Uneasy Rhetoric

Temple Fine Coffee and Tea ****
1014 10th Street (10th between J and K)

Reviewing a café is as much about reviewing ambiance as anything because, with Starbucks for competition, your coffee had better be good. How comfortable do you feel sitting and having a cup of coffee? Could you spend hours there watching the world go by, or is it only good for a quick cup to go? Temple Fine Coffee and Tea has near-perfect ambiance.

The owner has taken an old bookstore in a distinctive Sacramento location and created an airy and comfortable space where a patron can have a quiet bit of downtime in the window “cubby” at the front of the café, sit at tables along the sides and get some writing or some work done, gather in the two couch sections close to the till, or just grab a cup to go and wish you could stay for some quiet downtime.

Temple’s menu offers a range of coffee drinks in two sizes (small and regular, none of that faux Italian “grande/venti/super-venti/intravenuso” stuff). Unlike the clueless SBUX, Temple does offer a café au lait (that’s coffee with milk). Drinks ordered for dining in come in real coffee mugs. Not paper!

The coffee itself is quite good and I believe is fair trade certified and organic. There are also several different coffee and tea drinks on a special menu which may require a bit of adventure to try. Food is limited to a small selection of pastries and Odwalla drinks, however, given the hours they hope to keep, they might want to consider offering a bit more.

The hours are ambitious: 6am to 10pm, 365 days a year. I really hope this works out because late night crowds downtown are few and far between. When the new Marilyn’s opens, and if downtown’s restaurant scene continues to grow, Temple should see its business pick up. It should also draw some on the workaday crowd who might need to stay late but don’t want to stay in the office. As I’ve mentioned, Temple is a comfortable space for working and does offer fast and free WiFi if you feel inclined to reconnect yourself to the outside world.

If you know me, you know I’m not a Starbucks hater. However, Starbucks are designed to move as many people as possible as quickly as possible. They tend not to be comfortable for long stays or quiet conversations, and they tend not to be open late. Please, if you value the concept of an evening café, if you value local businesses on the cutting edge of downtown Sacramento’s revitalization and want to be a part of it, patronize this joint. I expect to see each and every one of you there.

Four stars because it deserves them.