Cartel Coffee Lab

AMAZING COFFEE! I love the location and the atmosphere. Great meeting spot or quick stop to grab coffee.

Hands down the best pour over coffee I’ve had to date. I just returned from Costa Rica and the coffee was good, but I also learned on a coffee tour the best coffee is exported. Leaving a great sub par coffee for domestic consumption. The flavor profile of the coffee cartel is so complex. Subtle undertones of honey or vanilla, orange effervescence (depending on what they have and what you choose). James is my go to hit here. Super cool, chill and knowledgable. He remembers your name too. Please drink it black, adding anything will ruin the brew in my opinion. They have an amazing cold brew as well and fresh top notch pastries. Try the pop tart. If you’re a local or a tourist stop by cartel, grab a pour over coffee, a pop tart and take 30 min to appreciate life how good it truly is. When you’re recharged go try and spread the good vibes by helping another!

Awesome atmosphere and great sustainable coffee!

Proof that not all specialty coffee is created equal. Okay– the industrial wood and metal. I get it. Check the box. Also, «coffee lab» sounds good, and hurray for Phoenix adding 3^rd wave to its scene. But man… I feel like I’ve been to a lot of cities checking out coffee, and this one wasn’t worth the hype. Granted, I’m basing this off one visit and not several.
Roast tasted over-​done and flavor burned out.
The female who takes our money — that’s all she did. And i didn’t see her crack one smile over the course of 30 min. Not even a pleasantry or a grunt. Ummm… Kindness is never out of style.
I’m not fond of places where you order a Capp or Latte and get asked «what size?» Just make it how you do it. But that’s not the reason for knock.
The place felt dirty. Bad service. Burned beans. Not the experience I was hoping for. The homemade Pop Tart definitely salvaged the experience — holy cow. Yum! And my wife’s latte featured a solid espresso shot and even milk. So that raises the stars away from a 2-​star experience.
Futuro is still leading the pack in the 602.

The best coffee I’ve ever tasted. I wish they’d open a location in North Scottsdale. I usually get a latte made with almond milk and agave. I love the atmosphere and all the choices in seating areas.

Cartel has come to be my absolute favorite coffee shop. This location in particular is my favorite because it is far less crowded than the Tempe location and is open later than the downtown location. The ambience is far less hipster than the other cartels as well, but maybe that’s just because it’s in old town. Other pluses include the stocked pastry selection, clean restrooms and cool outdoor patio.

We came here for breakfast and coffee before our hike to Sedona.
The coffee here is EXCELLENT. Smooth and so, so good.
I had the chocolate peanut scone and my friend had the strawberry pop-​tart. Both were fantastic!
Love the laid back vibe here. There was plenty of seating and I appreciated the attention to detail in their décor.
Overall, solid place for a quick coffee or to hang out with friends. Highly recommended!

I just wanted to add that they’ve added snacks to the menu. My next visit was better!

Cartel Coffee is an awesome place to hang out and relax. The atmosphere is inviting and modern. The service I received was polite and quick.
For more sophisticated coffee drinkers, Cartel has things like aeropressed coffee, but I personally went with an Americano. My drink was freshly brewed and delicious, without even a hint of bitterness.
I have quickly become a big fan of Cartel Coffee Lab and plan to be a repeat customer.

Really liked this café, had a really nice conversation with the barista. Barista is skilled and he knows what he’s doing. if you’re from a different country hit this place up! It’s great. I am a barista in Canada so you could say it’s been approved by another barista for its quality

5 star coffee, 3 – 4 star service. I LOVE the coffee here and visit every time I’m in town. I even order their coffee online and have it shipped to Louisville KY.
The service though is just never super friendly. It’s not terrible and these guys definitely know their coffee but sometimes geniuses are not the best with people.
If you’re a coffee fan though you need to check it out!

The best tasting decaf coffee that I have ever had! We bought a bag to go home to NYC with! Worth the trip if you are local or if you are an out of towner like me, they have an online shop to purchase from.

