Calders Coffee Cafe

We stopped by this cute coffee shop as we were wrapping up some shopping in Highlands. I got the AppalaChai Latte and my husband got the apple cider. We also got the 3 cheese naan. The tea was yummy. Spicy with cinnamon. Not sweet unless you want it to be by adding sugar. The apple cider was good, but was on the sweeter side. The 3 cheese naan was ok. My husband, being from South Asia, was expecting something different- like cheese baked into the bread. Instead it was a piece of naan folded over with cheese melted in the middle. It tasted good and was warm, which was a great little snack mid afternoon.

I actually had some confrontation with some of the staff and was confused and upset when I left - but I later spoke with the owner, who took the time to speak to the staff and even some patrons to try to sort it out. When he explained the other side to me I realized I communicated something poorly which, although unintentional, was received as offensive and rude. I felt so bad that I triggered the whole thing by using the wrong words. The owner was patient in talking through the whole thing with me and at the end, I asked him to convey my apology. It was so nice to meet an owner who cares so much and you definitely can tell it’s a special place.

Quaint shop, good sweet drinks. I’m admittedly a coffee snob and a professional barista, so take that into account: the coffee is above Starbucks quality but don’t come here expecting traditional Italian espresso. They sling old school, brute force espresso; not a scale or shot timer in sight. Taste is subjective, but don’t come in expecting a 27 second 2:1 shot and give them a bad review because that’s not what this place is.

We were driving through town, and we stopped at this cute, quaint, coffee shop in the downtown district, and it was so amazing, the staff is so friendly, and we loved our cappuccinos and coffee, delicious muffins and cookies, we highly recommend everyone to stop in and grab a cup of Joe! We’re excited to come back and visit again!! 😍☕️☕️🍪🧁

I’ll start with the cold brew is smooth and tasted good and the service is fast. There are nice gifts and artwork as well. The cold brew was quite expensive ($6!) but at least it was good for the inflated price. There is a back patio that is nice as well. The back room is nice for extra seating whether you are meeting someone or working on a laptop. However, if you’re planning on spending time there, one glaring thing is the staff seemed quite unaware with how much noise they made or just simply didn’t care. From loudly dragging around chairs while people are right next to them or coming in/out of the employee door several times a minute and the door slamming hard each time, it was overall disruptive to conversation and concentration. I frequent coffee shops around the country and I’ve never experienced something to this level of blatant disruption and indifference toward the paying patrons around them by the staff. Of course employees should be able to work and do what they need to do, so this could be easily remedied by management by putting inexpensive pads on the bottom of the chairs and a soft close on the employee doors. I hope they consider this for the future as it took what could’ve been a good coffee shop experience to a barely okay one.

Great atmosphere and great location in town. Very friendly helpful staff, and no wait time for drinks. My group got 4 drinks, and everyone enjoyed theirs. I will say, I got the cold brew and I don’t think it was super great. But could’ve been just the batch so I’ll always try again. It was rather tasteless and bitter. Other drinks were fantastic. Would recommend