Joe Bean Coffee Roasters

Meh is a good word to describe Joe Bean.
Unlike a lot of the lower-​scaled reviews for Joe Bean, I am not angry with this place for the (apparently) pretentious employees or customers. Reading the reviews of the place, I expected a rude employee, so I was prepared walking in on a Sunday morning with the hub. The employee didn’t offer any help when we walked in, but after asking «sooooo how does this work,» she didn’t seem annoyed that we needed guidance in selecting a concoction. In fact, she explained the various brew methods and helped us choose which was best for the coffee we selected. She told us we could go sit where we wanted and that she would bring us our order when it was ready.
We received our order fairly quickly: a Guatamalan Chemex if I remember correctly. It was kind of watery. I’m not sure if that’s how it is supposed to be, as I am not a food or beverage expert (unless we are talking Wendy’s.) The drink was also kind of bland. I want my coffee to have a kick to it and abuse me. Hubby wanted cream and sugar. I told him the ‘knowledge’ I had acquired reading reviews and asking others about their experience here. Therefore, I steered him clear of asking for some, fearing the inevitable judging by pretentious snobs. He yielded and drank black coffee like a big boy.
After we finished, we returned our drinkware to the counter and paid. (BTW, $ 7 for two people’s fill of coffee. Not a bad price at all.) The employee asked how we liked it. I said it was decent (she did NOT give me a death look); my boyfriend stated he would have preferred cream and sugar, to which she stated «Oh, well, we have some! Don’t ever feel you can’t ask for cream or sugar.» MAYBE she only said this because we had finished. But I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt. So to reiterate, service was great, and I do not think these people are rude… based on my first encounter.
Joe Bean is a big name in Rochester; it’s worth checking out. If you drink your coffee black, you shouldn’t fear being judged by an arrogant individual or establishment. Then again, if you like cream and sugar in your coffee, you’re entitled to the option, and those arrogant people can suck it. maybe they’ll appreciate that brew method.

Nothing beats Joe Bean coffee. It is by far the best coffee I’ve ever consumed anywhere and hands down the best coffee in Rochester. Joe Bean has a great atmosphere and the employees are all super friendly. They take great pride in the drinks they serve, and each coffee/​latte/​etc. is brewed to perfection. It’s a great place to sit and read or do work. They also offer classes where you can learn how to brew espresso or how to properly steam milk to make lattes. I could go on and on about all the things I love about Joe Bean, but what’s great is that I love it even more each time I go in! If you want good coffee, go here and nowhere else.

Awsome staff and really good coffee. I like the single origin coffee. Even if it’s a local coffee as far as I know but their service is really good.

Joe Bean deserves 6 Stars, if only Unilocal offered 6! If you love coffee, and have not been to Joe Bean yet… get there! The very first time we went there (about 3 years ago) I was nervous. I normally drink coffee with cream and a little sweetener. There was no creamer and no sweetener/​sugar around. The guys that run the place are great and they will explain everything to you.
If it’s your first time, I recommend getting a standard «Coffee Flight». You get to sample 3 different types of coffee using a pour-​over method. You’ll receive descriptions of the 3 coffees, and they’ll even instruct you on which order to try them in. A «flight» is more than enough for my husband and I to share (though truth be told, I would drink the whole thing myself no problem!) and it is a huge bargain at a mere $ 7. You are having the Godiva of Coffees and it is blissfully flavorful and wonderful.
As I said before, my very first visit, I was nervous because I saw no cream or sugar. I sheepishly asked about it and Ben simply asked me to «taste the coffee for what it is first». Which, I did. Joe Bean is the ONLY place that I drink black coffee. It’s succulent. It’s basically coffee science going on right here in Rochester!
One of my favorites at Joe Bean is their incredibly delicious and flavorful Kyoto Cold Brew. Served in super cute small bottles, this is a real winner. Sometimes I even pick up extras to bring home.
Joe Bean also has Espresso, Lattes, they also have Happy Hour Snacks and Dinners now. Definitely worth your while!

Espresso was average at best. Less than friendly staff. No real menu to order from and $ 7.00 for a medium cappuccino with an extra shot that took too long to make was disappointing. Back to SBucks for me.

This place has a very artisanal style. You have to ask for sugar! The espresso drink selection was a little bare-​bones for my taste, but that’s just me. If you are coffee a purist, you will love Joe Bean. I tried to spice pumpkin seeds, they were awesome. It’s also really pretty in here and there’s great natural lighting.

This place is all about specialty brewing & on-​site roasting and they do it very, very well. Their teas are pretty great also. Since the brewing methods take more time and care this isn’t the place to grab a quick cup and go. But if you have time to relax or have some work to get done this is a great spot. This place can fill up quick though so beware of busy peak hours!

