Tucked away on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, Covour Coffee is more than just a typical neighborhood cafe. While its interior boasts a quaint and minimalistic design, the exotic drink and pastry selection is far from ordinary. From vibrant ube lattes to buzzing matcha tonics, Covour offers a menu full of unique and adventurous flavors, ensuring every customer leaves tasting something they’ve never tried before. Beyond an exciting menu, the cafe is also an excellent study space. With lofi beats playing at just the right volume and an abundance of natural light, every table is almost always filled with people hard at work. Whether you come to taste-test their drinks or grind out your homework, Covour Coffee is an experience not to be missed.
Dirty Ube Latte ($7): 9/10
Despite its bright purple appearance, the Dirty Ube Latte is a surprisingly perfect balance of both ube and coffee flavors, with neither taste overpowering the other. With a mild added sweetness, this drink doesn’t qualify as a dessert coffee, but rather something that could be ordered on a daily basis. While the latte’s on the milkier side, an extra espresso shot could easily be added to pack in some more caffeine and thin out the ube sauce. If you’re looking to stray away from a regular latte, this ube delight is for you.
Mango Lychee Sparkling Ade ($6): 5/10
This sparkling ‘refresher’ feels less refreshing and more like a punch to the palate. Presented as a beautiful orange gradient with a dried lime garnish, the drink is certainly nice to look at. However, the carbonation is overpowering and even after a thorough mixing, the lychee flavor is the only one that shines through. Despite the nice lychee flavor, heavy carbonation makes this drink fail to live up to the hype of its image and makes it ultimately skippable.
Tiramisu Latte ($7): 8/10
With a generous serving of sweet cold foam, a sprinkle of cocoa powder, and a crisp mocha beneath it all, the Tiramisu Latte is a dazzling creation. As opposed to the Ube latte, this drink is certainly sweet and dessert-esque. The different layers are hard to evenly mix however, having sips alternate as either coffee or cream rather than a harmonious blend. Despite this, the drink is never too sweet or too bitter, and the chocolatey latte tastes similar to a s’more. For tiramisu lovers, this drink is a must-try that will not disappoint.
Matcha Latte ($7): 9/10
The classic Matcha Latte at Covour may be simple, but still packs an amazing punch. The matcha is smooth and creamy, but not overly milky. There is also a generous amount of matcha itself, which is remarkable in bringing a generous amount of flavor without a powdery feel to the drink, which can be the case at many coffee shops. While this standard drink is good, I would opt for the Matcha Einspänner instead, which comes with a whipped topping and a more unique Covour-style experience.
Everything Cream Cheese Croissant ($7): 8/10
This rectangular croissant seems promising, with a thick coating of everything seasoning and a pocket full of chive cream cheese. However, the pastry is too soft in comparison to a typical crunchy and flaky croissant, which is certainly a letdown. Textures aside, the savory flavors really shine through and ease away any prior disappointment. The chive is a nice touch to the cream cheese and helps balance the salty seasoning, making this croissant worth coming back for.
Ham and Cheese Croissant ($7): 7/10
A trip to Covour Coffee could suffice without this ham and cheese pastry. Although flakier, the ham and cheese flavors are dull and unremarkable. While this croissant could be a nice savory side dish to the plethora of sweet drinks, it is not worth a standalone order. Still, the fluffy and crunchy texture is a nice upgrade from that of the Everything Cream Cheese Croissant.
