Rojo’s Roastery

In exploring my new ‘hood, Rojo’s has quickly become a favorite. Granted, I’ve only been here a few times but I’ve always found it a cozy little place for excellent loose leaf tea and a spot for a bit of work or reading. They also have a really lovely chai latte NOT from one of those box mixes. When I asked how they made their chai, the owner pulled out a huge bag of chai masala shipped from India and invited me to take a whiff. Delicious! (It’s well-​spiced and fragrant but not very sweet, which is my kind of chai but certainly not Starbucks.). The Tall Man finds their house-​roasted coffee to be quite excellent. Drinks are not cheap, but the quality is definitely there.
The atmosphere is warm, with lots of natural wood (all built out from a single French sycamore) and interesting metal work. The baristas are quite pleasant, and the owner is fascinating to meet if you happen to catch him at the café.
A warning for telecommuters /​café work hoppers: This may not be your ideal place to hunker down for hours with a laptop, since there is no wifi. While not having wifi is becoming a big no-​no for coffee shops these days, I actually really appreciate that Rojo’s is an unplugged oasis.
Other random notes:
— If you are a non-​dairy drinker like I am, they offer soy milk.
— If you’re a food nerd like I am, they’re a distributor for the free food mag Edible Jersey! (I stalk places that carry the Edible series in every city I go, so this is a big perk for me.)

Excellent coffee; Princeton’s only third wave coffee option. They could be a little bit more friendly at times, but generally the baristas are nice. Atmosphere is pretty good, stylish; small, but with Palmer Square right outside, you can often hang out on the green when the seats are full (unless it’s raining etc).
Probably wouldn’t hurt them to offer home-​made flavorings, but they’re philosophically against flavors in coffee (except chocolate in mochas, which btw they do very well). Anyway, their coffee is good and their simple syrup is amazing, so there’s no loss.
In summary, if you have a high standard of coffee and find yourself in Princeton, this is where you want to be.

I’m not a coffee drinker in that I really don’t NEED coffee. To tell the truth, I don’t even like the taste of plain coffee, although I freely admit that it smells pretty good. However, depending on my mood, the time of day and what I’ve recently eaten (or how much I drank), I like to have the occasional cappuccino or mocha. Many places I’ve been to are so confusing, and the menus so daunting, that I’m reluctant to even step up to the counter to order. No problems with that at Rojo’s. The menu is simple and the guys working the bar or register don’t raise an eyebrow if you ask a question that shows you don’t know crap about coffee. They’re cool and happy to help. Everything is easy. I go to a Starbucks or other similar place, and the vibe I get is that they’re just trying to get you out of the way to get to the next paying customer. I’m not feeling that at Rojo’s.
The place itself is small and comfortable, and there are usually good tunes playing, but there’s no snobby coffee shop vibe (didn’t you know that coffee shops are snobby?). Seating is limited, but you can always step out to the square across the street and sit on a bench.

Good coffee for sure! Not a coffee snob but I like a good cup. I had an 8oz mocha and my wife had a dirty chai latte.
The baristas are nice, great sense of humor but professional and clearly know their craft.
This place belongs in Princeton, I felt a bit out of place but didn’t stop me from enjoying my coffee. $ 9 for 2 small drinks is a bit pricey, but is par for the area.
There is very little searing inside, so get it to walk around the beautiful downtown Princeton area. It’ll warm you up on a winter day and the taste doesn’t disappoint.

The roast flavor of the coffee lingers on your tongue — which, imho is one of the best things about good coffee. I got a mocha, and it really had a lot of potential but since the my milk was poured after my friend’s latte, she got the better of the thick foam. I feel like if I’m paying almost 5 dollars for a mocha latte, my 8 oz. coffee deserves that extra steaming effort. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the fact that the mocha wasn’t too sweet… and that roasted flavor!

Great coffee, great music, and the baristas are fantastic. One in particular has remembered my drink since the first time I went, which I find quite impressive. I’ve never been to Small World, and I don’t intend to go.

Pretty good espresso from this new (er) roastery on Palmer Square. Friendly baristas will make you all the basics — I got a macchiato and it was spot on. Their espresso roast is very bitter but that’s the way I like it. Tiny shop with very limited seating — on a busy day plan on taking it to go.

This is my preferred coffee shop in Princeton. In my opinion, the quality and taste of the coffee is superior to Small World, the most direct competitor. That said, you will pay a pretty penny for this quality: a 12 oz. soy latte will set you back $ 5.75(?!?).
Though I’ve never bought food here, Rojo does offer baked goods from the Gingered Peach, a high quality bake shop in Lawrenceville. They also have a small selection of thermoses (Zojirushi, THERMOS, etc.) and coffee makers (Chemex).
Seating is VERY limited. If you’re looking for a place to do work, this is probably not it.

Fresh roasted delight. Today’s roast was from Burundi. I had to google where that was…
This was a slick, hip coffee shop. It would fit in perfectly in Williamsburg or Logan Circle.
Princeton deserves good coffee too! And it was great coffee.

Iced coffee here is great! And the baristas are nice, as well!

