BY SARAH BASS
Coffee is an important part of most Kinkaid students’ diet, but continuous trips to the nearby Starbucks for lattes can get repetitive. If caffeine is a must, then the coffee should be excellent. The House of Coffee Beans is the perfect place to go for gourmet beans.
Within seconds of entering House of Coffee Beans, the aroma of fine tea and strong coffee beckons customers past the rows of colorful mugs and straight towards the back, where countless bags of delicious coffee sit just behind the counter.
Nestled in a small shopping center off of Bissonnet St. (there are only four stores in this strip), it is easy to overlook the store. This, however, would be a mistake. With its wide range of coffee and tea, House of Coffee Beans is the ultimate destination for caffeine enthusiasts. Local Houstonians have been enjoying the store’s exciting array of flavors and options for 43 years.
House of Coffee Beans isn’t a typical coffee shop. There isn’t light folk music playing from speakers or a conglomeration of people studying, meeting or chatting at tables; it’s a place to get great coffee beans and tea leaves. Daily samples of both iced and regular coffee are written on a small chalkboard above the counter and feature unique flavors like Apple Pie, Chocolate Mint, and Dulce de Leche. If the long list of coffee so unique it can’t be found at the local Starbucks isn’t enticing enough, the store’s success as a local business for over forty years might be more of an encouragement.
The store offers many options for people looking for good coffee. Customers have a variety of options, including unblended specialty coffees, blended or decaffeinated coffees, dark roast and espresso coffees, and flavored coffees. Unblended coffee is made when the beans straight from the farms and blended beans are combined to produce a unique flavor.
By using only family-run farms, the store ensures that it serves the highest quality product. The store personally checks out every one of the farms it is using to make sure they are using sustainable practices. Each batch of beans is stirred by hand in the store and natural flavors are added in to give each bean its flavor. House of Coffee Beans is careful and methodical about the production of its coffee, and their selection shows this attention.
The store offers a variety of holiday flavors from October to December. (Yes, pumpkin spice is included.) The unique flavors allow coffee drinkers to branch out of their comfort zones and explore flavors like Danish Pastry, Swiss Chocolate Almond, and Decaf Coconut Cream.
House of Coffee Beans is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Whether it’s Vienna Roast or Chocolate Turtle Sundae, House of Coffee Beans offers a wide variety of delicious coffee drinks to many Houston’s locals.
