With the start of a new school year, Coffee Corner is back on track to bring you the best and most interesting places for you to get your caffeine fix. This week’s option, located in Claremont–just a short trek from ULV–will have you wanting to come back for more.
Name: The Last Drop Café
Location:
119 Harvard Avenue
Claremont, CA
(909) 482-1870
Price: $
Hours:
7am-7pm Monday to Friday
7am-6pm Saturday
8am-6pm Sunday
The Last Drop Café is a small shop, about the size of a closet, located in downtown Claremont. Although it may be little, this place is a gem serving a large variety of drinks, sandwiches, soups, salads and baked goods. The coffee shop has been there for about 15 years, but became The Last Drop in 2008. The workers pride themselves on serving Illy espresso–an Italian company founded in 1933 by Francesco Illy, the man who developed the modern espresso machine.
In other words, the coffee quality is top notch. By strictly using the Illy espresso, each cup is guaranteed to delight any customer. With more than 32 different coffee options on the menu including the Vanilla-Vanilla (French vanilla coffee with sweet vanilla added) and Mike’s Special (An iced layered Latte with French vanilla, white mocha, caramel and espresso), there are plenty to choose from. They also have vegan options on the menu. If you’re looking for a better alternative to conventional coffee places, this is the place for you.
The café itself doesn’t have much seating indoors, but there’s a patio area outside in the shade where students can sit back and relax with a latte. Hitting the books and doing some research online is no problem since free wifi is available.
The Last Drop Café is definitely easy on your pocketbook. The average price for a cup of coffee is about $2.50—with the exception of blended drinks, which are more in the $4 range.
The baristas are friendly, going out of their way to talk to customers about what they have planned for the day and always providing service with a smile.
The only drawback to The Last Drop is its location and size. It’s literally crammed in between two larger stores and there isn’t much space if you’re looking to bring a bunch of friends with you. If you’re willing to sit outside, then larger groups should not be a problem.
I’d give The Last Drop Café a 3.5 out of 5 stars for overall experience. The coffee is great, the service is great, but it’s tiny and there’s not a lot of room to hang out. Parking is also kind of a pain since it’s in downtown Claremont. However, once you get there, you’ll be savoring every bit of coffee until the very last drop.