I am in Nashville visiting family. Are there any rad coffee shops I HAVE to check out while I am here?

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I am not from Nashville, but I know one barista who is. Jackson O'Brian works at Bongo Java. Not sure if it's the roastery or what, but he can sling some 'spro. Google Bongo Java. Hope this helps.
Trust me, Crema is the best in Nashville. I've had others but Crema is great. I think they are on Hermitage near downtown. Maybe the south east side.

And Bongo Java is not a roastery. They are really good and in the past have used several different roasters. Not sure who they are using now. But they are also worth a visit.

Have fun in the music city!
I heartily second Eric. Gotta try Crema.
Just for more votes you have to hit up crema
Ask Heath Henley where his place is... he is on here.
If your willing to come down to Tullahoma, say on your way to visit Jack Daniel's or something You will find The celtic Cup Coffee House at 106 North Anderson Street in Tullahoma. We are on Google maps but they show an old photo that was taken during renovation.
Heath's place is called Dose...

http://dosecoffeeandtea.com/

Nashville is my hometown, and I was just visiting last November. I tried (and failed) to visit every shop in town. :)

In addition to Crema, (which is totally awesome, by the way), Dose might actually be my favorite coffee shop in the city! I hope you get a chance to check it out while you're there.
Is Dose in the old Portland Brew location? I havent been since September but from what I see on their map, they're right next to Gran Cru Wines on Murphy which I thought was a Portland Brew. I'll be back there in May & drive past that every morning on the way to the TACA festival so I'll have to check it out.
Theres also a place I went to once called the Frothy Monkey that wasnt bad. Its in a great neighborhood too. I havent been to Crema so I'll have to check it out. I went to Bongo Java once & wasnt impressed. I had to return my cappuccino twice because the girl didnt understand that I wanted a hot cappuccino. The first one she made couldnt have been over 110-115 degrees & I told her it wasnt anywhere near hot enough so she made a new one & it might have been 5 degrees hotter. Again, told her it wasnt nearly hot enough & she made another one that might have made it up to 130 degrees, at that point I gave up. I dont have to have my cappuccinos super hot but come on, 150 degrees is good, not 110-130! Oh yeah, and it took her over 5 minutes to make the first one (I watched her the whole time & she had to have ground a half pound of coffee before she had my shot...seems a bit way off to have to pull that many shots to get the grind right!)
Bongo Java does have roasting company - Bongo Java Roasting (which serves coffee, too). They also own Greenies (or something), Bongo Java, and Fido. All great stuff with great coffee in different settings! They are a founding member of Cooperative Coffees. Portland Brew and Frothy Monkey are also around there (or at least where when I lived there!)
Mitch Buckner - Bella Caffe said:
Is Dose in the old Portland Brew location? I havent been since September but from what I see on their map, they're right next to Gran Cru Wines on Murphy which I thought was a Portland Brew. I'll be back there in May & drive past that every morning on the way to the TACA festival so I'll have to check it out.
Theres also a place I went to once called the Frothy Monkey that wasnt bad. Its in a great neighborhood too. I havent been to Crema so I'll have to check it out. I went to Bongo Java once & wasnt impressed. I had to return my cappuccino twice because the girl didnt understand that I wanted a hot cappuccino. The first one she made couldnt have been over 110-115 degrees & I told her it wasnt anywhere near hot enough so she made a new one & it might have been 5 degrees hotter. Again, told her it wasnt nearly hot enough & she made another one that might have made it up to 130 degrees, at that point I gave up. I dont have to have my cappuccinos super hot but come on, 150 degrees is good, not 110-130! Oh yeah, and it took her over 5 minutes to make the first one (I watched her the whole time & she had to have ground a half pound of coffee before she had my shot...seems a bit way off to have to pull that many shots to get the grind right!)

Hi Mitch,

Yes, Dose is the old Portland location, you're absolutely right. They took it over. :)

It's funny that you should mention the Frothy Monkey, because they're just a few buildings down from Portland's other location (12th ave south). I'm not such a big fan of the Monkey though... they have an amazing shop that they've expanded and developed over the years, and it makes for a great hangout spot, but the cappuccino they served me last fall was completely undrinkable. (see attached image...) Overall it's a nice place, but I'd recommend going there for the food or the atmosphere, not so much for the coffee. :\

As for Bongo Java (and their other location, "Fido", which Jason mentioned), as you have discovered, it's really hit-or-miss. I think they are doing some very good things (such as offering coffee classes and roasting their own coffee), but as far as I can tell, your experience will vary wildly depending on who is working that day. Also, between Bongo and Fido, I've always preferred Fido. Although Bongo is more peaceful and secluded (and has an intriguing history, what with the nun bun and all), Fido has an awesome location and atmosphere. In fact, the last time I was there, I was served a delicious cappuccino with latte art! I've never seen them do that before, so it was definitely a very pleasant surprise. Hope this helps!
Attachments:
Crema
Bongo is a roastery. We roast for ourselves and our wholesale accounts in East Nashville. ; )
Came across this older series of posts--but saw the reference to Bongo Java and just have to say that my partner and I picked up a bag of roasted beans at Greenlife in Chatt recently and thought that it was really fantastic. So, not sure about service at the coffeehouses or quality of their baristas, but someone in the roasters shop knows what they are doing!

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