Cartel Coffee Lab

Phoenix New Times Reviews and News

• Is Cartel Coffee Lab Getting Ready to Brew Beer?

  By Shannon Armour | Mon, September 26, 2011

  ?It looks like the folks behind Cartel Coffee Lab are brewing up a little something different -- beer.  Ever since the popular Tempe location took over the adjacent space, the rumors having More >

• Cartel Coffee Lessons and Grilled Halibut in Today's Eater's Digest

  By Shannon Armour | Fri, August 12, 2011

  Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?Coffee SchoolIt's not too late to sign up for Cartel Coffee Lab's "Seed to Cup" series.  The three-day seri More >

• Cartel Coffee Lab: No French Roasts Harmed in Fire

  By Claire Lawton | Tue, April 6, 2010

  Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe was temporarily evacuated when its coffee roaster, aka Big Red, overheated and caught on fire around noon. Owner Jason Silberschlag says the small fire caused no damage, b More >

User Reviews

4 User reviews

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  stoneinmotion

  | Fri, July 16, 2010

  Great artistic atmosphere. Try the chai latte.

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  Miss Lenaiya

  | 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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  JessicaHill

  | Wed, May 05, 2010

  This coffee shop has a great vibe and fits in perfectly with the feel of college-town Tempe. The bicycle wheel art on the wall is really cool and I love the signs written on cardboard boxes all over the place - the employees here aren't afraid to be snarky. The chai is pretty delicious and I've heard nothing but good things about the coffee - especially since they roast the beans right there in the shop.

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  phoenixnewtimesbestof

  | Wed, May 06, 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.

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