Qahwatea Adds a Great Coffee Shop to the St, Louis Suburbs

My dad and I go out for coffee twice a week. This all started when he retired and it has quickly become one of my favorite activities. My brother comes along sometimes. So does my buddy Kirk. We get to hang out, chat with each other and have some good coffee, and sometimes, some good food. We have visited a bunch of shops over the years. We try to go to newer shops after they've opened, but we hit up our favorites more times than not. I prefer Sump here in Saint Louis. My dad is a Shaw's fan. Kirk and Seth don't seem to mind where we go, so it is left up to my dad and I.

Today it was just my dad and me. Seth and Kirk both had work. My dad has told me about a newer shop out my way. It's a Yemeni coffee shop. It has replaced what used to be the Blockbuster that my family went to when I was a kid. Apparently he went a while back with my mom and they both liked it. Today it was my turn to give it a try.

The shop is called Qahwatea. When we walked in, the vibe was great for me. The place was big and spread out. It felt and looked very clean. All of the pastries were up front and easy to find. The staff greeted us and we were helped instantly. I was so intent on what I was going to get that I don't even know what my dad ordered. He let me have a drink and it tasted like brown sugar and cinnamon and it was very tasty. I got a banana mousse thing and an iced pistachio latte. The banana mousse was dynamite. It had a white chocolate type cover on it and it was excellent. The mousse was even better. It was sweet, but not too sweet. The banana flavor was there, but it wasn't overpowering. It also had little pieces of banana in it, and that added a solid texture that I wanted. And the jam/cake thing that was on the bottom was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed my treat.

My pistachio latte was on a whole other level. This is, and I'm not being hyperbolic, one of the better coffee drinks I have had in a long, long time. I'm usually more of an espresso tonic or a citrus forward coffee fan. I don't always get lattes because milk sometimes messes up my stomach. But I had to get this pistachio latte today. They had a whole thing on the online menu about it, I've been to one other Yemeni coffee shop before and got a pistachio drink and I have always loved the flavor of pistachio. Qahwatea took everything in this drink and blended it perfectly. I loved every single sip of this drink. It felt like I was drinking pistachios. And that is a good thing. I loved the nuttiness and coffee flavor throughout the drink. My dad tried it and he seemed impressed. We were both talking about the drink well after we finished it. I was amazed at how perfectly they got the flavor of pistachio in this drink. The milk didn't do anything to my stomach, the coffee was very good and not too strong and however they made the syrup was the absolute best. During one drink I got some of the crystalized pistachio flavor and it was so, so good. It was like a sugar crystal mixed with actual pistachios. I wanted more and more of it. I usually sip my drinks but today I inhaled it. It isn't too often that my dad and I finish our drinks before we leave a place, but we did today. We were both so impressed with the drinks that we did not want to stop drinking them. When we left I told my dad that I will for sure be coming back and getting this drink, as well as the rest of the menu. It was a little higher priced than other shops, but that doesn't bother me when the quality is this damn good. Sometimes a little extra money leads to a very good drink, like this latte.

I cannot recommend this place enough. If you live anywhere close to Ellisville, go to Qahwatea and get this pistachio latte, preferably iced. You will be a very, very happy person while drinking this drink. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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