King Café: the king of coffee on campus

You know what? I’m going to say it. King Café is the best coffee I’ve ever had.

This might come as a surprise to some people that our university library serves what I consider to be the best coffee I drink, but as many King Café loyalists know, there’s nothing like King coffee anywhere else.

During my first semester on campus, I barely went to King Café because I lived far closer to Café Lux and Starbucks. After all, I didn’t see the point in trekking across campus for coffee if I could get coffee right here on Western Campus. I assumed that waiting in Shriver Starbucks’ thirty-person lines for a small hot white chocolate mocha would be the peak of my coffee-drinking experience at Miami University, and that I wouldn’t find a better cup of coffee on campus.

It wasn’t until my second semester, when I started taking a class in King Library, that I found myself frequenting King Café. It was then that I realized I had been missing out on something beautiful.

For starters, the atmosphere of King Café is quite different from those of the other coffee shops here on campus. The general 2000s-vibe of the décor is nostalgic and cozy, and even at peak hours, the café manages to avoid the loud chaos that often plagues the Shriver Starbucks and other busy coffee locations on campus.

While, on many occasions, I have gone to Starbucks or Café Lux and been unable to find a seat, I have never been unable to find a seat in King Café. King Café has a variety of seating options, including high-rise tables, booths and large rectangular tables.

Beyond the seating, the atmosphere of King Café is awesome because of its employees. The King Café student employees have to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever interacted with on campus. The café almost never has a line longer than three people, and the baristas always get my coffee to me within 2-3 minutes of ordering.

What sets King Café apart most from other coffee shops nearby has to be the specialty drinks it offers. Every week, the baristas at King Café offer a unique and creative drink of the week. Recently, it was the “Pot O’ Gold,” which combined the ingredients of a caramel latte and a white chocolate mocha.

If the drink of the week isn’t your thing, the wide variety of syrups available at King Café means that just about anybody can create their own specialty drink when they order.

As a regular patron at King Café, I have created some incredible drink combinations, including a strawberry banana smoothie, a white chocolate mocha with cinnamon syrup and — my personal favorite — a white chocolate mocha with raspberry syrup. I would give each of these drinks 5 stars.

Every drink I order from King Café is consistently perfect. There’s no other way to put it. I have never had a coffee that seemed too sweet, too bitter, too cold, too hot — the baristas get it right every single time.

If you don’t believe me, check it out yourself. Give King Café a visit, spice up your usual caramel latte or mocha order with the addition of a custom syrup and you might just find your new favorite drink.