The Passionate and Charming Wild Iris Coffeehouse
We are passionate about coffee and everything that goes into a complete and charming coffeehouse experience. Every day, we bake many delicious pastries and desserts using our family recipes and recipes from our bakers and customer’s families. Sandwiches, seasonal soups or salads, quiche, bagels, and other light fare are served for your morning, noon, and evening cravings. We are Prescott, Arizona’s local gathering place and a part of the daily routine. Visit us, and you’ll see we are so much more than just a coffeehouse. For more information visit wildiriscoffee.com
Transcript
00:00 Wild Iris Coffee House used to be a Coca-Cola bottling plant back in the 30s.
00:06 The building is gorgeous and of course we've heard the coffee is phenomenal.
00:11 Our search for the best coffee shop in Prescott continues right now.
00:16 This month will be 16 years of Wild Iris Coffee House.
00:25 And Julie, you are an expert. What gives this place the vibe that it has?
00:31 It's a little old European. I studied art history in college.
00:37 So I remember reading about all these artists that went to coffee houses
00:44 and all the community that happened in them.
00:47 And so this place was kind of a spin on that.
00:51 And it's just a place for all walks of life.
00:54 We have anywhere from junior high kids that come in here when they've been well behaved
01:01 all the way up to people in their 90s.
01:04 Okay, what's a popular junior high school kid order?
01:08 Oh my gosh, it's always the blended drinks. Always. Yes.
01:12 And what about for your octogenarians and 90 year olds?
01:15 Drip coffee. Unless we can talk them into getting Americanos, which I feel better.
01:22 That's an upgrade. It is an upgrade.
01:24 Elevate your coffee. Yeah.
01:26 Well, I feel like there are a few metrics that you can judge a coffee shop by.
01:31 One of them is can you get any work done?
01:33 And one of them is, is it good for a first date? Can you speak to those two?
01:38 Oh, well, if you were to look around in here right now,
01:42 there are quite a few people that are working on laptops.
01:45 Yes.
01:46 And there's a lot of books that are written in here.
01:50 There's a lot of work that does get done.
01:53 And we have had quite a few first dates that have ended in marriage.
01:59 A couple we've been part of the proposals, which is just really sweet.
02:03 So this place has good love juju.
02:05 I think so.
02:06 I can feel that.
02:08 And I definitely see a few work meetings going on.
02:11 It feels productive.
02:13 Let's talk about coffee, the least important thing about a coffee.
02:18 Tell me about your coffee.
02:19 Well, we have been with the same roaster, Adam Olson, out of Kirkland, Washington, since day one.
02:25 I met him at a trade show, just bonded with him and his family.
02:31 And we've been with him ever since.
02:33 And he's really, he calls himself a super taster.
02:37 He just loves coffee.
02:39 He's definitely nerdy.
02:41 Well, nerd out with me.
02:43 What is the bouquet of the coffee here? Describe it.
02:46 So the way Adam likes to roast is he doesn't like anything too dark.
02:50 He really likes each of the beans to express their own particular flavor.
02:56 My personal favorites are the Brazil and the Ethiopian coffees.
03:01 Ethiopian coffees are a little bit like red wine.
03:04 They're a little bit more complex.
03:06 And they're not super, super dark roasted.
03:09 Okay, so you avoid that bitter thing.
03:12 Yes.
03:13 Let's talk about the pastries, because you bake in-house.
03:16 We do. We bake from scratch every day in-house.
03:20 And it's one of our sources of deep pride.
03:24 And we started out with the pastries being like a complement to the coffee.
03:29 And they've kind of taken on their own life.
03:31 Oh, yeah. That coffee crumble cake is phenomenal.
03:36 It is so good.
03:38 Thank you.
03:39 It brings people back.
03:40 It does. And everybody has their favorites.
03:42 Is that your most popular?
03:44 The cinnamon coffee cake, the blueberry crumble,
03:47 we have a gluten-free nutty brownie that is super popular.
03:51 So everybody has their favorites, and you better not mess with the recipe.
03:55 Don't mess with it.
03:56 And, of course, you have a pumpkin spice latte, because they would shut you down.
04:00 The law enforcement would shut you down.
04:02 I think so.
04:03 If you didn't.
04:04 But I know you have a few of your own takes on a fall caffeinated beverage.
04:09 We do.
04:10 We have a cardamom spice cortado that is garnished with a fresh orange.
04:16 One of my favorites is pumpkin root beer float.
04:22 And it's just refreshing, but yet still fall.
04:26 You know, because it's fall in Arizona.
04:27 Yes.
04:28 So it's hot one day, cold the next.
04:29 That is the most perfect Arizona fall beverage that I can imagine.
04:34 So it has vanilla ice cream?
04:36 It has vanilla ice cream, IBC root beer,
04:39 and then a pumpkin sauce that's very similar to a caramel sauce,
04:43 but it has that full pumpkin flavor.
04:45 Delicious.
04:47 Delicious, caffeinated fall.
04:50 Yes.
04:51 But not too hot.
04:52 And not too cold.
04:54 Obviously, I wouldn't be a responsible journalist if I didn't try
04:58 one of these famous wild iris pumpkin root beer floats.
05:03 It's a good idea.
05:04 It's a great idea.
05:05 I think I'm going to order one, and can I take it outside?
05:08 Absolutely.
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