Im a HUGE coffee drinker and I’ve been to a million mom and pop shops and this one BY FAR beats them all! The quality and taste of their coffee is beyond amazing AND they have LATTE ART which is what I look forward to everytime!
100% recommended

This café is fantastic! The coffee beans are roasted locally and the baristas know so much about the coffee.
My go to drink here is the macchiato, they use half and half and it’s absolutely decadent.
Absolutely recommend.

Great coffee! My wife and I visited the Princeton location on a day trip to the university. We both came away really pleased with our coffee. I ordered a Costa Rica pour over, and the cup was full of flavor. The staff was cordial and the décor was simple, but well done. Their store is in prime location, too — if you’re ever touring Princeton it’s a place you must visit!

It wasn’t until I walked into this place that I learned I was an extreme noob when it comes to coffee.
That being said, the barista helped explain what each type of coffee was and what I would probably be interested in. I’m still learning the coffee game, but what he recommended was truly fantastic.
The aesthetic of the place was fantastic and felt quite cozy. It’s in a great location as well since it’s right next to Princeton University. Definitely recommend it for coffee lovers out there.

Great little place. Must try the pour-​over regular coffee. I asked for a recommendation since I’m more of a tea and chocolate guy, and the barista explained the flavor profiles of current stock and gave me a good recommendation. I had it black and iced and it was probably the best iced coffee I’ve ever tasted in my life. Nice mini wrapped single-​origin chocolates were nearby and I also asked for a pairing recommendation.
I’ll be back.

The quality of this coffee is far superior to any other in Princeton, and is definitely in the big leagues overall. They know their stuff and they work with great care. As is the sign of an excellent cup of coffee, I often choose not to put any milk or sugar into my drink.
Minor downsides: things can move a bit slowly in here. There are not that many customers most of the time, however, so you will not wait too long overall. Drinks other than coffee (chai, hot cocoa) are nothing special. I do wish they had a bathroom. Bulk coffee beans are prohibitively expensive. Yes, they are probably very good, but for that kind of money I can buy mail order from Counter Culture.
Bottom line: If Rojo’s were in a location that was more accessible to me, I’d probably be here every day.

Small place, quiet on Saturday morning. I got a latte to go, pretty latte art, not acidic at all. I would come back for sure.

ohhhhhhh new favourite place.
came by here to write some letters and do some doodling. I got:
— tanzania pourover $ 3.50
— marshmallow $ 0.50
coffee was great (I got the single origin tanzania). I’m not sure why, but small world will only do a pourover after 5pm. who is drinking coffee after 5pm? (wait, don’t answer that.) no such shenanigans here. the barista was super friendly as she chatted and prepared the drink for me. I also really liked the cup (weird thing to comment on?) — it’s just double walled clear glass but feels so refreshing and crisp.
but. as much as a coffee roastery should be commended on their coffee, I must say that marshmallow stole the show. fluffy, light, and slightly sweet, slightly chewy, and 1000% delicious. if not for anything, I will be coming back to get a whole bunch for future depressing late-​night work sessions.
they also sell single origin dark chocolates from 24 blackbirds, which are made and packaged in santa barbara, and baked pastries.
words of warning: small space. hard to get seating. also no wifi. but for what it’s worth, I will definitely be adding this place to my regular rotation.

Somewhat pricey ($ 17.99 for a 12 oz bag of coffee), but well worth it given the high quality of their coffee. My girlfriend and I stopped in to pick up a bag of the «Midwives’ Moonshine» and we both agreed that it yielded one of the best cups of coffee either of us have ever tasted!
The complexity of flavor was particularly noteworthy: each sip started out bitter, then quickly mellowed out, ultimately leaving a slightly bitter (albeit pleasant) taste after swallowing. I had never tasted anything quite like it, and it definitely took a bit to fully appreciate the subtleties of the flavors. One thing I must add is that the beans seemed to go stale rather quickly (presumably due to their freshness). The bag said to consume within 7 – 10 days, but I would advise using them sooner, as they definitely lost some flavor after sitting for a week in a sealed bag.
I will certainly be returning to the Princeton location soon and look forward to trying their various other roasts. Additionally, I am interested in visiting their main franchise in Lambertville. Another positive of this place is their punch rewards card, whereby you earn a free coffee with every 10 purchases (bagged coffee counts as 2 punches). It’s not going to save you a whole lot of money, but it’s a nice touch and helps to offset their higher than average prices.

AMAZING. AMAZING. A. MAZING. I love Rojos; both the roastery and this location are fantastic. David and his staff really care about coffee and the quality of their product. All of their roasts are light and highlight the quality of the crops they source directly. Their Ethiopian is one of the best cups I’ve ever had, and all of their espresso drinks are exceptional. The staff are friendly, knowledgable, and really approachable. They’ll also make honest recommendations and help you find home brewing equipment; they sell some, but will also just help you find what to get. For their degree of passion and precision, the Rojos staff are the least pretentious or exclusive coffee enthusiasts I’ve met.
Yes, their coffee is more expensive than a cup at Dunkin donuts, but the price is evidenced in their passion and meticulousness. I recommend heading in to the Princeton location to sit down and really enjoy a good cup, or to go to the Lambertville location and relish in the sound and smell of the roaster and to ask David all of your questions about coffee, roasting, and brewing.