Kikwetu Coffee Review: The Coffee Redemption Tour Continues
Kikwetu Coffee Review: The Coffee Redemption Tour Continues
Kikwetu Coffee Review: A West Loop Farmers Market Coffee That Still Tastes Like Coffee
After our specialty coffee adventure at Metric Coffee, I was beginning to wonder if I had accidentally become the old guy yelling at clouds.
Or more specifically:
“Why does all coffee suddenly taste like fruit?”
As part of expanding F’nAround into food, beverage, coffee reviews, and hopefully coffee expos and industry events, we’ve been exploring Chicago’s specialty coffee scene.
On our walk to Metric, we ran into a friend from one of our dog walks.
Naturally, we started talking coffee.
I explained that we were on a mission to understand specialty coffee and review some of Chicago’s top-rated offerings.
She immediately said:
“You should go to the West Loop Farmers Market. There’s a great coffee vendor there. It starts with a K.”
That was enough information for us.
After finishing our visit to Metric, we headed over to the Green City Market West Loop at Mary Bartelme Park. 900 west Monroe.
For those who know the neighborhood, you know exactly where it is.
Great market.
Great atmosphere.
Lots of vendors.
Lots of dogs.
And eventually we found the coffee stand.
Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company. Kikwetu.coffee
Now here’s where things got funny.
After spending the morning drinking specialty coffee that tasted like strawberries, honeycomb, jasmine, and every fruit basket known to mankind, I looked at Kikwetu’s specialty cold brew menu.
Lavender Bee.
Asali Rose.
Bourbon Bae.
I immediately thought:
“Oh no. Here we go again.”
Have coffee people declared war on coffee?
Is tasting coffee no longer fashionable?
Do we all secretly want flowers and fruit instead?
Fortunately, the team at Kikwetu was incredibly friendly.
We told them about our earlier stop at Metric and our ongoing specialty coffee experiment.
Rather than forcing me into another floral flavor adventure, they suggested something simpler.
An iced cold brew with oat milk and simple syrup.
And honestly?
It was pretty good.
I still prefer espresso.
Nothing is changing that.
But unlike some of the more fruit-forward specialty coffees I’d been trying, this still tasted like coffee.
Actual coffee.
The beverage I came looking for.
The real surprise came when they let us sample their medium roast.
The tasting notes listed black currant, passion fruit, and blood orange.
At this point I was prepared for another identity crisis.
Instead, I got something that actually balanced those flavors with what I wanted from coffee in the first place.
You could taste the notes.
You could understand what they were talking about.
But underneath it all, it still tasted like coffee.
That was the breakthrough.
For the first time during this specialty coffee journey, I understood how the flavor notes could complement the coffee rather than replace it.
The experience ended up making a lot more sense after talking with the staff.
They explained that they’re actually located in the same building as Metric Coffee and share part of the production space.
Suddenly everything clicked.
The focus on quality beans.
The attention to sourcing.
The flavor experimentation.
The overlap made perfect sense.
The difference was that Kikwetu managed to find a balance that worked better for my palate.
What I appreciated most was the people.
Everyone was welcoming.
Everyone was willing to explain what they were serving.
Nobody acted like I needed a coffee sommelier certification to enjoy the experience.
For someone trying to learn the specialty coffee world, that matters.
Will I suddenly become the guy ordering lavender-infused honey cold brew every morning?
Probably not.
Will I stop drinking espresso?
Absolutely not.
But if I’m at the Green City Market in West Loop, walking around Mary Bartelme Park, and I need a coffee?
Kikwetu is absolutely a stop I’d make again.
So thank you to our fellow dog-walk friend for the recommendation.
What started as a specialty coffee research mission ended up turning into two completely different coffee experiences in one afternoon.
Metric taught me what specialty coffee can be.
Kikwetu reminded me that coffee can still taste like coffee.
And for a guy who judges caffeine based on whether it can restart a stopped heart, that’s a compliment.
Kikwetu coffee review by Moe #coffee #farmersmarket #chicago #review #tastetest #taste #test #market #lol
