Juan Valdez

Colombian coffee is the only way to go! Juan Valdez is great — the staff is friendly and they remember their customers. It’s a little more expensive than coffee or other drinks elsewhere, but it’s real coffee. Totally worth it. I visit them at 19^th & F almost every day for a latte arequipe (which is like a caramel latte, arequipe is Colombian caramel) and a pan de guava (Guava bread. Who knew?!). They also have those «buy ten drinks get one free» punch cards, so it’s definitely rewarding. It’s also cool to hang out at a coffee shop where everyone is conversing en español (since everyone at the OAS comes down for their coffee break).

Great coffee and pastry selections, plus the prices are relatively cheap in comparison to other java joints. Just don’t expect to find ornate, over-​the-​top caloric, could-​be-​dessert drinks, otherwise you’ll be disappointed. At Juan Valdez it’s all about simplistic, quality-​brewed joe.

Don’t let the small crowd of suit-​wearing IMF and World Bank people scare you away, this place is not pretentious. The staff is really nice and the coffee is cheaper than Starbucks.
Try the Café Campesino, which is sweet with a blend of spices, or the Café Cardamon, which (obviously) has Cardamom.
Sure, they don’t have latte caramel mocha frappy milkshakes or whatever, but people who drink those aren’t people who appreciate coffee.
If you drink your coffee black like an adult, then this is the best coffee shop in the area.

The coffee here is really rich and full-​bodied and in my opinion is right up there with Swing’s or some of the places that serve Counter Culture. I have never had anything but coffee here, and it is some of the best around. I’m not really interested in the various other boring sundry things on the menu, like fruit shakes and muffins. Today I had an iced coffee, and it was really really strong, standing up well to ice and quite a bit of whole milk. I got the last pour from the pitcher so I got some grounds, which was a little sloppy, but I opted to keep it because of the flavor. I’ve always gotten friendly service here.

I was suspicious when it took several weeks for Juan Valdez to obtain its CO and open when it looked like everything inside was RTG.
Then I became more suspicious when I observed a «training» session with the new hires. Ugh! .
This place is embarrasing. Clearly, it’s not the employees fault they don’t know anything about the food or coffee their selling. Management is clearly not interested in educating its employees as much as it is ripping you off.
No there are no Columbian pastries to be had at JV. Think puffy bland airport muffins bagels etc. Yes you very well might find grounds in your coffee. No it doesn’t taste very good.
Save your money– consider that you are two blocks from Caribou, Starbucks, Cosi. Shoot – the Sunrise Café across the street offers better coffee, better food, and friendlier more knowledgeable service.
I give them 2 months.

Cheaper than S’bucks and the quality of the drinks is worse in proportion (and no chai!). Hours don’t seem to be posted anywhere. The main plus is its one-​building proximity to my office. Otherwise, there may actually be no reason to come at all.