ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ

I was tasked with the all-important job of filling you in on the best spot to get your cup of morning joe or your afternoon iced latte. With eight coffee joints on my list, all with the potential to be named the best in Newberg, I hit the streets with great anticipation of my assignment and potential caffeine high. 

To make this a more manageable task, I wanted to first set up the criteria for what makes getting coffee an enjoyable experience. 

Location & Ambiance 

This pertains to two things. The first is considering how close it is to ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox. Is it within walking distance? The other aspect is, is it a fun place to get coffee? What’s the decor? Does it have fun drink names? What’s the atmosphere like? Can you walk in? And what are the workers like?

Value

This category will pertain to how many options the shop offers, and what the variations of prices look like for that shop. Also, if the shop has complementary items such as baked goods. 

Taste 

Most importantly we must look at taste. Rather than taste everything on the menu, I would order their house coffee for the coffee enthusiast. Then I would taste what I call a “foo foo” drink. This will be one of the coffee shop’s specialty drinks. My last criteria is I needed to make modifications to the “foo foo” drink. For example, substitute normal milk with a non-dairy milk of my choice, or add a syrup, etc. 

 

Lyrics Cafe

808 E Hancock Street | 

Lyrics Cafe is one of Newberg's newest coffee shops. It was formerly a coffee shop known as Coffee Cottage, but in 2023 went under new management and went through an extensive remodel. This coffee shops is just steps away from campus and offers ample room to study with friends. In addition to coffee, they also offer sandwiches, breakfast burritos, scones, salads and more. 

It's definitely a convenient location. The black coffee and americano seem to be consistent and worth it. However, the lattes are hit or miss. Amanda had a latte that was a little more steamer than latte. Their cinnamon rolls are very popular and you can't really go wrong with the avacodo BLT. 

Russia With Love

3777 Portland Road | 

This coffee spot is the farthest spot on our list. It is located off the highway as you are driving out of Newberg. There is no sense of ambiance. It is what it is: a drive-through coffee place, but the value is in the coffee. It is one of the lower prices in town.

I had Sean try one of their iced hazelnut lattes. He liked it, but found it lacked the amount of hazelnut flavor he desired, and it was quite strong. I tried the black coffee, and I’m sad to say the house coffee on its own was not one to get. It was acidic and burnt. I know this is a coffee blog, but I still love Russia With Love despite my lack of love for their coffee because they have great authentic Russian food worth trying.  

 

Caravan Coffee

2750 E. Ninth St. |

On my way here I thought I may have gotten lost, but it is a hidden gem. The shop itself has only been operational for five years, but they have been brewing coffee for over 20. And it shows.

I loved their house coffee, with its nice nutty round flavor even a non-coffee drinker would enjoy. As for other options, they don’t have many. It's very focused on the coffee, but all their flavors are authentic. 

Aisha tried a non-coffee option and tried an iced oat milk chai latte, with their house-made honey cinnamon syrup. She found it to be a “good classic chai” but wished there was a little more of the syrup (she did note she would go again). The seating was limited, but if it is a nice day there are some outdoor tables. 

Sip City

2000 Portland Road | 

Of the drive-through coffee shops, this is the closest one to campus, and I would say it is worth driving to. In my black-coffee-trying journey this coffee was surprisingly good, and it was my favorite of the drive-through black coffees I tried.

If you want a quick black coffee, this may be the stop to make. Bronston tried the “foo foo” drink from this location, and he reviewed a white chocolate almond milk latte. He really liked how the alternate milk added a nuttiness to the coffee. It is also worth mentioning they had five alternative milk options. If this is a priority to you, that is an impressive amount. 

Chapters Coffee

701 E. First St. |

When people think of coffee shops uniquely to Newberg, many people think of Chapters. I have visited Chapters many times, and it is not only a coffee shop, but also a bookstore and an ice cream shop. It’s a nice place to study, but as it has grown in popularity it can be hard to find a table and can be loud, though the bookstore is always fun to peruse.

Now the most important part: the coffee. Their house blend was a bold, quite fruity cup of coffee, but they are supplied by Caravan, so I’m not surprised I liked it. The real star and the reason people keep coming back are the chais. My go-to is the iced pumpkin chai latte. It is definitely sweet, but nicely spiced. It is like a dessert in a cup. 

Coffee Cat

107 S. College St. |

This was the last coffee spot I visited because its hours are a bit inconvenient. The store itself has a really fun vibe, with lots of nooks and crannies to sip your coffee. They also have lots of good food options for breakfast and lunch, but you better be quick if you want to stop by for lunch because they do close at 1 p.m. 

For the drinks themselves, I brought my sister along this time to be my “foo foo” drink taster. She ordered an iced white chocolate macadamia nut latte. She was taken aback by the intensity of this drink and felt it was “way too sweet.” They also did not ask either of us which sizes we wanted. As for the house brew, it was a very smooth cup of coffee with no defining flavor, and if you know about coffee you know what I mean when I say that this coffee had “coffee scum”. 

So Where Should You Go?

When I embarked on this journey I thought I would come out the other side with a very clear answer for my top recommendation. The truth is, the best coffee shop is dependent on more than just the quality of coffee. Because, as we have seen, some people do not even prefer coffee. 

So, here is the breakdown: The best house coffee goes to Caravan Coffee. Best drive-through goes to Sip City. But my overall winner, named best coffee shop in Newberg due to taste, choices, speed and ambiance, goes to Chapters.

I want to say that every place I visited brought something unique to the table, and I encourage you to visit them all, but I had to pick a winner in the end.