like today, that’s just what I wanted — minus the bread bowl. I ordered the soup, grabbed a bottled water to make my order over $ 5 to meet their dumb credit card minimum, and waited a few too many minutes for my soup. I thought I kept hearing a microwave ding go of numerous times, which I thought was weird.
When I got back to my desk to eat my soup, which was not filled up all the way (they left about an inch from the top, which for a cup of soup is a lot of missing soup), my much-​desired broccoli and cheese soup tasted like burnt, melted plastic because (and I’m only assuming this since I did not physically see the microwave) they heated up my soup in the to-​go container in the microwave, for what seemed like a really long time. I kept hoping each bite would somehow get better, but no, it was just a cup (kind of) full of plastic tasting soup. You can’t do that to soup! Moral of the story, Caffeination, find a better way to prepare your soups.
Many people commented on the staff, also. While I did not experience any world class latte art, I found the two staff members there pleasant but aloof and ill-​informed.

Cute spot in walking distance of Rittenhouse Square.
A bit too pricey for my taste, but the drinks were great
I had to Butternut Squash bread bowl and it was ok, nothing special.
Did like the ambience and staff a lot!

Great java, spacious bright ambiance, and a five gallon lid attached to the restroom key kept at the front counter, lest someone steal that bad boy. Overall, a warm, comfortable, pleasant place to kill a couple of hours on a rainy day for us, between the Mutter Museum and our dinner reservation.
The menu looked simple and tasty too– a nice place to try out a panini if your tummy’s a rumblin’.

I lived across the street from Caffeination for a year and only went once the entire time because there was never a coffee fix so desperate that I couldn’t walk a few extra blocks down to Joe, Good Karma, or even DD, Starbucks, or Saxby’s. I made the mistake of coming here for breakfast on my way into University City one Sunday morning. I ordered their special end-​of-​summer vegan drink that was some kind of green tea latte, as well as a bagel with Nutella. The drink was pretty clearly just a mix of soymilk and matcha powder, and the bagel with Nutella was, as expected, nothing extraordinary, but I paid over $ 7 for this «meal.» The two women behind the counter weren’t as hostile as what other reviewers have experienced but this is the service industry so you don’t get to charge me this much just because you didn’t give me stank with my drank.
I usually balk at giving one-​star reviews but «Eek! Methinks not.» very accurately describes how I feel about this place.

Coffee art is awesome! The barista here can do basically anything!

When I first moved to Philadelphia, I was very excited to see that Caffeination was located right across my building. From outside, the coffee shop seems to embody all the essential traits of an inviting neighborhood coffee shop — tons of tables, quiet atmosphere, board games, etc. However, Caffeination’s appearance is VERY deceptive and I would not recommend this place to anybody who likes to frequent coffee shops or appreciates good coffee.
SERVICE: Over the last two years, Caffeination has made an effort to improve its service. However, the service is still pretty sub-​par. The employees are not very friendly and do not make an effort to accommodate customers. The mediocre quality of the service is particularly noticeable in comparison to the excellent service at Good Karma and Joe, both of which are located just a few blocks away from Caffeination.
ATMOSPHERE: The chairs are uncomfortable and the temperature is way too hot. This place is also pretty strict about the wireless policy. You can only access the wireless for a limited period of time, which is a little annoying. It’s not the best place to work because the tables are right next to each other so you can hear everyone’s conversation.
COFFEE: Most importantly, the coffee here is terrible. The coffee is either weak and/​or tastes burnt. The pastries also look stale and unappetizing.
This place also has a $ 5 minimum for credit cards, which is very irritating.
I would go to La Colombe, Joe, Good Karma and even Starbucks on 19^th over this place.

We came here before going to Day by Day, we had a chai latte and a cappuccino, I personally thought the foam was much too over frothed, thought it was still good.
The space was a weird feel to me kind of like an old Denny’s.