Double Shot: Broken Robot Coffee
Welcome, new readers! This is the first edition of “Double Shot” for the 2025-2026 academic year, and our tenth issue overall. You can find the first nine on the Quest’s website. We review local cafes based on the criteria of walkability and accessibility, pricing, coffee quality, food quality, atmosphere, and alternative (non-coffee) drinks.
Walkability/Accessibility [A-]: Broken Robot is on 29th Ave and Gladstone, and is easily accessible by taking the 10 bus from campus. They close at 1:00pm and are not open on Tuesdays, but they’re planning on extending their hours eventually.
Pricing [A]: Espresso is $3.50, a cortado is $4.00, and a 12 oz latte is $4.75. Any place with a 12 oz latte for $5 or under gets an A in our book. The alternative drinks are also reasonable, with a London fog being $4.75 and a 12 oz chai being the same.
Coffee Quality (and option variety) [A]: Their coffee is our new favorite for making at home. Their espresso drinks are fantastic. If you’re not an espresso fan, they’re one of the only cafes we’ve reviewed that keeps an airpot of filter coffee made at all times. Their filter coffee is top-notch as well. It has a radically different flavor profile from the espresso drinks, and is great black or with cream and sugar. Connor says that although he does not drink black coffee, he would drink Broken Robot’s coffee black. Broken Robot also uses specific cold coffee for their iced coffee drinks, and clearly care greatly about the quality of their offerings. Their lavender latte is better balanced and more delicate than most, despite using the same syrup as pretty much every coffee shop out there. Their coffee is doing the hard work here, and its light bitterness balances very well with syrups.
Food Pricing and Quality [B]: Their pastries are sourced from Marsee, a Pacific Northwest commercial bakery. They also offer very tasty bagels. Each of the pastries are priced individually, so you have to ask for the individual costs.
Atmosphere [B+]: Broken Robot is small and cozy with a pretty outdoor table and comfortable chairs for sitting and reading in. They have a bar, as well as normal table seating, and often have jazz playing on the speakers.
Alternative Drinks [A]: We tried their London fog and their chai. The chai was the spiciest we’ve tried yet, which we would call a positive. Underneath the spice, it’s cardamom-forward. The London fog was pleasantly, but not overly, sweet. Broken Robot offers loose leaf teas as well as bagged ones.