Longfellow’s Coffee (Kinnelon)
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Get ready to spin. Finding your way up to this drive-thru window is not easy. It’s essentially the size of a parking space in the parking lot of a law office and Cartridge World. If you do figure it out on your first go, you should pat yourself on the back. Once you pull around, do a U-turn, back up and loop to the other side, you will probably find yourself in a line. It’s one window; it’s to be expected. By the time I got to the point of ordering, my head was still spinning (and not because of the Fast and Furious finesse it took to get in). The menu is a titan, and I was at the window, internally dueling between the Peach Cobbler Latte seasonal, the latte with their homemade toasted marshmallow syrup (the baristas recommendation), an oat cappuccino with their bourbon syrup, an espresso beverage with a CBD shot, or a Chagaccino. Along with the aforementioned recommendation, the barista with the blonding coral hair walked me through it. This soul, epic septum piercing and all, was kind and patient, passionately going over the many options with me and laughing when I asked to take a photo of the head of the takeaway window. On this ledge was a row of mini figurines—painted skull, fox unicorn, mushroom, shrunken dragon—right along with the OPEN neon. They laughed because they appreciated me asking. “A blogger came by once and just had her camera in my face. She didn’t even ask, just had her camera out the whole time.” “The entire time,” I asked incredulously. “Yeah,” they laughed. I’m not above the hustle, and I’m just glad this person wasn’t offended. I heard laughter from inside the small, white coffeehouse and realized there were about one to two other people in there. The Longfellow’s coffeehouse is full of kind spirits. Good thing too given that, as soon as I was handed my drink, the car behind me honked as though I was supposed to take off like an airplane. At least let me get the drink into my cup holder...as it always is driving in any circumstance, it’s the other drivers that you have to worry about. But, something about the spirit (something about the coffee?) prompts the sanity-saving thought as the tires start to roll: let them honk.
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Drink: Small Hot Coconut Milk Chagaccino
It’s a lot of things. I don’t normally do hot coconut milk, but—when I found out plant milks didn’t cost extra, my whole order changed. I should have opted for oat at that point, but it’s a drive-through, and you see the car behind you, and you just, well, panic. I adore that they have the espresso shots per size bracketed on the left of the espresso beverages. What a helpful addition. So, the small Chagaccino came with 2 shots, and—going back to how this write-up started—it is the taste equivalent of debris from an explosion: it lands everywhere. I had a long day ahead of me, and I knew that my body would be very appreciative of the chaga. What’s chaga? Chaga is a kind of mushroom with adaptogenic effects that regulates the immune system. Did I know that going in? Yes, yes I did. I’ve done a lot of research on adaptogens and have wanted to try the chagaccino for (almost to the day) 2 years. I’m glad I got the coconut milk on second thought, given how much the chaga powder thickened up the drink. I think that it may have approached the consistency of a BOOST if I’d gone with the oat milk. I think that I’d get it iced in the future because it really does end up being heavier than expected. The coffee, coconut milk, and chaga are together a singular beverage, but no unique flavor develops when these ingredients are mixed. It’s all three ingredients the entire time, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no earthy or artificial flavor to get over; and it’s not at all hard to love. That’s my assessment. They also put this globular, strawberry red Stix To Go beverage plug in the sip hole to keep it from spilling and—not only is this much appreciated—it offers a cool touch.
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Price: Small Hot Coconut Milk Chagaccino=$7.40
Hours: Everyday {6–19}
Extra Notes:
Fun note: if you go to their website, they have Current Flavored Syrups lists for both locations, so you can check before you even hop in your car to see whether the syrup you want is available!