Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate

It was a ridiculously small cup of chocolate. I walked in with my girlfriend to buy some cocoa, thought to myself, hey, it's nice to support anything that isn't Seattle trash bucks. Paid over 10 dollars for 2 cups. Waited 15 minutes and then walk up to the counter to see 6 oz cups of hot chocolate. Was then thinking surely something named "perfect milk chocolate" must be worth the price. Boy was I wrong. It tastes like Swiss Miss.

Volta
Order: Pour Over, Iced Latte, Quiche
Price: $16
Pros: Their plain black coffee is pretty good, quiche was awesome, tons of seating, they have a ton of great chocolate!
Cons: Very limited options for coffee and none of it is amazing, seems less of a “coffee house” than a multipurpose hangout spot

Thoughts: One of the way I know I’ve met a fellow food lover, is that they have a hard time answering what their favorite restaurant is. We tend to have favorite places to get a specific food, rather than a favorite place to go overall. You want tacos? Go here. You want seafood? Go there. Interestingly I wouldn’t tell you to go to Volta for their coffee, sure its fine but its not what sets them apart, I would tell you to go to Volta if you want…a chocolate bar.

Thats right, a chocolate bar. They have so many different kinds of high quality, chocolate its crazy. These aren’t your grocery story, half wax, mildly edible chocolate bars; instead they offer up exotic chocolate bars from around the world. Dark chocolate and milk chocolate; chocolate with nuts, chocolate with fruit, and chocolate with espresso beans the options are a tad overwhelming. We (by we I mean my wife told me to go outside while she bought the chocolate so I wouldn’t annoy her with questions like, “are we really going to spend that much on chocolate?”) bought 4 different chocolate bars and they are all SO FREAKIN GOOD. Seriously, its worth the trip just to buy a chocolate bar…and get some coffee while you’re there.

Now that my rant about chocolate bars is at and end, I found Volta good, but nothing exceptional in the way of coffee. The quality of the black coffee was pretty good but the espresso was only average. We ordered an iced latte and it seemed rather weak, and a little on the less flavorful side. It wasn’t that it lacked sweetness, it tasted more like there was too much milk and the flavor of the espresso was lost in the drink. It does look like they have an extensive selection of chocolate based drinks, and given how epic the chocolate bars they are selling at I’m going to guess that they are probably very good, and I’ll be sure to try it if I’m ever back.

We also got a quiche and dear Lord was it good. The egg was perfectly cooked, fluffy and light without being runny from being overcooked. The pastry crust spot on and the quiche was filled with bits of bacon, potato, and cheese. Given how awesome their indoor and outdoor seating is I could absolutely see coming here, getting a black cup of coffee and some food, maybe meeting some friends and then getting a few chocolate bars on the way out. However, if your heart is set solely on some rocking espresso, or some creative coffee, you may want to look elsewhere to get your fix.

Always great coffee here. They do pour overs along with drip coffee, tea and espresso drinks. One of the best coffee places in Florida and I always make it a point to swing through a couple times whenever I'm in Gainesville. It's also a killer place to get weird chocolates, omnom from Iceland is one of my favorites and Volta is one of the only places you can find it retail.

Good at what they do.
Not the full range of brewing methods.
I discussed the coffees available and good coffee storage methods with one of the baristas. The barista was very friendly and was able answer my questions adequately.
I also tasted the cold brew coffee. Very satisfactory.

I've looked around and this is the best espresso shop in town. A true third-wave coffee shop, pulling quality shots on the standard Marzocco machine, and baristas who make consistently great cappuccinos and lattes (they make their cappuccino as smaller latte rather than the European drink with a different distribution of froth and foam). I've seen minor fluctuation in the espresso drinks, depending on who's commanding the machine, resulting in a slightly sour espresso with slightly loose foam that breaks down too quickly. But it's still better than anything else around.

The staff are super nice, the space is open and sunny, it's good for working, there are a few tables outside, free wifi, and super delicious cream scones.

This place is for coffee connoisseurs. This place is not for food, frilly drinks, and a bunch of overpriced cheaply made retail items. This place is for coffee. Where the employees and owners live eat and breathe coffee. Where their main focus is the proper execution of a well made coffee drink. And yes, it takes time. Why? Because it is being done right. And not Right Now! If you want a COFFEE experience, this is your place. If you don't really have an opinion about your caffeine, or what is put in the cup to actually make it palatable, chances are this place might disappoint.

Definitely NOT an inexpensive cappuccino. Quality is always top notch when I can afford to patronize this location.

We are only giving 1 star because there was no place for 0 stars. The service was terrible and they were extremely rude. We are standing outside in the rain and the lady is demanding we put our masks on even tho we are far away from the window where we place our order. There was no friendly greeting or thank you after we supported their coffee shop. Then they drop our coffee in the window and walk away not saying anything to anyone who is waiting for their drinks.

The drink was cold and over-spiced. The people were extremely rude and unpleasant with us. I suspect they made our drinks bad on purpose. I have never seen that in my life before. It looked very attractive but it's not what it looks like.

The best coffee house in Gainesville, and one of the best in the nation. When I travel, Volta is what I compare all other cafes to. Sure, I'm a regular, I'm local, and I'm partial - but the coffee, espresso, and in-house baked goods are exceptional.