Grit Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Grit Coffee
Location visited: Elliewood, Charlottesville, VA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

A great coffeehouse next to a college campus is something that is surprisingly lacking around most universities. Personally, I have attended or worked at several colleges that for one reason or another, had no good shop within walking distance of campus. Sure, it's not the end of the world, but the joy of drinking excellent coffee while you wander a nice campus cannot be easily matched.

How fortunate the folks of Charlottesville, that they have such glorious caffeinated amenities: the campus not only has good coffee shops within feet of campus, but it also has a great shop on its grounds. Specifically, Grit Coffee sports numerous cafes in the city, amongst them one in an academic building and one right off-campus in a two-story red brick building. Finding parking in a local garage, I wandered over to the off-campus one (the Elliewood location) due to its proximity to my other business that day. The interior is warm and inviting, with lots of natural light and plenty of seating, especially on the second floor.

As for coffee, I tried an espresso of Side Hustle and a drip infusion of a single origin Guatemala. The espresso, pulled short/medium with brown crema, smacked of lemon bar, chocolate, cream, nutmeg, mozzarella and little red chile, proving sweet and bright. The drip also made for an excellent infusion, with notes of tomato, mango, focaccio bread, nougat, sweet corn and cream in a light to medium body. 

While I would have loved to stay longer, other matters called to me and I had to depart. If you are in the area of one of Grit's many locations, seek them out for some excellent coffee.