Location

1518 Randolph Ave., St. Paul
GOOGLE MAP • YELP • WEBSITE

Ratings

Pros

Caters to the WiFi crowd (lots of outlets), nice outdoor seating area, Obama Blend.

Cons

Coffee’s kind of bitter, interior decor amplifies noise.

Review

I vaguely recall having heard of J&S Bean Factory at some point in the past, but I had no idea where it was, nor did I know anything specific about it. Then, last week, as SLP and I were heading to Day by Day cafe for my scrapped review, I took us on a short detour to check on the progress of the new Trader Joe’s (opening June 26) at Randolph and Lexington. Along the way I spotted J&S and determined that it would be this week’s review.

I generally try to keep politics out of this blog (at least that’s one place in my life where I do), but I couldn’t let this pass: J&S actually has an Obama Blend… which is pretty freakin’ cool, I think.

That was my second impression of the place; the first was observing the wonderful, shaded outdoor garden seating area behind the building. “Behind the building” may not sound appealing, but as this is primarily a residential area, it is inviting and informal, like having coffee in a friend’s backyard. But of course, I am all about business today, so I’m sitting inside. There’s ample seating inside, even if it’s a bit crowded. Church pews, of course, and something I really like: power bars on the wall above the church pews create an approximately 2.5-to-1 ratio of outlets to seats. Nice! Not only can I plug in my laptop, but one-and-a-half other gadgets as well.

What would make this place ideal is an awesome cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I didn’t get it. I ordered my usual large cappuccino, and while it was prepared well — nice amount of froth, good ratio of milk-to-coffee — the coffee is unpleasantly bitter. It may just be this batch of beans, but it seriously detracts from an otherwise mostly satisfying experience.

I say “mostly” because there is one other big flaw: lots of hard surfaces create a very loud environment, especially when there are a few boisterous patrons (their enthusiasm for my Activision t-shirt notwithstanding). The walls are corrugated steel. The seats are all wood — not even a throw pillow to absorb sound — and the floor is industrial tile. While it does give the place a funky vibe, it’s also friggin’ loud at times. But, as I say in nearly every review, headphones.

Overall I am left with a mostly favorable impression of J&S Bean Factory. The negatives are either common to nearly all coffeehouses or they are things that may just be unfortunate flukes of this particular visit. Since it’s kind of far away for me, I probably won’t come here very often in the future, but if I’m in the area — shopping at TJ’s, say — I would surely consider stopping in for a quick caffeine jolt.