LaJava Roasting House

"I've only been inside once. I always go through the drive thru. The line isnt more than 2 cars ahead of me when I go, but the wait is ridiculous! It takes 10 min if theres only me and the other day it took 20 min with 2 cars ahead of me! Then, whether theres a line or not my drink is never how it should be. Ever. Very weak expresso and in flavor it is never enough. I always order a Large White Chocolate Mocha Hot Skim Whip Cream. It is ALWAYS half full and tastes like milk with watered down coffee. Goiing forward I guess I will only be ordering the small at the Cardinal location because that's what the large is equivalent to. LaJava on Velp and W. Mason know how to make the drinks right, IMO. I'll make one of those my go to from now on. Also, I have always been able to buy a 1/2# bag of Expresso from the drive-thru, but the girl at the window told me I can't do that. What's up with that??? In all, I think LaJava has the best tasting coffee hands down, just VERY INCONSISTENT on how the baristas all make drinks. I would hope maybe you could do more quality control of that and let people pick up some dang expresso thru the drive theu."

"We first went to the drive thru location not realizing that location doesn't sell whole bean so we drove to this location arriving at 1:50 which I understand was close to closing time. Barista opened drive thru window informing me that the lobby was closed so I asked about what they had in whole bean available to which she replied like all the varieties. She asked what I was looking for and I asked what they had for dark roasts and she was well we have a Brazilian blend, didn't give me any other options. I did take a pound of that one but as a former Barista myself, she should have asked more questions and certainly offered more than just one option. Drinks I ordered were good."

"My fiancee and I have had a standing Friday at noon coffee date for nearly two years. We switched from a national chain to La Java some time ago and wouldn't dream of going back. Two drinks and a tip is still cheaper than the big name places, and it tastes better, too! We've never had a bad experience, our drinks are always right, the line has never been too long, and I don't know how the employees always seem so cheerful, but they always seem genuinely personable and enthusiastic (maybe it's all the coffee?). Oh, and don't forget to take a deep breath when the window opens--the coffee smell is AMAZING. If they could figure out how to bottle that scent, I swear they'd be millionaires overnight!"

"Stopped to give Lajava a try for the first time and was not thrilled with the drink selection. Out of all cold coffee choices at 1pm.. no nitro, cold brew, iced coffee, nothing. Ordered a iced latte which was fine, nothing special. The staff however was friendly! two different girls at the windows, each were friendly and always had a smile."

"Update: 8/25 -- I continued to go despite my reservations and they stepped up their game. Great tasting coffee. Friendliest of staff. Close, convenient and excellent price. Keep up the great work! Changed my rating from 3 star to 5. I don't know what happened but the taste of the coffee has gotten worse in the past year. It seems when the teenagers are working the quality of the drink is bad, almost tastes burnt. If you go during the week when the normal ladies are working it's savory, tasty and delicious. I went today 6-26-21 around noon, and ordered two large hot sugar free lattes one with whole the other with almond milk. We got the coffee and we couldn't tell which is which as they didn't label them and they tasted the same. It tastes burnt, stale and just not enjoyable. I had to dump mine out and just make coffee at home it was that bad. I hope this review reaches the right people and maybe correct the issue. I still highly recommend La Java as normally it's great coffee but this long time customer of the Velp Ave store might have to make the drive to the one on Cardinal instead."