Jake's Coffee Company, Lebanon, NH

Jake's is a well known brand around my hometown these days.  It didn't exist when I was younger, started only in 1997, but at some point, it really took over, with a chain of convenience stores, gas stations, and delis throughout New England, most branded as Jake's Market & Deli.  I've watched them expand dramatically over the years, now with more than 10 locations, some with huge deli and food offerings, others that really are mini grocery stores.  It is an impressive brand, really.  They also have one coffee shop, Jake's Coffee Company, located in my hometown.

The Jake's Market & Deli locations and Jake's Coffee Company seem ... loosely associated.  The Coffee Company and one location of the Market & Deli are located on the same street, not far apart, yet carry different brand coffee, for example.  They carry a different brand of donuts.  Same with most of the baked goods.  I'm not sure what they share really, besides the name.

Years ago, my mom picked up a scone for me from the Coffee Company.  I loved it.  I did my due diligence, and found out that it came from Klinger's Bakery.  Since then, I've asked for more when she was out running errands, and she'd stop by the Market & Deli, NOT the Coffee Company, and come home with a scone.  Except ... they weren't the same, and I tried to tell her this, but she did it time and again.  Like I said, loosely related brands, in a way that doesn't make sense.  Anyway, finally, one time she did go to the Coffee Company, and got me another amazing scone from Klinger's.  Faith restored.  Glorious scones.  I remember how great these were, so, on a recent trip home, I finally took matters into my own hands, and sought one out myself.

Setting

Jake's Coffee Company is located along a busy road, and smartly features a drive through.  The drive through was extremely busy, and clearly occupied much of the staff's attention.  I went inside.

Service was slow.  It took forever to order, and even longer to receive my drink.  It was busy, and there were only two staff members, but they didn't seem particularly efficient, or like they cared.

Counter.

Jake's has a pretty standard coffee shop setup, a counter to order at, menu board on the wall, baristas behind the counter, orders brought up at the end of the counter when ready.

Seating.

The seating area isn't very large, most patrons inside were either in line waiting to order, or just standing to the side waiting for their orders.

There was a high bar area with stools, and small tables for 2, but the surfaces were all hard, and, the space just didn't feel welcoming in a way that I can't quite pinpoint.  No one seemed to stick around.

Food

The food lineup at Jake's is breakfast served all day, along with salads, sandwiches, and paninis for lunch, plus house made baked goods.  Everything is made to order, besides the pastries. The breakfast fare isn't too exciting, just bagels, oatmeal, and a few breakfast sandwiches.  Salads are standard house or caesar or chef salad, sandwiches are basic deli meats served as wraps or on white or wheat bread only, and paninis come on ciabatta.  Nothing very inspired, no signs proclaiming any local fresh produce, no seasonal specials.  The food lineup has never interested me, besides those baked goods of course.

Baked Goods.

Back in the day, Jake's carried baked goods from Klinger's Bread, in South Burlington, VT.  I really loved their scones, and I was excited to have another.  However, when I visited it was clear at first glance that these weren't the scones I remembered.

Now they make their own.  Doh.  I know I should be happy that they are house made, but, I loved the Klinger's ones!  I believe the scones, danishes, coffee cake, muffins, and cookies are all house made.  Only the donuts are produced elsewhere (Lou's).  I know normally making things in house is a good thing, but, I wanted Klingers!

I was pretty sad, as nothing looked particularly good.  The croissants had no loft, the scones all looked overcooked, and the coffee cake looked dry.  The baked goods were not labelled, not with prices nor flavor.

Still, I got one.  You know I can't resist baked goods.

Blueberry Scone.

Since nothing was labelled, I had to ask what kind of scones they had.  I thought there was just one kind, as all looked the same, but it turned out that there were three, they all just looked very similar.  I think they were blueberry, raspberry, and apple cinnamon, all drizzled with white chocolate.

I opted for blueberry.

The blueberry content was minimal.  As you can see, just one berry visible here, and there were very few actually inside the scone.  They provided an occasional burst of flavor, but, very little.

The scone itself was not a crumbly style, instead, more cakey (although not soft and moist), much like the Panera scones that I do actually like.  The base didn't have much flavor to it, no buttermilk, no tang, but it was sweet.  It was over baked, but not burnt, and not too dry.

The drizzle of white chocolate on top was a nice sweet touch.

Overall, this was just ... ok.  It wasn't bad, and it wasn't as dry as it looked, but, it certainly wasn't worth returning for.  I wish they still had Klinger's!

***.

Blueberry, Raspberry, Apple Cinnamon.

I know I told my mother that the scones from Jake's Coffee Company were no longer from Klingers, I know I shared my disappointment, but, uh, as you can imagine, I tell her a LOT about food all the time, and I think she didn't really retain the info.  She just remembered how much I always wanted the scones from Jake's, so one time when I was in town, she "went rogue" (her term) and came home with a pile of scones as a surprise.  She got every kind, not knowing which I'd prefer.

They were indeed the same in-house made ones I had when I visited before.  Again pretty dry, over baked, burnt along the edges, hard.

The blueberry at least had berries inside, the others use flavor chips rather than real fruit.

Meh.  **+.

Drinks

Jake's Coffee Company is after all a "Coffee Company", so, the drinks are where they should shine.  I decided to try the coffee as well.

Hot drinks come in 3 sizes (12, 16, 20 ounces), and iced drinks in only 2 (16 or 24 ounces).  No surprises on this menu either, lattes, cappuccinos, mocha, chai, hot cocoa, tea from Two Leaves and A Bud.  The only notable element to me was the extensive list of Torani syrups, which you could add for $0.75, and included far more than your standard vanilla, hazelnut, and caramel.  They had fruity (raspberry, blackberry, strawberry) options, seasonal varieties (pumpkin, amaretto, peppermint), tropical (coconut, ginger), and more.  I question how fast they cycle through these and how fresh they are though, particularly, uh, things like seasonal pumpkin spice?

Anyway.

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Decaf Iced Americano.

It was a hot day, but mid-day, so I wanted an iced, decaf beverage.  I asked if they had decaf iced coffee, and was offered a hot coffee poured over ice.  I replied and said that would be rather watered down, and the guy just shrugged.  So I asked, "could you do an iced decaf americano instead?", and he agreed.  Well, ok then, shouldn't that have been what he suggested?  This did not instill me with much confidence.

My iced americano, once it arrived nearly 15 minutes later, was actually fine.  Strong enough, no funk to it, plentiful ice.  

***.

Cold Brew.

On another visit, I opted for the regular cold brew.

It was quite good, dark, deep flavor.  Not acidic.  I'd get this again gladly.

****.

Decaf Americano.

Another visit, back to decaf, a warm americano this time.

It actually was VERY good, and left me with a bit of a zing, which makes me question if it really was decaf.  But I quite enjoyed it.

****.