I visited Joe Bean for the first time. I was really surprised by this place! The ambiance and vibe are interesting. Modern with a rustic flare. Very relaxed and «chill» and slightly pretentious (don’t get mad, I said «slightly»). It really is coffee house meets wine bar. You wouldn’t think that would work. but it does! I had the opportunity to try 4 different beers offered here. All were good. I particularly like the Bam Biere.
Unfortunately I have not had any coffee or food… yet. I’ve heard the coffee is great, and the process they use is amazing! Really seems like everyone could find a drink on the menu, whether its alcoholic or not. Looking forward to trying more items and updating me review.

Out of many shops in Chicago and Rochester, still my favorite. Always been. If you realize they are a roaster before they are a coffee bar, then a lot of it makes sense. They high light the coffee drinking experience, nothing else. While some see this as being too pointy in service, this attention is demanding of the wonderful baristas. I still order their coffee all the way to Chicago, even though there is so much else to get.

The coffee is fabulous, but the work flow is goofy. The woman sitting next to me at the counter waited 20 minutes after ordering her macchiato, and she finally mumbled «Aw fuck it…» and left. I waited 10 minutes for a simple cup of coffee and the place wasn’t even that busy at the time. I understand the image they want to project, but they need to jack up the velocity a bit. And, put all the information on ONE MENU, not separate ones with flavors on one and methods on the other. Jeez… pretentious.

Joe Bean has the most amazing coffee bar in Rochester, maybe all of New York State.
Amazing freshly roasted single origin beans sourced from reliable and sustainable farmers around the world.
No mail order coffee has compared to Joe Bean. It’s a must try if you’re in Rochester.
Come here for the best cup of coffee and stay a while.
They also serve delicious brunch, snacks, craft beers, and wine.

This is Rochester’s best craft coffee place (with all respect to some other contenders). Drinks are made to order so leave a little extra time to wait for them to make it. The roasts here are always full bodied and delicious, I’ve yet to have a bad experience here. I’m a cream and sugar person but the coffee here doesn’t need it, if you ask for it they may judge you. The «regular» coffee is good but the cappuccinos are my favorite.

I visited Joe Bean for drinks for the first time and had a great time! The atmosphere is great on a Saturday night if you’re looking for something a bit more relaxed and laid back than the East/​Alex bar scene.
We tried the ‘spro bombs, which were crazy delicious! It’s a shot of espresso dropped into a half pint of beer. Sounds strange, but totally worth trying. They paired so well together. The beer was a porter with its own coffee taste to it, so they blended really well. My friends chugged theirs, and I drank mine as quickly as I could, but it was still good to just sip. It gave me a nice caffeine buzz that combined pleasantly with the alcohol in my system.
The baristas were super friendly and chatty, which we appreciated too! We even got mini pumpkins to take back home, carve, and bring back on Halloween in exchange for free ‘spro bombs. Love that idea!

Loved the coffee! Although I had to run, it’s definitely a place I would like to hang out or meet clients and friends.

Joe Bean is an amazing roaster and café in Rochester! Whenever the boyfriend and I come to Rochester to see his family, we always pick a café to visit before we go to their home in Brighton. Joe Bean is actually very close to where they live. We did drive right past it originally, because it is set into a building and we just completely overlooked it.
Anyway, I ordered a cold brew coffee. They actually give you a choice between 2 types of coffee, each from different regions and different unique flavors. My cold brew was brought to me in a frosty pint glass; it literally looked like I was drinking beer, but instead it was a delicious frothy iced coffee! The bf got a cappuccino, his go-​to drink when we go to new cafes because it gives a good unmasked form of espresso. He too got to choose a blend/​espresso. Everything was roasted perfectly and very flavorful.
The atmosphere was very relaxed, and the workers were friendly. We will definitely be returning in the future for more delicious coffee!