I’m new in town and don’t know many people, but one of the few peeps that I do know, informed we would be going to coffee today AND it would be at Cartel Coffee Lab.
…You could say I didn’t have a choice… but then again I didn’t object either :-)
I have stumbled into a few local coffee shops in Scottsdale and also a few chains (no shame people) Cartel definitely gives it’s competitors a run for their money.
When we walked in, the smell exactly what you’d hope if you love the smell of coffee. It smelt like ~Heaven~ and by heaven I mean roasted coffee beans. People were chatting, working or simply enjoying their beverage of choice (there’s even beer and wine on tap!) – it was a very welcoming and relaxing vibe.
Ok so what did I order? My girlfriend said they make a great chai so I took her word for it but took it a step further… I ordered me a *dirty*chai (chai with a shot of espresso). and It was Perfect. If you love chai you know how important it is for it to not be too sweet and this had the perfect combo of spice, hint of espresso and creaminess!
It’s sad to admit how much I loved Cartel Coffee Lab’s brew and have to accept that it’s out of the way to get on a regular basis but when I’m in the neighborhood I will definitely be stopping in to get my fix!
*cheers*

I will admit I am a coffee fanatic! Not a Starbucks sugar loaded typical addict but a true connoisseur of delicious coffee. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Australia. I swear on my dogs life it’s worth a nearly 16 hour flight for
Coffee in Melbourne. There is no replicating it, I came home seriously ruined. I came home seriously worried that no coffee joint would
compare, and let’s be honest I don’t add sugar, maybe a little warm milk and I love my flat whites! So sorry Starbucks, my coffee bean farewell because Cartel Coffee has become my official go to joint! My flat white was smooth and creamy, it l didn’t need an ounce of sweetener. It was so good I came back for seconds! So Cartel coffee lives up to the hype — no joke

One of the hippest coffee spots around… Old Scottsdale.
This is the place to be for strong delicious coffee!

I was in Phoenix for work for a couple of days and stayed in a hotel in Scottsdale and my coworker took me to this place so we could do some work in between meetings.
I loved the coffee. It had good flavor and it wasn’t too strong. I also tried their iced teas and some pastries.
I loved the bookcase at the front!
and I loved the little room in the back where I could sit and work without being bothered.

I love the coffee here. Heads up Mocha-​frappa-​latte-​cino drinkers, this is a Coffee Bar, not a café. Don’t come expecting to get your double whip triple shot low fat salted caramel gargle blaster here.
The service was friendly, the air conditioning was just-​right, there’s plenty of 20amp power jacks, and the wifi works as promised.
My only complaint is that the furniture is very noisy on the concrete flooring. I had to move a coffee table and it sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
Seriously, get some soft feet on those metal table legs!!!

This location is preferred to their Tempe and DTPHX locations! I love how it’s located in Old Town, where you are walking distance to a variety of shops and restaurants.
I always get the lattes here (iced or hot) and found them to be pulled well. Though I did have a hot latte once served in a beer glass and that was not so nice … for my unassuming hand. Hot coffee and glass = bad idea. However, I got over that with a little sleeve and having my coffee cooled down a bit. Good coffee here and love the buzz even from their latte.
The interior is very industrial with tons of metal, wood and raw looking. I found the sound to be quite minimal even with such a small space encasing a few number of people. There’s seating out front, on their covered porch area (which can be quite warm) and have a quieter back room near the bathrooms that’s separated by a door. Music is played at a low volume which isn’t too distracting, but enough to break the silence.
Great place to have a chat over good coffee or to work on your computer.

Amazing cappuccino. Truly awesome. Free wifi and a place in the back to work. All good. Prices as unreasonable as any other coffee shop.
The bad:
Sloooow service. We were made to feel like an inconvenience. This is Old Town, not Beverly Hills.
Weird vibe. Surreal and silent. Kind of a cold feeling place with no one smiling or laughing. I felt like we crashed a funeral.
I will go back for a coffee to go.

Great location, right smack dab downtown (rather old town) Scottsdale, but where is everyone? Isn’t this a touristy spot? It is like a ghost town on a Sunday morning in mid-​July. It is also 10 degrees cooler (down to mid 90s) this morning, so I am definitely having a HOT latte.
The good news? No problem finding parking and no waiting in line to order either.
Smooth espresso in my latte, but I certainly did not need a 16 ounce (served in a gigantic glass). A 12 ounce in a cup would have been sufficient for my needs.
Pretty cool art for sale on one of the walls.
Loved the location.