J.René Coffee Roasters, LLC

I came here to work on my writing with a laptop and also enjoy a coffee and sit back and relax. I ordered a mocha which the guy made in front of me and decorated it and it looked lovely. And it tasted pretty good, but the sugar settled in the bottom so it gave a not so good after taste.

But the main reason I gave only two stars was the lack of plug-ins for laptops or chargers. This is a café, I know a lot of people that go to cafes to enjoy and work on material. Writers are abundant at cafés. So when my battery was low on my laptop, I went on a search for a place to plug it in. No where. I went to the counter, and the person said that their boss doesn't let anyone use plug-ins and she would get in trouble if she let me use it. Not her fault, just cheap management. No wonder people didn't stay here for very long. Not an inviting place and bad for business.

I'll give my business to west hartford baking company from now on who has a better selection and has a free and open wifi and plenty of plug-ins. Not stingy there!

Delicious coffee; my favorite coffee shop in West Hartford for taste and atmosphere.
Only downside is that parking can be a challenge and if you want food as well, there are a few options but really, there isn’t a huge selection here (Hall’s Market across the street has great sandwiches though with cafe tables to eat outside) ...
So I’d definitely say that I prefer the coffee at J Rene but if I also want to get food in café with my coffee , I would probably go to Hartford Baking Co. on new park ave (or now there’s also a second location in WH center). HBC also has coffee and a great selection of pastries as well as freshly made sandwiches and the BEST fresh bread for purchase in WH , in my opinion . HOWEVER, I don’t like the coffee as much as I like J Rene’s coffee and there’s always a HUGE wait to get the coffee at HBC. I will ALWAYS choose J Rene’s for coffee over anywhere else in West Hartford.
I typically like cappuccinos when I go out for coffee but I have also been enjoying the iced latte at J Rene very much.

Have been there twice and bought Ethiopia Yirgascheffe and Costa Rica Caturra. They don't mark the roasting date, which is a huge downside for a specialty coffee roastery. You get the peak taste of coffee after 24 hours of roasting and then it gradually deteriorates for about two to three day. After then, it quickly loses its flavor, and in two weeks it becomes, well, a brownish bean, which gives no pleasure in enjoying. Thus, you want to buy a coffee roasted within no more than 3 days; hence, a renowned coffee roaster like Paradise in MN, guarantees to send it within 3 days. Since they don't mark the roasting date, nor do their employees know about it, you kind of gamble, and in my case, it was a failure. Neither Yirgascheffe nor Caturra was fresh (to make it worse, they put Yirgascheffe into the pack of Caturra). You know it as soon as you pour water on it and also by the loss of flavor, aroma, body, complexity, and finish that should be there. Either they were not roasted rightly or long passed a peak date, or both.

Sorry to say that, contrary to their pompous attitude, the employees don't have a proper knowledge of coffee in general, and of their own coffee in particular; they don't know what they are selling. For their defense, they say that roasting is a 'one man business by the owner' so that they are not properly equipped to answer the questions regarding their own coffee. If so, then, they could have been unpresuming.

Will not buy coffee from them again and may not recommend it, but hope that the owner hear and improve and make his store a real specialty coffee shop for coffee connoisseurs, which, I guess, he professes to be, but is NOT in reality.

Love the skill and quality put into each drink. Can't wait for them to bring back the siphon pots.

Went there during a busy part of the morning. The staff were polite and efficient. Ordered a latte which came out promptly and was quite delicious.

Would definitely return.

A great coffee shop with a wide selection of coffees from all over the world.

A great little place in West Hartford to get coffee and a pastry or what not. Locally roasted coffee that is nice and light, no super dark char-broiled Sumatran stuff here.

Great little spot with a true appreciation for romantic coffee experience!!

Tip : don't go in the afternoon 3:30 / 4:30, they clean the floors daily with very potent chemicals.

Tasty coffee but be careful if buying whole beans here. Just bought my first bag here to try them out and found a stone among the beans that would have tore up my grinder if I didn’t catch it.

Great coffee! I had their pound cake/marble cake and it was delicious. It's a cute place filled with cool coffee making gadgets.