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Cartel Coffee Lab
Kyle Lamb 

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225 W. University Drive, Ste. 101 Tempe, AZ 85281

480-432-8237 

http://www.cartelcoffeelab.com/cartel...  

4 User reviews Write A Review
225 W. University Drive, Ste. 101 Tempe AZ 85281

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  • Coffeehouse
    Daily 7am-10pm
    $$ $, $$
    MasterCard, American Express, Discover, cash, check
  • Casual
    Takeout, Delivery, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly
    Snack Food
    None
  • Not Necessary
    Lot Available
Description

If you live in Phoenix and haven’t heard of Cartel Coffee Lab, you’ve probably been living under a Starbucks-shaped rock. Or maybe you just don’t drink java. This local coffee roaster is the best known in the café scene, and chances are you’ve sipped their coffee somewhere around town without realizing it, like Jobot Coffee Shop, which brews its own custom roast. But true fans go straight to the source – one of Cartel Coffee Lab’s four locations in Tempe, Scottsdale, Downtown Phoenix, and Tucson – to get their fix of Black Market Espresso. Cartel sources its four-bean blend from a single high-elevation farm in the Sul de Mina region of Brazil, where it goes through a natural pulping process on-site before leaving for its final destination, your cup. Once Cartel gets its hands on the green beans, they’re roasted to create a bold-flavored coffee with citrus and chocolate notes and a dash of sweetness.








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Back to Top Phoenix New Times Awards | Visit the Best Of Website

  • 2012 | Best Coffee Beans

    Great coffee starts with high-quality beans, and the folks at Cartel score only the best from Brazil for their impressive Black Market Espresso. The four-bean blend is sourced from a single high-elevation farm in the Sul de Mina region of Brazil, where it goes through its natural pulping process on-site before it is shipped off the farm. Cartel then roasts these beans to perfection, creating a bold-flavored coffee with citrus and chocolate notes and a dash of sweetness. More »

  • 2012 | Best Coffee House, Tempe

    When Cartel Coffee Lab opened its doors in 2007, it changed the game for coffee shops across the state. In Arizona, roasting beans was unheard of, and unless they'd visited Portland or Seattle, most Arizonans didn't really have a clue that coffee could be so good. With its über-hip industrial space and walls adorned with artwork from the Tempe community, Cartel is still top dog in this 'hood. A couple of other shops have tried, but not a single one can come close to the quality... More »

  • 2011 | Best Coffee House, Tempe

    There's a reason many other coffee shops in the Valley use beans from Cartel Coffee Lab: flavor, baby. Lots of it. Cartel's beans create rich and nutty espressos, smooth and sweet iced toddies, and chocolaty mochas. Baristas at Cartel roast their coffee beans on site, which means everything is super-fresh. And if you want to know every little detail of how your coffee is made and what's in it, the baristas at Cartel can tell you. This is a place for coffee connoisseurs. In fact, the baristas... More »

  • 2010 | Best Cardboard Art

    We like our baristas snarky. Occasionally, though, baristas are too busy filling coffee orders to lay on the snark. That's why the cardboard signs at Cartel are so subtly brilliant. "Get off your phone or we'll release the raptors," one sign displays in black and red Sharpie with tiny teeth in the "o" of "raptors." Another sign urges you to "bitch all you want, but cappuccinos are for here." We can't take our cappuccinos to go? Normally we'd be furious with an insatiable anger, but your... More »

  • 2010 | Best Coffee House, Tempe

    The competition for best coffee house is steep in Tempe, but really, for us there's no contest. We love Cartel first and foremost for its wicked-strong espresso -- more than worth the laughably long wait -- and then for the vibe. You won't find anything frap-like here, no smoothies or even much in the way of food. Just coffee and the people who love it. We also love the industrial-inspired furnishings, the changing art exhibits (lately we've fallen for the rickrack/strawberry... More »

  • 2009 | Best Coffee Beans

    Not only does this indie serve some of the best-brewed pick-me-ups in the Valley, but it also offers its bomb-diggity coffee beans for sale. Some of our faves include the fancy-pants Black Market Espresso, with its hint of grapefruit (sounds yucky, but it's fantastic), and roasts from Brazil and Guatemala. The shop, housed in a warehouse-like space, also sells goodies for the home brewer, such as straightforward French press coffee makers to more elaborate espresso machines. More »

  • 2008 | Best Neighborhood Coffee House, Tempe

    Looking for coffee in all the wrong Tempe places? Get your bean-loving butt to Cartel. Walk through its cheerful black-and-white tiled foyer into the mellow-but-hip high-ceilinged space, and you will swear you've died and gone to coffee heaven. And that's before you taste the espresso, which, in our humble opinion, is among the best in the Valley. Want a cup of regular coffee? They'll make it for you on the Clover 1S machine, which has five customizable options and brews one cup of coffee at... More »

Back to TopUser Reviews & Comments | Write a Review
  • phoenixnewtimesbestof
           (0)    (0) Flag

    | Phoenix, AZ | 315 Reviews

    4
    | Wed, May 6, 2009

    Looking for coffee in all the wrong Tempe places? Get your bean-loving butt to Cartel. Walk through its cheerful black-and-white tiled foyer into the mellow-but-hip high-ceilinged space, and you will swear you've died and gone to coffee heaven. And that's before you taste the espresso, which, in our humble opinion, is among the best in the Valley. Want a cup of regular coffee? They'll make it for you on the Clover 1S machine, which has five customizable options and brews one cup of coffee at a time. Open since January and tucked into the same complex on University that houses several other local independent businesses, including Wet Paint, this gem of a shop is owned and run by husband-and-wife team Jason and Amy Silberschlag. The Silberschlags are both native Arizonans — he's from Tucson, she hails from Wickenburg — and both coffee freaks with a conscience. Their business model was coffee roaster with espresso bar, which still applies; they roast small "hand-crafted" batches of beans purchased from just two places in South America, including a family-run farm in Guatemala, and distribute them wholesale around the Valley. But the espresso bar has taken on a life of its own. There's a steady stream of customers, changing art on the walls and a regular event on Final Friday — usually live music. "It's become the neighborhood living room," Amy says. Just like our living room — if it were way cooler and served coffee so good you wake up the next morning craving it.

  • stoneinmotion
           (0)    (0) Flag

    | Scottsdale, AZ | 16 Reviews

    4
    | Fri, July 16, 2010

    Great artistic atmosphere. Try the chai latte.

  • Miss Lenaiya
           (0)    (0) Flag

    | Tempe, AZ | 109 Reviews

    4
    | Wed, July 14, 2010

    This place has more coffee than you can imagine! latte's, mocha's, expresso, you name it! talk about a caffeine buzzzzz!!

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