21 21 Coffee’s name reminds me of that scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt asks Ed Norton, “How’s that working for you?” Ed Norton replies,”What?.” Brad Pitt says “Being clever.” Someone thought that the name 21 21 Coffee, being on 21st East and 21st South, was very clever. For me, I don’t care. The name is just hard to say. “Hey honey, I am going to 21-21 coffee.” Huh?

That minor quibble aside, the coffee is pretty good. The 3-4 times I have been there, the espresso tastes like a very dark roast. The steamed milk has a slightly over cooked taste, but not too bad. I usually get a vanilla latte and the vanilla tastes like the type you get at Albertson’s or Smith’s grocery stores.

The service is quick, although not overly friendly nor overly precise. The last time I ordered, they gave me a medium instead of a large. I didn’t make a big deal out of it, but you have to wonder why someone who has just one customer at 10:30 AM can’t get it right. However, in the scheme of things it’s one incident and not a big deal.

Overall, it’s not my favorite coffee, but if you like a dark roast, you may like this more than Starbucks. It’s also a little cheaper than Starbucks, which always helps. Personally, I only go there when I am in my pajamas and don’t want to drive too far.

I had just walked out of Starbucks at Foothill Village because there was a line out the door and the last thing I am going to do is stand in line for coffee. Where can I feed my addiction? If you happen to be going to Parley’s Gully to walk your dog, skip Blue Star Coffee, and hit Java Express.

I had never tried drive through coffee… Except maybe a Starbucks in Dallas (that doesn’t count). This place looks like a snow shack with couple of windows but I had always noticed cars lined up for coffee. Luckily for me, no line and excellent coffee.

The first time I went, two high school age women worked the place; however they couldn’t have been friendlier. The woman who took the order smiled, repeated my order to make sure she got it right, and had the vanilla latte out in about a minute. It was delicious. The next time a college age guy was working and had that same warm, friendliness.
If you are a coffee connoisseur, the taste had a little bitterness (strong flavor) but wasn’t over powering. The aroma was slightly chocolaty. If you have been going to Starbucks but think it’s just too bitter, you’d probably like it.

Great drinks and great service. Give this place a shot.

I know, everyone hates Starbucks Coffee. You probably agree.

To my amazement, yesterday we tried to do the normal Saturday coffee run and there was a line out the door. How can that be? If only 35% of the people admit they will buy premium coffee, how could this line be forming in Salt Lake City; the mecca of anti-warm-caffeine?

While I don’t hate on Starbucks like the rest of you, I have found that they are getting slower (not just on the iced drinks like they claim) and it’s not consistently the same. With that in mind, I turned around and went somewhere else.

We used to stop by Blue Star Coffee for a morning latte when taking the dogs to the park during the week. The coffee is good (not too bitter not too weak). It’s the prototypical local coffee shop (the anti- Starbucks). The barista was friendly.

Then we started going on the weekends. Weekend One: 15 minutes for our coffee. Nobody in line ahead of us. Weekend Two: 25 minutes for our coffee. One person ahead in line.

I know you are thinking, they have to be exaggerating but unfortunately not. So, we switched to Java Express. No ambiance but slightly better coffee and 24 minutes faster.