Annabelle Veatch
Cortado was excellent. Definitely one of the best that I have had. Barrel aged mocha was excellent. Unique flavor and subtle warmth. It reminded me of the warmth you experience after a whiskey š„ š½ The Mothership was such a cool experience. āļø Great coffee. Great atmosphere. Great service. Located outside of Downtown Chicago, it was a little drive out of the city šļø but absolutely šÆ worth it. If visiting Chicago and you know coffee, I would make a point to stop by!
Unicorn š¦ blood š©ø espresso blend beans are definitely recommended to take home! They roast their own beans soā¦ š¤© of course itās taking some souvenirs home!
Lisa KS
West Town has long been one of fave bakeries in Chicago so I donāt know how I missed that Dark Matter is from the same company. I would have been here a lot sooner!
The interior of Dar Matter is fun and eclectic. We got two drinks - both delish, a bag of coffee beans, and I got 4 cold cans of āvanilla Suburbs.ā Description from website: āFar from the apocalyptic funk of Chocolate City exists the Vanilla Suburbs. Lavish and decadent conduction of coffee, vanilla, and cocoa. This brew will delight with explosive vanilla and cocoa flavors.ā
I kid you not, Vanilla Suburbs might be the best cold coffee Iāve ever had. I poured it over ice, added a bit of cream, and my mind was blown.
Iām already planning my next trip to Chicago specifically to go back to Dark Matter.
Steven Rodriguez
The spot! One of my top two for coffee in the city. The sidewalk seating is great, especially on an overcast late summer day.
A light array of pastries and breakfast foods though I'd say get there early if you want the full selection.
Free street parking.
Brian Bosak
No seating. Grab and go only. It would be nice if they said this on their website.
Scott S
Dark Matter are my favorite roasters - not just in this city, but anywhere. The key thing here, and what a lot of roasters struggle with, is CONSISTENCY. While some blends are not to my personal taste, the ones that are (and there's a lot of them) simply knock it out of the park every single time.
Unpretentious and fun, the staff are always very cool here. You come in to buy a bag, and you also get a free hot or cold coffee. That's service and paying attention to the customer experience.
Stop by and give them a try.. Places like this absolutely need our support in this town!
Joshua McCoy
The vibes the minute you walk in here peak your excitement. The place is decked out in themed colors and graphics that heighten the experience even further. The espresso? by far the highest quality I have ever had. They take good proper care into pulling their pours correctly, and the gentlemen that made my cortado made a beautiful graphic with his pour on top. We got some of the cold brew cans to go and they were delicious. The chocolate is also a must-get.
jas s
If you donāt like dark roast coffee, youāre probably not gonna love this spot but if you do like dark roast coffee, then you can definitely get a good cup here. I feel like the location is super convenient. Iāve had no problems with customer service and they work pretty quickly with getting you your beverage so you can get out the door. Itās right around the corner from my spot and I visit it frequently. Love it here.
Michael Nagel
Happy afternoon pickup. The Mothership moves quickly. DM promo ride home. I am a little sad I wasn't offered a cold brew. My niece will love her hoodie.
Meagan McCall
Dark Matter is known for their impressive specialty coffee concoctions. After multiple people told us we needed to visit while in Chicago, we went to their location known as The Mothership on N Western Ave.
Theyāre known for their Draft Iced Coffee list, which are coffees at triple strength brewed hot then flash cooled. The Chocolate City Draft Iced Coffee was very smooth and an easy drinker for a regular warm day, one of their Draft Iced Coffees had beer hops that reminds me of an IPA-meets-Stout, and the Vanilla Suburbs Nitro is infused with cacao nibs and vanilla beans without any added sugar. As I was very indecisive and it was my first time there, the barista Rosemary was so kind and let me do small samples of these three Draft Iced Coffees, which was a great experience and honestly I think they should start selling coffee flights because their offerings are so unique and great for side-by-side comparisons.
From their specialty drink menu, I went with the Iced Cafe Miel, which looked a lot like the iced caramel macchiatos you see at Starbucks because the honey drizzle around the sides looks like caramel. The Latin America espresso blend that they used for the Cafe Miel is called Unicorn Blood, and it went really nicely with the honey and oat milk in the drink. I loved learning that the honey used is sourced from the same farm in Guatemala as the coffee!
