11 - Wash Perk, Denver (Wash Park)

Coffee Shop:
Wash Perk
http://www.washperk.com
853 E Ohio Ave
Denver, CO 80209

Date Visited:
Monday, April 25, 2016
About 2:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Purchased:
16oz iced almond milk latte: $4.80

This was not a $4.80 iced latte.  They charged $1.10 for almond milk.

$1.10 in order to have almond milk in my iced latte.

$1.10 for almond milk is OUTRAGEOUS.  My initial impression is I would like this place a lot, and I thought I was going to, but that alone is enough to be a deterrent for me.  There is no reason to charge that much other than because they can get away with it.  But like...they can't.  I will never do that again.  I skimmed the menu for how much a charge would be and didn't see one.  I assumed it would be like 60 cents, which I still think is annoying and too much, so I just ordered.  It was almost twice that.  It's totally unreasonable.  I will pay extra for a really good latte, but these are not expensive lattes.  If it was some kind of secret-recipe-amazing-house-made almond milk, I would also be open to the idea.  But it's not.  They bought it and poured it in a cup, just like they do with dairy milk.  That service is not worth a 25% increase on the price of my latte.

I just don't have anything to say about the latte anymore.  It's decent, but it doesn't matter.  No one should ever order this.

A few comments on the latte experience itself: It was quite good.  I'm glad I didn't get it hot.  I had the vibe that from here it would be more like one of those that I don't like, and after tasting the cold I think I would have liked the hot significantly less.  But iced it was really good.

I have thought that the almond milk lattes I didn't like had something to do with it being steamed and not being steamed well, so it makes sense that I would think that iced is better.

But that's the other thing - YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING TO THE ALMOND MILK FOR ME.  I could have ordered espresso and brought an entire carton of my own almond milk for the same price (between the normal additional price for latte vs espresso and the additional $1.10...pretty much).  This is just not okay.  [I want to be comfy here right now, but holy crap I'm so annoyed.]

I don't get it because it seems like a nice, friendly coffee shop that would do right by customers, but more than the unreasonable extra 70 cents I paid, it makes me mad that they have this nickel-and-diming-butactuallymultiplequarters thing going on.

This is my latte.

Anyway, there was nice, ample seating, both indoor and outside.  It was nice inside by the windows on a sunny day, as well as looking appealing outside, so it's possible to get some of the best of both worlds (enjoying the idea of "outside" but without the glare and wind :) ).

There was cool art, areas for kids to sit, and an overall cool, unique atmosphere inside.  There were LOTS of different seating options - that's what I thought was the coolest thing about this place.  Tables, counters, nice window nooks, soft chairs...all organized very comfily.  They also had a stack of board games.  I was originally sitting at a table, but there was a sign that said it was a community table and to make space if groups came in to use it - I like that.  No groups came, but a space opened up by a window, so I moved later.

I don't have as many "coffee" comments, partially because I can't talk about this drink.  Also because it was more of a regular coffee shop - good, but not a specialty shop.  Like, I asked a question about the cold brew and the barista didn't know (they had nitro, but were unsure if it was cold brew, but it is).  I am for sure not a pretentious coffee specialist (although I am getting there! :) ) so I can't ask anything that obscure.   He seemed surprised when I asked what kind of cold brew it was.  So again, they have good stuff, but not hardcore or specialty.  But it seemed like a very nice place to chill out with decent quality beverages.

I didn't like the music much.  I should have known this place was so close to great yet so far when I walked in and Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People was playing and there were people tapping their fingers to a song about kids running away from bullets... (biased...I hate that song and I hate it when people are jamming out to it like it's a bubble gum pop song).  Anyway, overall it was a bit too loud and distinct.  It didn't blend into a background mood-setting device (a thing which I often still enjoy even if it's not music I would listen to on my own).  Like, it didn't really seem to be part of a stylistic choice or set, so it kept being jarring.  It was noticeable because the shop was otherwise very nice and mellow and quiet and relaxing.  Again...so close, yet so far.  It ended up being distracting.  Ugh....I just wanted to settle in to this nice, great, chill atmosphere and I COULDN'T.  I mean, I had headphones, but that's not a plus for the shop...seriously it would have been so nice even if there was no music.  Trying to be concrete about my complaint, I guess it was this weird collection of distracting pop stuff.  Fortunately, later it was either off or very low, which was nicer.

Other than that the place was very chill and quiet while I was there.  I'm sad because it was so close, but just not there.  I get why a lot of people would love this place.  I almost would have.  But I just didn't...

I saw they had a vegan cookie, but pshhhhh I would not even consider after the $1.10 thing.  And they did have a vegan burrito, but $5.35.  Pshhhhh.  But all of the burritos were that much, so I'm not complaining about a surcharge here, just that this is even more ridiculous in the face of the former surcharge.  (And really...when you have a vegan burrito that is solely beans and rice....if you're going to claim that almond milk should raise the cost of a drink by $1.10, shouldn't beans and rice alone cost less than when you add other things or more complex ingredients? Hmmmmm??????)

This just really bothered me because there shouldn't even be an extra charge, so the AUDACITY to charge $1.10 is so ridiculous.  It is just a normal thing...it isn't even really a special service you are providing.  The number of people who get nut milks because they are lactose intolerant...for health reasons...because it's another unique flavor and they like the taste...because they are vegan...means it is just a normal service option you are providing to customers.  It is not going above and beyond, it is not an inconvenience, it is not really more expensive (especially with other ingredient disparities that don't hold a price difference, like I mentioned...and all flavor syrups are the same price....all of the nut milks are the same price - why is dairy milk different? - ...all of these other arbitrary options don't cause a price shift...)...this is just one more normal option for a customer to have. 

No wi-fi issues.

The shop is on nice, mostly quiet streets.  I like locations like this a lot for coffee shops.  There was free, unlimited street parking all around.

Seriously???