coffee market street wilmington de

7 Unexpected Coffeehouse Beverages in Wilmington, DE

7 unexpected coffeehouse beverages in wilmington de

Up and down the Market Street corridor, coffee houses are plentiful. Between 2nd and 10th street there are at least four on Market Street alone to serve the rising resident and worker base within the city. The best part, these are not all your ordinary chain coffeehouses...they are unique, homegrown and have a little something to suit everyone's tastes. 

 LOMA Coffee 239 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

Coffee Wilmington DE

Photo Credit: LOMA Coffee

If you are dairy-free or vegan, an Oat-milk Latte from LOMA Coffee is calling your name. Oat milk is a dairy alternative that measures up to the creaminess of milk products. LOMA is known for their neighborhood friendly vibe as well as their breakfast, salads, sandwiches and most-recently, smoothies. 

Coffee Wilmington DE

Photo Credit: @genesis_dorsey

Another LOMA delight, if you need a dessert and are craving chocolate on a hot summer day, check out their Frozen Hot Chocolate for a sweet and cool treat! 

coffee house wilmington de

Have you heard of an Affogato? We hadn't either...but if it tastes as good as it looks we are down to try it! Above, from LOMA Coffee, an Affogato consisting of premium vanilla ice cream, a doubleshot of espresso and your choice of toppings. It's make your own sundae, adult style! 

Coffee Mode 919 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

Coffee Wilmington DE

Photo Credit: Coffee Mode

Coffee Mode is focused intensely on the quality of their coffee and various offerings. Coffee Mode's Elixer Coffee took 6th place at the Coffee Champs competition in the capital of coffee, Seattle, Washington. Even if you are not a coffee fan and Kombucha is more your jam, Coffee Mode is constantly switching up what they have on tap. 

Brew HaHa! 823 N Market Street Wilmington, DE

coffee wilmington de

Photo Credit: Brew HaHa! 

Voted Best of Delaware for a good reason, and inspired by the premier espresso bars of Italy, Brew HaHa!'s series of unique cafes across the Brandywine Valley offer coffee lovers a boutique experience, where every drink is special and individualized attention is paid every step of the way. Above, a Rose Latte is just as luxurious tasting as it sounds. 

matcha wilmington de

Photo Credit: Brew HaHa! 

Matcha Much? When you drink Matcha you are ingesting the whole tea leaf which in recent studies has shown more health benefits than your typical green tea. This beverage above, a Matcha Milkshake is the perfect harmony of health conscious and sweet dessert.

Meet Coffee Scientist Joey Lopes of Coffee Mode

coffee mode

When Joey Lopes makes a cup of coffee he does it with precision and finesse. “For a (regular) cup of coffee, we use 30 grams of freshly ground coffee, and 425 grams of water,” said Lopes, 25. “Milk is a personal choice, but if I were to prepare a customer’s coffee I would use approximately 2 ounces.”

“He’s a coffee scientist,” said Ben Cordova owner of Coffee Mode on 9th and Market. Before the coffee bar opened on October 2016, Cordova chose Lopes to manage the high-quality coffee bar located in the lobby of the Citizens Bank building. Lopes gets his barista expertise working two years at LOMA Cafe, reading, and interviewing coffee bar owners. He is one of three baristas at Coffee Mode.

“I enjoy serving something good and beautiful to someone,” he said. Coffee Mode embraces a coffee bar movement called third wave coffee that treats coffee as an artisan or craft beverage. A Cortado is one of Lopes’s favorite cups of coffee to make. It is made with a shot of espresso cut with an equal part of hot milk. Served in a Gibraltar glass, the beverage looks like a dessert with white steam milk swirls on top, but the rich coffee aroma gives it away.

Lopes, who a year ago moved from Maryland to Wilmington, said coffee bars are invaluable to the city of Wilmington because they offer an informal social venue for community and cultural enrichment. “We have meaningful conversations with customers about politics, technology, and world issues,” he said.

Most of Coffee Mode’s customers are lawyers or business people who stop by in the morning or later in the day for a break. When a frequent customer walks in, Lopes knows what to serve without exchanging a word. Just a nod and a smile is all it takes, he said.

Besides specialty coffees, which are sourced from Elixir Coffee Company in PA, Coffee Mode offers organic teas, smoothies, ciders, ice brew coffee, and fresh baked goods-some gluten-free.

Coffee Mode

919 N Market St
Wilmington DE 19801
(302) 660-1203

Owner: Ben Cordova

Follow Coffee Mode on Facebook

By Adriana Camacho-Church ACCpen1@gmail.com

Downtown Visions Contributing Writer