You’re not alone if stylish beige and brown coffee cups have been taking over your social media feed. The second-ever Coach brand coffee shop opened at the Domain in North Austin, and the crowd continues to grow.
“It’s been insane,” said Kayla McCoy, a Coach sales associate at the Domain. “I think Austin’s kind of up-and-coming with a lot of new stuff. Literally, the line has been down three stores every weekend for the past three weekends.”
She explained how the coffee shop, a meticulous step in Coach’s rebrand, attracted the attention of Generation Z and revived the brand. Austin is the second city to have a cafe in a Coach store, after a standalone shop in New Jersey. The shop’s mascot, Lil Miss Jo, adorns its coffee cups and exclusive merchandise, tempting visitors to commemorate their exclusive experience. McCoy explained that all these intentional efforts and details on behalf of the brand boost the foot traffic in the new Austin location.
The coffee shop menu boasts specialty lattes like a s’mores latte, cakes shaped like their iconic Tabby bags and– a staff favorite– chocolate chip cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt on the top.
With all the buzz, I figured it was time for this Eats writer to make her way to the Domain. McCoy wasn’t joking when she described the lines. I waited nearly 45 minutes to order and receive my coffee and the line kept growing behind me.
University of Texas journalism junior Sara Solano-Aguirre went opening weekend and faced smaller lines. She and her friend sampled the s’mores latte, lemonade, croissants and brownies with mixed reviews.
“[My friend] told me that was the best croissant she’d ever had,” said Solano-Aguirre.
Unfortunately, she didn’t share her friend’s sentiment about the staff and social media recommended brownie. Although the treat received high praise when Solano-Aguirre asked the baristas about it, it fell flat when she tasted it.
“I mean, it was a brownie. Nothing too crazy,” she said. “I could have probably done a better job, to be honest.”
When I arrived around 5 p.m., there were no brownies or croissants. In fact, most of their pastries were out of stock due to the surprisingly busy Monday. I ordered a simple iced vanilla latte with oat milk, one of the true tests of any coffee shop. My friend ordered a s’mores latte.
Dear readers, nearly $12 later, I’m so disappointed to say that this whole experience left me underwhelmed and overstimulated. The iced coffee I received made me regret ever drinking anything other than matcha or chai. The standard double shot of espresso left so much coffee flavor to be desired, resulting in a glorified cup of oat milk over ice with a suggestion of artificial vanilla. To make matters worse, the oat milk in no way satisfied this dairy-free girl. To make matters worse, my friend was also dissatisfied with her s’mores latte. It lacked espresso and s’mores flavor, defeating the purpose of the entire drink. Plus, it was a whopping $7 with no add-ons.
“To be honest, it’s just the idea of it [that’s] nice,” said Solano-Aguirre, although she had one plus side. “If you just want to look, the coffee shop kind of gives you a little bit of an excuse to go and look at bags.”
I completely agree with her on this one. If I were in the market for a Coach bag, I wouldn’t mind an overpriced cup of coffee to amplify my shopping experience. The store is very chic, with its luxury bags catching your eye as soon as you enter. Their bag charms and accessories beckon from tables in the center of the space. And, of course, that iconic coach branding is everywhere. The coffee shop tucked away on the right continues the theme of the store, putting an espresso brown and cream white spin on all the logos and merch. However, since I am indeed a broke college student, I was not in the market for an overpriced bag or latte.
Unfortunately, I still left the Domain paying for one of the two, and it did not live up to the hype.