They also make their own high-quality chocolate bars that are absolutely delicious, and there are three different designs/chocolates that you can choose from at the front counter.
Chris went with the Barrel-Aged Mocha, which included barrel-aged espresso, vanilla syrup, chocolate, and milk. He said he couldnāt really taste the barrel-aged aspect but that it was a nice beverage.
We also ordered the draft oat milk latte, which I would recommend for anyone who doesnāt want their coffee to taste too strong, as it was mainly the flavor of oat milk.
Randy Johnson
Probably some of the best coffee in the city. Would highly recommend trying the horchata latte. Tried their canned coffees as well & theyāre fantastic. Picture- an iced cold brew (canāt remember the type) with a shot of the horchata latte.
Rita Kennedy
I absolutely love The Mothership location of Dark Matter Coffee on Western Ave... it is a hidden gem coffee shop and tiny gathering place. The staff is super friendly and has encyclopedic knowledge of all their (present and past) coffee blends. The bagged coffee selection is wonderfully extensive (I couldnāt decide on just one ~so bought a variety of ten bags of their whole bean coffee to make my own liquid gold magic at home! The bacon donut I purchased there was extremely fresh (It was a Do-Rite donut, no wonder it was delicious!) I know Dark Matter coffee can be purchased online or at Whole Foods, but it is worth a trip to this unexpected location.
Beau Niedjelski
Hands down best coffee you can get in Chicago. I've been all over the country and can never find anything even similar to Dark Matter. I really try but am always let down. The hopped cold brew is one of my favorites tastes like a ipa but then the caffeine hits you!! Love it.
Danial Soorty
Just had the giant steps dark roast. I enjoy good coffee. Mostly partake local brands in the area, like intelligentsia, metropolis,etc. Cupped this using the V60 method, ratio of about 1 gram coffee to 14.5 grams of water at ~200F or so. The best dark roast I've ever had.
Bob Chikos
Some of the best coffee I've ever had (and I've had a lot). You can taste the freshness. The staff went out of their way to fulfill a special request. Great place, no matter what time of day you visit.
Dan Dringoli
Wow, what a great retail/roaster establishment. The coffee is the best and the people are super friendly and helpful!!
Branimira Ivanova
Kudos, guys!!! You manage to outdo yourselves with every blend! My fav coffee out of all the coffees. Unicorn Blood is the reigning best, followed by Love Supreme and Municipal Waste. I will have to start getting it shipped to NOLA regularly. ļæ½ Do you have a subscription service?
Jason Cordero
I've only had it twice but both times I've actually enjoyed it. I even really liked these little dessert pastries they had by the register. I don't remember the name of them but they were like little chocolate dipped pies. Convenient that it was only 12 minutes away from Kuma's West Loop too.
Vicki Krebs
My Reddit Secret Santa bought me a mug and a pound of the Unicorn Blood espresso blend. Wow, this stuff is good. If Iām ever in Chicago, youāll be seeing me!!
Nicole Henry
Visiting from Mi and my friend brought me here! Awesome cappuccino! Very friendly staff, really liked the outdoor seating in the back .. Perfect spot to enjoy coffee on a sunny day
Mark Beaver
I randomly found this place when I was in Chicago... Bought a few bags... Now I'm out... It's been a tough week and it's not even Wednesday yet. Seriously my favorite coffee... And there's a lot of coffee shops in Minneapolis. Open shop in MN! I will be ordering.
Eric Scott
Outstanding as always! You have not really had coffee until you've experienced Dark Matter. Oh... and the maple-bacon doughnut is really good too!
Joel Frieders
We include freshly roasted and freshly ground A Love Supreme in our daily morning ritual. And we become super angry when we can't find it.
Looooooove dark matter
Elena Hanson
Great coffee, not sugared down - the coffee is strong and is the best around. The staff is always energetic and is always the right start to my Tuesdays and Thursday mornings - and this coffee is always worth the hour drive thru Chicago Traffic. Best place to go
Edith Farrow
Best place ever. I drive from Ohare area, all the way there just to have the best coffee in town. ā”
Morgan Pankratz
My husband and I picked up the Giant Steps coffee at Whole Foods in Wauwatosa, WI on a whim. Boy am I glad we did! We both agree it's one of the very best coffees we've ever had! We've been enjoying it via french press for a few days now. Top notch and can't wait to try more from your company!
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