Holy pretentiousness, Batman!
Hi! Have a minute? This gets good.
Went on a Thursday morning. Group of us. Looks really cool when you first walk in, but then you notice no menus or lists on the wall. We so obviously had never been there and were looking around. Chick behind the counter? Immediately irritated with us. We hesitantly approached her and she shoved a couple clipboards in our direction. One had flavors and the other had options… kind of.
I had such a bad feeling about this, I should have left. My friend made the mistake of asking what they had brewed and she rolled her eyes and said something about everything made to order. I asked how to just get a large, strong coffee. She showed me clipboard 1 again with the flavors and clipboard 2 with no sizes. God she was so unhelpful!!! I cannot state this enough!!! I had been up for over an hour with no coffee! WHERE IS YOUR COMPASSION, WOMAN!!!
Moving on. My friend said «Just make me something. Whatever you recommend.» He was obviously flustered. She still didn’t offer any kindness or help! I chose a «flavor». She barked our order to another person and I saw him set up pour over coffees. WOW! This would have been so helpful had she just mentioned «we only do pour over brew coffee». Another person in our party was able to order a latte. Also would have been helpful to know this was an option!
Now, pour over coffee takes forever. I get that. Thermometers and gentle cooing are involved. We were already pre-​caffeine and forced to run a mental gauntlet just to order coffee and now we waited 15 minutes more for it. These are things you should warn customers about, but we’ve already established the non-sh*t-giving here.
Coffees arrived. YES! COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE! We start looking around for the cream/​sugar/​honey/​stirrer/​napkin area. Snotface walks away. She is so done with us. The guy that made our coffee takes pity and comes over and says «Looking for accoutrements?» I swear to god that is the word he used. I have witnesses! He then has to HUNT for cream and sugar. He starts looking through the fridges and cabinets. It was… a…production.
My friend an I exchange some extreme looks and I am now screaming in my head. SO CLOSE! I have coffee in my hand but still cannot drink it! Nice® dude brings us what I think was rice milk and a tiny thimble of sugar. I wish I had snapped a quick photo of this darling wee «milk» glass and tiny spoon, etc. Coffee accoutrement for elves! So cute. We did the best we could with it and got the hell out of there.
As soon as we got outside we started in with the «What just happened in there? To us? WTF? OMG! LOL!». We told this story so many times since then. It’s a thing now! «Reese! Tell them about what happened to you at that Joe Bean place!» Seriously. Thanks for the comic relief!
And whose brilliant idea was it to call the place «JOE BEAN» like Joe Shmoe’s average coffee shop? I guess this is the THE most ironic hipster thing you could possibly do.
Sadly? The coffee was damn good! Best coffee I have had in a while. But, the customer service was the worst I have had in years. Department of Motor Vehicles and the United States Post Office bad! Yes, THAT bad.
3 stars for the coffee and anecdote that will love on forever, take 2 away for pain and suffering.

Joe Bean is easily the best coffee shop I’ve ever been to. It tops any place I’ve been in Seattle, Boston, or Burlington. These people are beyond serious about coffee. They don’t even have what one would describe as light, medium, or dark roasts. They roast to bring out specific flavors in the beans, which will change depending on the brewing method you choose. The beans are the definition of single origin, describing the altitude and washing station that they come from. They have pour overs, chemex, espresso drinks, cold brew, and even a syphon. Joe Bean also has a small, but tasty food menu and a selection of beer and cocktails.

quality. you can feel it when you walk in. deep vibe. smiths on the stereo. warehouse architecture warmed up with wood accents, rough-​hewn counters, local art, and burlap bags billowing from the high black ceiling.
my latte is lukewarm and they say this intentional, that most places scald the milk. they want the shot hotter than the milk; soy is apparently extra delicate to work with. who knew? this could take some getting used to, but the taste is sweeter and richer and there are subtleties and finishes I might not have tasted otherwise. still I crave something truly hot. first world problem fo sho.
you order and have a seat and they bring your drink out. pay when you leave. cool.
there’s a room called The Lab – classes? this is an interesting model. i learned something. maybe you will too! i dig it here and will come back next time I’m in rochester. thanx Unilocalies!

4.5
If your looking for a good cup of joe — this is where to go!
Honestly I would say this is the most quality cup of coffee I’ve had in Rochester. Maybe it’s because the barista suggested I try my coffee black before adding cream and sugar like I normally do and I found it to be wonderful without the added ingredients. It made me think «now THIS is what coffee is suppose to taste like.»
I considered subtracting more because there is not much of a food menu and a larger selection of seating would’ve been nice but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because the coffee is so great. Staff could’ve been more attentive as well but were very knowledgeable. Atmosphere was just okay in my book… but again I’m all about their product.

The coffee here was good, and it’s awesome that they have so many brewing methods. I hesitated to give it a 4^th star because I wanted to learn more about the coffee before I chose the type and the brewing method. However, it felt like I was pulling teeth to get someone to answer my questions. I’ll probably give it another try, and update with the 4^th star if the service is better.
(It might seem harsh to take away a star for the lack of help, but the NYT said it best… «Once at the café, put your choice in the hands of the barista. A good one will know how to guide you. „Ask what they recommend,“ explains Nicolas Clerc, owner of three-​year-​old Télescope. „We taste our coffees all day long, so we’re bound to have a preference. Also, coffee is seasonal, so we will know which is the newest harvest and how best to serve it.“»)

My favorite coffee shop in Rochester. The lattes are always creamy, and full of lovely flavor. Their espressos always have a nice layer of crema on top, and have a wonderfully bold taste. I also appreciate the time the baristas take to make gorgeous latte art.