A good coffee shop is something that I’m very passionate about. The Coffee Shop Talk series reviews various coffee shops I stumble upon during my travels, comparing each one against the metrics I find most important. Mostly for me, as a way to record my musings, but partly for you. Enjoy 😉
Summary
Location: Empire Tea & Coffee, 22 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840 (TripAdvisor). There are many other locations in Newport, but this is the only location I spent time at.
Empire Tea & Coffee became my office-away-from-the-office while I was camping outside of Newport—I worked there three times for 3+ hours each time. It has a great ambience, is easy to work in, and has great food and drinks. It’s a working café for sure, and you’ll likely be surrounded by students and other hard workers. The café is also unique in that they seem to welcome dogs inside, and you’ll often see more than one furry friend hanging out at a table 🐶
Specs
Seating: 5/5
Plenty of table space with huge variety. Individual two-tops, four-tops, communal table, and booths. I moved to a new table within a three hour period just to switch things up and unblock myself. The only thing it’s missing is a handful of comfy armchairs, in case you want to read or work more casually.Noise level: 4/5
They don’t play loud music, but the fact that there are usually a fair amount of customers means you might have loud neighbors.Connectivity: 5/5
Fast, free WiFi with no time limit and plenty of outlets.Coffee quality: 3.5/5
I’m no coffee snob, but the coffee here was tasty, and they had some interesting novelty lattés. My absolute favorite was the espresso, chocolate, and chili pepper latté.Food quality: N/A
I somehow didn’t eat here despite visiting three times. According to online reviews, the food is very good. They have a medium selection of baked goods and small selection of prepared foods. I didn’t eat here because it is conveniently located near a handful of famously delicious Newport eateries.Other perks: Clean bathrooms. Water dispenser to offset the caffeine intake. Lots of people working there, so you get that “co-working” vibe.
Dogs welcome!!!