How’s it going? Hope the coffee is flowing! Today I am going to be sharing my review of Amelia Island Coffee, located in Fernandina Beach, Florida. During a recent work trip to Amelia Island, my manager discovered this shop and I am sure glad that she did! I ended up going every day of my trip and was able to sample three of their coffees and two of their smoothies during my time there.
The Coffee Shop:
Amelia Island Coffee has been a staple in Fernandina Beach since 1995 and despite going during Florida’s offseason, the shop was always busy. It seems to be the local go-to coffee shop, which is always a great sign. The shop is relatively small with limited seating inside, but very welcoming and has a laid back beach town atmosphere that was simple but elegant. The staff was friendly and courteous and each staff member seemed genuinely happy to be there. With a convenient location less than a 5 minute walk from Fernandina Harbor, Amelia Island Coffee is a great place to stop before or after your Fernandina Beach adventures.
The Coffee:
Amelia Island Coffee partners with Nuanz Coffee Roasters, a local family owned roaster, just down the street in Yulee, Florida to provide high quality freshly roasted coffee to their customers.
While Amelia Island Coffee does not ship directly, if you like what you read in my reviews you can purchase coffee directly from the Nuanz Website to try some for yourself!
The first coffee that I tried from Amelia Island was their Tanzanian Peaberry. Peaberry coffee is unique in that each coffee cherry contains just one seed per fruit, whereas a traditional coffee cherry contains two. This is a natural mutation that results in around 5% of coffee being peaberry. Coffeeness has a fantastic write up on peaberry coffee you can check it out here. Peaberry tends to have a sweeter taste and a high quality peaberry can be quite a unique experience. Let’s dive in and see how Amelia Island’s Tanzania Peaberry fairs.
Amelia Island Tanzanian Peaberry review:
The aroma is slightly oaty with a hint of brown sugar. It has a light body, but packs plenty of flavor. The experience starts off subtle, with slight notes of wine-like tartness and mild tannins. This tartness fades in the middle and gives way to bold fruit forward flavors with notes of cherry. The coffee finishes with subtle sweet chocolatey notes that build and grow into a bold milk chocolate-like finish.
Overall, I really enjoyed this coffee, so much so that I brought a bag home with me. It was very smooth and had a great complex flavor profile. The flavor notes blended seamlessly and worked so well. This is an easy to drink and delicious coffee.
After my experience with their Tanzanian Peaberry, I could not wait to get back and try out Amelia Island’s House blend, their Guatemalan Huehuetenango.
Amelia Island Guatemala Huehuetenango review:
I was thrilled to see that their house blend was a Guatemalan, as I really enjoy a good quality Guatemalan coffee. The Huehuetenango region is known for producing very high quality coffee which made this choice even better.
The coffee has a sweet nose with maple notes and a hint of spice. This roast is medium bodied and had a good weight and mouth feel. The flavor begins with dark chocolatey notes with subtle bitterness balanced by a touch of sweetness. This sweetness grows in the middle, but the flavor notes shift from chocolatey to the darker sugary notes found in the nose. The maple notes stand out here. They continue into a sweet finish that closes out with some bold spicy notes of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Overall this was another good offering. I preferred the Tanzanian Peaberry, as the Guatemala Huehuetenango was not as complex. That being said, the sweetness of the flavor profile has a lot of appeal and the spicy notes at the end give it a nice flare that stands out.
It should come as no surprise that I also had to give Amelia Island’s cold brew a shot. It is almost impossible for me to check out a coffee shop and not get a cold brew. This one also had an additional reason outside of just my love for cold brew. My colleague brought a cold brew to one of our meetings and felt that it was weak, especially for a cold brew, so we decided that light or no ice may be the trick here.
Amelia Island Cold brew review:
This cold brew had a very subtle nose, it had a touch of sweetness that was almost unnoticeable. As mentioned above, I ordered my cold brew with light ice, however the coffee still had a very light body. The first sip gives noticeable black tea notes, which was a nice start and change of pace from the usual cold brew. These tea notes stick around briefly in the middle before a dramatic shift into sweet chocolately notes. These notes grow into a bold and powerful chocolatey finish that is perfectly sweet. It was an absolutely delicious way to end the experience.
Overall, this was a excellent and refreshing coffee. It was around 35 degrees most of our trip, but during the hot Florida months this would be a fantastic option. I would recommend getting light ice, my colleague returned the next day and was also very happy with the coffee when he ordered it with less ice. This is a really smooth and tasty cup of coffee that has a bold start with the black tea notes but finishes with more traditional chocolatey notes that feel right at home. This was one of my favorite cold brews that I have had.
Final Thoughts:
The coffee at Amelia Island Coffee was outstanding. All 3 options I had I would easily drink again and recommend to anyone. I also ordered 2 smoothies during this trip, strawberry lemonade and berry blend. I was disappointed to find out that they use a concentrate for their smoothies and not fresh fruit, but the staff was honest and upfront about this when I ordered. I do not have much to say about either smoothie, they were on the sweeter side and not very filling. This is okay though, because their coffee more than makes up for it.
Amelia Island Coffee is a definite must check out for anyone in the area and is certainly worth even the 30 minute drive from the Jacksonville International Airport area for those looking for a great cup of coffee.
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