21st Street Coffee and Tea

On March 29th, 2006 we opened our doors for the first time in the Strip District. Now here we are one year older (and wiser)- and our second shop is 5 months old!

Mention our one year anniversary (and that you read this blog) at either our downtown store (Frick Building) or our Strip District store and we’ll up your drink size at no extra charge! We’ll do it the entire month of April- let’s just not go crazy here people we do have a biz to run…

We wanted to take a few moments and thank all of loyal regulars who have made each day such an enjoyable experience. If you are new to our shops, here are a few words about why we’re here…

We have always enjoyed coffee, but always felt put off by some of the local cafe’s or national chains where you were served snobbery with your latte. We wanted to create an atmosphere that made espresso drinks accessible to both the experienced and the novice. We partnered with Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea because not only did they roast the best coffee we had ever tasted (2007 roaster of the year), but they were genuinely excited to teach others about just how great a cup of coffee or a single espresso can be. Intelligentsia also pays well above fair trade prices to farmers for quality beans, so you can feel good about the origin of the coffee but not at the expense of quality.

We opened our Strip District shop on March 29th, 2006 in a tiny spot on Smallman Street. When you come into the shop you’ll notice that our menu is dominated by our wide selection of espresso drinks, coffee and tea, but we also make our own panini, salads, smoothies. Finally we offer a fine selection of pastries from local bakeries (and some from NYC). In the warmer months we offer table service in front of our shop. Customers have commented on the outdoor cafe setting being reminiscent of a European Cafe.

In November 2006, we opened a second location downtown in the Frick building lobby. This location was even smaller than the first (80sqft), and more to the point (do not currently offer the lunch items). We also feature Pennsylvania’s first Synesso Cyncra, possibly the finest piece of espresso machinery ever created. The downtown shop was an immediate success.

We realize that there are many “coffee shops” in the area, and to visit them all would be a never ending journey, but we wanted to point out why our shops are unique:

• We are owner operated
• We strive to ensure each espresso drink is consistently excellent
• We enjoy educating our customers about espresso, coffee and tea but we are equally interested in listening to our customers to ensure they get what they want
• Our best days are when our customers say “You made my day” or “I love to come here to get a break from my work day”. After all our name Caffe (coffee) Intermezzo (intermisson/break) means a “coffee break” in your day

So if you are in the Strip, we are just around the corner on Smallman from Pamela’s Diner. If you’re going to try a drink, you have to try our lattes, but you may also want to enjoy our mozzarella and roasted red pepper panini. If you are downtown, stop in the Frick building, get in line, and prepare to have the best espresso drink you’ve ever experienced.

Thanks again and see you soon.