Nestled into the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis, Fairgrounds Coffee and Tea is the perfect morning coffee run and study spot. The inside of Fairgrounds is super idyllic — there are numerous plants scattered about and the walls are full of eclectic mirrors and artwork. Together, this makes the space grounding. The large windows mean there is tons of natural light when the sun is out. Overall, the aesthetics are downright adorable and I could see myself coming here and studying frequently. The menu is clear and the staff are friendly. While I was there I ordered their matcha latte, chocolate truffle mocha latte, regular latte, chocolate chip muffin, chocolate sprinkled cake donut and glazed raised doughnut.
After I finished ordering the pastries were out almost immediately, which were shortly followed by the drinks. Despite the line, Fairgrounds was very speedy. The matcha, from what I could tell, was high quality — it was bitter to start with, then following that there was a sweet aftertaste. It was earthy and though I don’t often opt for a matcha, compared to other matcha lattes this was great! The normal latte and the chocolate truffle mocha latte were extremely similar. This was slightly disappointing because, with a name like chocolate truffle mocha latte, you might expect it to taste more like a combination of chocolate, truffles and mocha. The only difference I could tell was color and taste. The chocolate truffle mocha latte was darker and much sweeter compared to the regular latte. The regular latte itself was great and the ratio of frothed milk to coffee was ideal. I would recommend just ordering a regular latte and saving an extra dollar, especially when you can make some changes if you desire. When I left the store I definitely had a lot of energy after all of the drinks; safe to say if you need a pick me up there is a lot of caffeine to be had.
The pastries were all very yummy, but the one that stood out the most was the chocolate sprinkled cake doughnut. Normally I am a raised doughnut kind of person and cake doughnuts are a bit heavy and dry to me. This cake doughnut was light with a tender crumb. The chocolate icing was rich and flavorful. The raised glazed doughnut showed through the display case and into the corner of my eyes as soon as I got close enough to see it. The icing was of dreams and the doughnut itself was nice and fluffy. Though I love raised glazed doughnuts, this didn’t stand out amongst the plethora of other glazed doughnuts out there. The chocolate chip muffin was just okay — it was what you would expect the texture of a muffin to be: not too dry, not too moist, and a bit thicker than a cake. The chocolate chips on the muffin were so good I was tempted to excavate them from the muffin itself. The only drawback of this muffin was the banana flavor, when I ordered it I was expecting a typical chocolate chip muffin but instead of a balance between normal vanilla and chocolate it tasted like banana and chocolate. Still, I would eat the muffin again. Overall the pastries were lovely and I would recommend all of them, with a heads up on the muffin of course.
I spent about five dollars on each drink in the smallest size and I think the value was worth it. Unlike some coffee shops with a sterile feel, Fairgrounds uses natural light and soft shapes and light to make you feel comfortable. This is a great place to get coffee with your friends or have a slow start to your day. The space is inviting and when you are spending money to not only drink something but to sit down this is the kind of place you want to do that at. Because the coffee shop is in Minneapolis there is paid parking. Luckily it is not very expensive and there are numerous parking spots nearby. Overall fairgrounds coffee and tea is well worth a visit and if you are willing to go a bit out of the way I would highly recommend giving it a shot.
“Fairgrounds Coffee and Tea”: ★★★★★
