Good coffee, good food, good vibe at the Kalona Coffee House

Lunch at the new Kalona Coffee House

Ham and cheese sub and iced tea at the Kalona Coffee House

The Kalona Coffee House opened a couple of weeks ago. I, along with a lot of people in Kalona, are very happy to have a convenient place to grab some coffee and meet or work. The fact that the coffee and food are really good make it ideal.

The coffeehouse serves Hemisphere Coffee Roasters’ coffee, and it’s great tasting as well as directly-traded. (Their slogan is “Coffee With a Mission.”)My favorite coffee drink is usually an Americano (espresso mixed with hot water), and it’s my favorite here too. The Hemisphere espresso has a nice balance of smoky, roasted flavor, and  the strength is sturdy but not overly nerve-jangling.

One of last week’s daily coffees, I can’t remember which variety, was nicely complex with floral notes. The coffeehouse serves a different regular and decaf selection daily. Some of the upcoming offerings are hazelnut, Jamaican Me Crazy, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and Scottish Grogg.

The coffeehouse also offers the usual coffee drinks, tea, delicious Kalona Bakery pastries and cookies, Kalona Bakery sandwiches, Kalona chocolates, Heyns hand-dipped ice cream, and smoothies. When I was there this week I had a ham and cheese sub—it was on an as-usual fresh, delicious Kalona Bakery sub bun. With it I had a brewed Republic of Tea People’s iced tea, also very good.

The ambiance is relaxed, comfortable, and hospitable, and wireless Internet access is available. In spite of street construction right outside their door, there have been several people meeting or working every time I’ve stopped in.

The coffeehouse is in downtown Kalona in the old veterinary clinic at 305 5th Street. Rhonda and Jeff Yoder are the owners. Rhonda was formerly at Caribou Coffee in Coralville. She was quoted in the Kalona News: “We want to provide a meeting place for the community and also a unique experience for tourists.” On behalf of myself and the community, I wish them success!


One Response to “Good coffee, good food, good vibe at the Kalona Coffee House”

  1. Rhonda Yoder says:

    Thank you, Eileen! Lovely article and it was great to see you in here again today. 🙂


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