How’s it going? Hope the coffee is flowing! Today I am going to be talking about a coffee shop that my wife and I visited a few times during a trip to North Carolina. This is a bit of a special review for me, as it is the first coffee shop my wife and I were able to spend a lot of time in just the two of us since we became parents. It is also the first coffee shop I have reviewed with her.
The Cafe
Southern Ground opened in 2020 after the shop owners realized there was nowhere in Mount Olive to get a quality cup of coffee in an engaging and comfortable space. They offer an expansive menu of drinks and we were able to try 5 of them. Their menu features core drinks they offer everyday and then seasonal offerings that rotate regularly. They also roast their coffee in house and you can purchase it online. As I mentioned in my review of their Morning Blend (read my review here) you can get a half pound of their coffee for $7 and a full pound for $14, with free shipping for most orders. Not a bad deal at all!
The shop is tucked into a shopping center, it is an end unit which is great for Southern Ground as it allows them to have a drive through. As you enter the shop there is a large coffee bar style employee area to the right and then ample sitting areas running down the left side of the shop. Towards the back is a conference room with large glass windows and a glass door, this would be a good spot for local businesses to meet. The shop has a very welcoming aesthetic with charming country vibes, it is clean and well kept and the staff was courteous and helpful. In addition to their coffee they have a wide range of non-coffee drinks including smoothies, Red Bull based refreshers, and white tea refreshers. You can see their full menu along with their seasonal offerings here.
As I mentioned above, my wife joined me for both trips, so I was able to sample many more drinks than usual and expanded beyond my usual house blend and cold brew. Southern Ground primarily focuses on flavored coffees, with just 2 non-flavored offerings, I will start with one of these, called Morning Blend:
Southern Ground Morning Blend Review:
Southern Ground has 1 or 2 drip coffee offerings each day, you can see them as you walk up to the counter to see what is brewed that day. The first day they had Morning Blend and a flavored offering, I believe it was French Vanilla, so I of course went for the Morning Blend. The aroma was mild but coffee forward and the coffee had a very light body.
The coffee starts with very muted and reserved tasting notes, the flavors were not very noticeable, but I observed some mildly sweet and roasty grain-like notes. The roasty notes get sweeter in the middle and give a more malty taste before giving way to a slightly sweet finish with a touch of fruitiness.
Overall this coffee did not pack much flavor or body. I prefer a stronger coffee, and this was relatively weak. It was smooth and easy to drink though, so I think for a normal coffee drinker it may still be appealing. Especially for those who like to add cream and sugar to their cup. I have stated this before, but a house blend for a coffee shop is usually more reserved, as it is meant to serve all coffee drinkers. I would still prefer to see a coffee shop have a stronger offering that provides more coffee flavor. I ended up buying a bag of the Morning Blend to brew and review at home to get a better taste of the coffee. You can read that review here.
After trying the house blend I think we all know what I tried next, as I can’t go anywhere without trying a cold brew! As an avid cold brew drinker, I put a lot of weight in a shop’s cold brew, especially those in warmer areas like southern states or beach towns. Despite it being cold when we visited, North Carolina is very much a southern state, so let’s see how their cold brew holds up!
Southern Ground Cold Brew Review:
This cold brew had a strong roasty aroma without anything standing out as a prominent characteristic. It had a light body and was crisp and smooth.
From the first sip I noticed a unique start, especially for a cold brew with a big floral pop of flavor giving it bold jasmine-like notes. These floral notes stayed as it transitioned into the middle, but the sweetness came forward that balanced the floral notes well. The coffee has a strong chocolatey finish that was delicious and had a great balance of sweetness and cocoa.
Overall this was a very good cold brew, I like that it started out with distinctive floral tasting notes that had great flavor and made it refreshing before giving way to a more traditional chocolatey finish that a cold brew drinker would be expecting. I would certainly recommend this if you are not going the latte route, I made sure to get one for our drive home, because I did not want to leave North Caroline without another one of these delicious cold brews!
After trying the Morning Blend and their cold brew on the first day I decided to try an Americano on our trip back the next day, especially after finding the drip coffee a bit weak for my liking. Was this a worthwhile alternative?
Southern Ground Americano Review:
Southern Ground’s Americano had a slight nutty and toasty aroma, it was faint but still slightly noticeable. I went with a 20oz and likely would go for a smaller size, maybe with an extra shot of espresso, as I found it watery and very light in body.
The coffee starts with very mild coffee notes, the water overpowers the coffee here. The middle starts to allow some of the coffee notes to come through, it was slightly roasty, similar to the aroma with a touch of nuttiness. The finish has the most flavor as the coffee starts to show through with a grain-like roastiness. There was not a lot oft of noticeable flavor through this Americano, I would recommend requesting more espresso in a smaller size.
Aside from another cold brew, that wrapped up the drinks I ordered, but with my wife joining me, I was able to expand my horizons a bit into a couple of iced lattes. On the first trip my wife ordered a seasonal drink called a Nutty Irishman, which was a dark chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut latte.
Southern Ground Iced Nutty Irishman Latte Review:
This latte had a strong hazelnut aroma and being that it was an iced latte it was no surprise that it was light bodied and milky.
The start has a great pop of sweetness from the caramel, with some nuttiness from the hazelnut. There is also a touch of cocoa-like bitterness from the dark chocolate that balances the start out. The sweetness fades somewhat in the middle with the hazelnut getting stronger, the dark chocolate remains noticeable but the hazelnut is the most prominent note here. The coffee finishes with a roasty nuttiness from the hazelnut, helping the coffee live up to its nutty name.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, it is on the sweeter side, but has good balance from the dark chocolate and the hazelnut. The espresso is not really noticeable, which I would have liked to see, but for most latte drinkers, my wife included, this would be a great option. It is also executed much better than large chain lattes, as it had some complexity and balance, instead of being sugar milk, looking at you Starbucks.
On our return trip the following day my wife opted for another speciality latte, this time going for one of their regular offerings called Sweet Thang. Sweet Thang is a late made with caramel and hazelnut (starting to notice a theme here with her drinks?). After really enjoying the Nutty Irishman, was dropping the dark chocolate and opting for just caramel and hazelnut an improvement? Let’s find out!
Southern Ground Iced Sweet Thang Latte Review:
While this latte had the same light and milky body, a good showing of consistency from Southern Ground, the aroma had strong caramel notes. A noticeable deviation from the prior days Nutty Irishman.
This latte had a strong nutty start with the hazelnut really showing through. The nuttiness starts to fade and gives way to a sweet caramel middle. The finish sees the sweetness from the caramel get stronger, and overpower the nuttiness.
Overall I found this to be an okay latte, I prefer coffee forward or balanced drinks and found this to be too sweet. My wife enjoyed it more than I did, but she also preferred the Nutty Irishman. For those latte drinkers who like a lot of sweetness, this would be a good offering. It is very caramel- focused with just a touch of nuttiness from the hazelnut in the start.
My father-in-law joined us for our second trip and get got their creme brulee drip coffee, which we could smell as we ordered it had a strong aroma. I didn’t sample this but he liked it, so I just wanted to note this as well.
Final Thoughts
Spending a few hours hanging out with my wife at Southern Ground was a lot of fun, we met a few of their regular customers who spoke really highly of the shop and we could see why. The staff was friendly and we could hear how much fun they had during their work. They were engaged with customers and experimented with new drink ideas in their spare time.
Southern Ground is a fantastic coffee shop and if you’re ever in the area I certainly recommend stopping in. I’d recommend getting the cold brew or giving a latte a try.
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