The Outpost of Manistee

Beautiful, top quality, unique clothing! Friendly staff!

I went into The Outpost only expecting a hot coffee, and at $3, it should be. Or at least some common courtesy as I had a couple of questions on my 1st trip in. This is a fine clothing store that has some cafe equipment in it, so don’t expect a cafe atmosphere or fresh coffee.

First off, I understand how local pricing works, and I love to support local businesses. However, I wasn’t greeted upon entering. Only after standing there for a minute did that woman ask if we were getting something.

And then I asked for an iced drink, and was told they weren’t serving iced drinks. What? Tons of people drink iced coffee in the winter, and if you’re not going to offer it, cover that side of your menu.

Once me and my friend got our coffee, it was half full of coffee and the other half was foam.

I ordered a mocha, not a cappuccino. I got 6oz of coffee when I paid for 12. The coffee was great, but I’m just annoyed by everything else that surrounded my experience I don’t think I’ll be going back, especially with other coffee shops popping up. Stick to buying their clothes.

Great spot to grab some coffee and get some work done. Friendly staff and a wide selection of drinks. I worked from here all day and the wifi worked great! It was a bit noisy in the morning but calmed down later in the day.

Good Coffee! Great deal on a Kuhl jacket! Nice selection of clothes for the upscale outdoorsman. Also, simply the most beautiful barista north of Lansing... 😏

Outpost has the best coffee in town! But also the selection of outerwear for men is superior to anywhere else in town. Staff is great and always friendly.

Asked for a caramel iced latte. I asked how many shots they put in it, she said they use cold brew but they can make it with expresso.... So I say yes 3 shots please. The coffee tasted like fake alcoholic beverage flavoring from a station. I ask if they have real caramel they say no just the flavoring. A different lady was there and began making my latte and for 3 shots instead of coldbrew. She says "I like coldbrew better!" I say "I do not like it at all". I ask for 6 raw sugars to sweeten it which pretty much did nothing. The coffee was sour and bitter with chunks of milk all over the ice and in the brew... Worst coffee experience I think ive had so far anywhere and I travel a lot. The confusing part is why this place has high rating. Maybe because the only other coffee place in miles is Mcdonalds so people dont know better? Either way this place should maybe focus less on trying to sell merchandise and more on actually making coffee instead of giving people iced coldbrew when they ask for ice lattes willed with fake bar syrup that taste like melting plastic.

The Outpost of Manistee is an Oasis of great coffee in a desert of options. There are few places in major metropolitan areas that have beans that are less than a week old, much less small towns like Manistee. That is just the start of the quality control they exercise at The Outpost.

To the best of my knowledge all of their beans are fair trade and roasted in Traverse City. In the summer months they offer terrific cold brew options. Of course a great coffee drink is only as good as the dairy product used, which in this case is Cream Cup Dairy products. Non-homogenized milk, half and half, and cream, all from a dairy less than 50 miles away. Talk about local sourcing!

The staff is always friendly and courteous and they know their drinks. Don't be fooled by the location within a top notch clothing store, this coffee shop has everything a real coffee lover desires!

Nice clothing store. We didn't buy any clothing this time but we grabbed a few beverages from the cooler just inside the door. They charged the $0.10 Michigan deposit but they don't accept the empty bottles.

Lots of great clothing items. Awesome coffee too.