39 - Watercourse Foods, Denver

They have very pretty food and drinks.

"Coffee Shop:"
Watercourse Foods
Vegan Comfort Food
http://www.watercoursefoods.com/
837 E 17th ave
Denver, CO 80218

Date Visited:
Sunday, November 6, 2016
About 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Purchased:
8 oz pumpkin latte with coconut milk: $4.50
+ food

This place is a restaurant.  But they have coffee and wifi.

The Watercourse menu promised light and fluffy pancakes and that was the primary reason for this visit.  Our expectations were lofty and Watercourse delivered!  Also everything was really pretty.  The pancakes were awesome and we also got home fries, which were awesome too.

But on to the coffee.  I got a pumpkin latte.  Every year I do this thing where I want to get pumpkin things because they sound so good and festive, and then have to come to terms with the fact that I don't actually like pumpkin things.  I don't even really like pumpkin pie, although it has grown on me and I enjoy a short experience of eating it because it is exciting and festive.  It's not bad, but I just don't enjoy it that much.  I actually DISlike fake pumpkin-flavored things and don't mess with that stuff, but I checked and Watercourse uses pumpkin puree and that sounded exciting and festive for a latte so I decided it was time for this year's due diligence into pumpkin adventures with a latte.

There just wasn't much chance that my reaction was going to be something other than, "that's not too bad."  And that's basically how I felt.  However, the latte was a bit of an adventure.

I told the waitress that I was guessing it would be best with almond milk, since I thought coconut milk might be too much of a contrasting taste, but asked her opinion.  She specifically pointed out that she liked it with coconut (I hadn't mentioned my coconut thoughts aloud).  So I settled upon the choice of a coconut milk pumpkin latte.

A very pretty latte.

My first reaction was that it was decent.  Well, that was my first reaction after I tasted it.  My very first reaction was that it was very pretty.  I don't think the picture captures quite how nice and smooth and artsy it looked.  It was very pretty.

There was a lot going on with the flavor and I was turned off by some of the layers.  There was a general, wholesome pumpkin taste, along with espresso, and quite a strong sour taste, which I think was the root of the aspect I didn't like.  It was very creamy, which I particularly noted since coconut milk products are sometime more watery than those with almond milk (I personally think that this is because people make them less often so there is generally less finesse or proportions are off - or likely they use subpar milk - because coconut milk is so creamy).  I think the pumpkin added to the creaminess.

As I reached the end of the drink is suddenly got VERY STRONG.  But also better.  I think that it was not mixed well and a lot had settled to the ground.  The last part of the latte was very sweet and not very sour.  The pumpkin wasn't as obvious and the "regular latte" taste had faded.

Again, it was REALLY STRONG at the end.  I could barely drink it without making reactionary faces.  But it was good, just on overload.

So the latte was an adventure.  I wonder what it would have tasted like if I had stirred it so that the flavors were well mixed.  It would definitely have been better.  Overall it was a reasonably enjoyable pumpkin adventure.  If I had gotten the full mixed experience I believe I would have considered it a rather enjoyable pumpkin experience.

The restaurant was an all right place to hang out.  They have outdoor seating as well, but we sat inside.  It's sort of weirdly lit and even the natural light was blocked from where we were, so it was too dark, even though it was daytime (or, especially because it was daytime it felt darker than it should have).  We sat in a booth and it wan't especially comfortable, but there was nothing wrong with it.

So it was a decent place to eat and hang out with really pretty food and a worthwhile pumpkin adventure.

They have wifi, but I hardly used it.

They don't have parking, but there was street parking in the near vicinity.  It's free, and normally limited to two hours, but we were there on a Sunday so it wasn't.  It seems like it would be reasonable to expect to find a spot within  a couple of blocks, even if it was busier.