Philz Coffee

Reviews 7

JO

Jon Kaiser

The coffee is why one comes here. Period. Philz has a large variety of light, medium, and dark roasts that are ground and brewed to order as sweet and creamy as you like. Their trick of the trade is using a huge amount of ground coffee to brew a single cup in order to produce a very strongly flavored product. Each cup is made individually by pouring near-boiling water over your ground coffee of choice and through what looks like cheesecloth. Protip: Bring your own coffee mug and they will fill it, no matter how big it is, and only charge you for the price of a regular small coffee. This will save you 50 cents off the price of a large, plus youll get more coffee than will fit in one of their large cups. As far as the atmosphere is concerned, its always cold inside, the outside seating is uncomfortable, and its not particularly clean or welcoming in either. The furnishings are of the typical funky college coffee house variety. Philz offers some prepared foods, some of which they will warm up for you. They always look a little sad; like theyve sat in a case for several days. I havent ever tried any food there myself and have only rarely seen anyone else actually eat anything theyve purchased on site. If you enjoy people-watching, this particular Philz is a great place to do so, especially when SJSU is in session. Bear in mind, the downtown location attracts a good cross-section of folks: from college students to cops on patrol to bleary-eyed residents of the adjacent high-end condos who shuffle in wearing their bathrobes and fuzzy slippers.

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VA

Valerie

One of the best smells in the world is a fresh roasted cup of coffee and Im not talking about waking up to Folgers. 2 words Philz Coffee! You know Philz is going to be great because it has a Z at the end. Every word is better with the letter Z in it. Fa shizzle my nizzle! Wait....bad example. If you havent had the pleasure to venture into a Philz yet I suggest that you put it on your bucket list. With no shortage of coffee shops in the area Philz seems to come strong with its competitors. Maybe its because they grind and brew their coffee one cup at a time. Or maybe as their website states "All of our coffees are special customized blends crafted by Phil himself". It just might be when youre at Philz its like you have your own private barista. They cater your drink to your liking. Personalized just for you! All I know is that each cup Ive had so far keeps me coming back for more. Who knew adding a mint leaf to my iced coffee would be so life altering. Yes their Mint Mojito its an addiction. When you walk in a see a line you kind of know that Philz is a big deal and as I stated previously with each cup made to order sometimes expect a 5-10 minute wait. I dont mind though its one of the best coffee shops around. Now go on, taste and worship!

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AN

Annie Lin

I LOVE PHILZ! This branch and the Cupertino branch that opened recently are the closest to me. I prefer going to the Cupertino one usually since I dont have to pay for parking... :P but before, I would always come to the San Jose one. I first got introduced to Philz when I was studying at Cal so I was really happy to know that they had opened one in San Jose! The workers at this particular Philz dont seem to be as friendly and are sometimes a bit more stuck up than others but hey -I still get good coffee so I cant complain. Im a huge fan of the iced mint mojito coffee, then again..who isnt. I also like their dark roast - most particularly their Jacobs and their Julies. I always get my coffee black since its much healthier so dont really ask for cream or sugar, though the barista does ask you so thats nice if you like to customize your drink a bit! I also really like the atmosphere here. A lot of people come to just chill, catch up, or study. The music is a bit too loud for studying but just bring some noise cancelling headphones and youll have the perfect study environment. Youll find a lot of students here since its SJSU. Highly recommended. I.love.Philz. :))

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JO

Jonas Gebhardt

This place is one in a kind and probably serves some of the best coffee in the Bay. Heres how it works: Pass the cashier and queue in line until one of the baristas calls you up. Choose between light, medium or dark roast. Each roast has different subroasts and its certainly worth trying out a different one every time. I like the medium roast ones. They are always patient enough to recommend you a roast and explain it. And then the magic starts to happen: they brew your personal coffee freshly with hot water. In fact, the celebrate coffee brewing as an art which makes it fun to watch. That also leads to the fact that the place is always filled with some nice and fresh coffee scent that really gets you into the mood for coffee while the brewing is happening. You can also add creamer or sugar to your coffee. I usually go for light creamer which adds a nice, smooth feeling to your coffee. While youre waiting for your drink to get ready you can pay. Dont forget to tip youre barista directly in cash if you like their blend. Really an excellent coffee place. Once you have been here once you wont ever go to any chain store again.

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PE

Pei L Yu

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AL

Alane Merritt

Perhaps I am not "hipster" enough because Philz didnt live up to the hype for me. Their concept of one cup at a time may make you think that your coffee will be special but its just too much of a wait time for me. I cant imagine anyone trying to get a quick cup of coffee in the morning before work/school. I am not used to waiting 10-15 minutes for a cup of coffee. I think thats pretty ridiculous even if they are "crafting" your coffee. Ive tried several flavors from Philz but nothing really stood out to me. I usually get them iced but I feel as if they add too much ice and its always watered down when I receive it. I get light sugar+creme but still the coffee taste isnt there. I also dont like how they add the sugar and creme for us, I rather just do it myself. I think Ill stick to my vietnamese coffee or Starbucks...

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KI

Kiera Pietrangelo

Im not a coffee person by any means, so its usually hard for me to enjoy it as a casual drink. However, Philz is definitely the exception. I once tagged along with a friend who was getting the ecstatic, which is a lovely idea of a blend for them, consisting of all of their coffees in one. Once I saw the mint mojito I had to try it. And I was blown away by not only the flavor but the wonderful cream on top. With plenty of mint leaves inside, this was a real mint drink. I have since tried the mint mojito at the Los Gatos location and was really disappointed by no thick frothy cream, bitter coffee and just an overall pretty bad concoction. So Id definitely recommend this place, sure its pretty busy during the semester, but as an SJSU student its super convenient between classes and fantastic!

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