The Coffee Box

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: The Coffee Box
Location: Plainfield, NJ
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

The thick suburbs of northeast New Jersey possess countless places that peddle coffee, but surprisingly offer few shops where the coffee is worth the stop. Fortunately for many North Jersey-ites, great coffee has become more readily available each month, with new spots slowly emerging in the lands surrounding New York City.


One new-to-me spot that I was able to visit back in mid-spring was The Coffee Box, a coffeehouse rooted within a red-roofed strip mall in South Plainfield. Inside I found a nicely-sized shop with a peaceful aesthetic made up of local art, excellent lighting and a spacious furniture arrangement. The bustling counter testified to the local popularity and with Intelligentsia Coffee as their main roaster, the coffee looked promising as well.


As for my coffee, I ordered an espresso of Black Cat and a pourover of a blend called Persephone. The espresso, pulled short/medium with tan crema, tasted of lemon, cocoa, black tea, dandelion greens and a touch of ginger, proving flavorful yet slightly tart. The pourover blew up with deliciously bright notes of green apple, lime and pomegranate followed by caramel, vanilla cookie and a little almond in a light/medium body.


All around, I was pretty satisfied with my visit, as their easily-accessible location made for a quality respite with worthy coffee. If you happen to find yourself traveling in this chunk of northeast NJ, definitely stop by The Coffee Box.




These wonderful folks made this visit possible in part. Make sure to check them out!