During my time at Magnet, I have heard from all the coffee connoisseurs at Magnet that Orange Spot Coffee Park Circle is the place to go. Francis Drake, Magnet alumni, swears by Orange Spot with the caution that it sometimes takes a while. With my affinity for all things coffee, I knew I had to see what Orange Spot was all about. In order to get an accurate picture of the best Orange Spot has to offer, I decided to ask a few of my peers for their recommendations. 

Peer Recommendations 

Dylan Geddis (12th) told me that Orange Spot is “hands down, the best coffee in Charleston.” Catie Gill (12th) added to this with her go-to drink, an iced lavender latte with almond milk. I asked a few Orange Spot experts, Elyse Ramos (12th) and Sarah Baer (12th) what their favorites are. They told me I “had not lived before I tried both the Iced Thai tea and the iced chai tea latte.” They also told me I needed to try the Caprese sandwich and the quiche. Katherine Nguyen told me the “hot matcha is better than the cold” and if I get there early enough, I can get a bagel. Since the Talon, unfortunately, does not sponsor our food reviews, I knew I would have to narrow down my selections as I do not have unlimited money. 

After much deliberation, I planned on ordering Catie’s latte recommendation and an iced chai. I sadly will have to save the Thai tea and the matcha for a future visit. For breakfast, I planned on getting a bagel if they still had them and if not, a quiche. 

First Impressions

Upon arriving at Orange Spot in Park Circle, I easily found a parking spot on the main street which was a major plus. Even though I parked along the street, I did not have to park parallel as there were many open angled parking spots. The easy access to parking was already a good sign. Inside Orange Spot, there was a large crowd of millennials (probably Park Circle locals) getting their morning coffee. Despite the crowd, my wait time was very brief. The inside of Orange Spot is very well decorated and has a great atmosphere. 

Drink Review 

I decided to take Catie’s suggestion and order the iced vanilla lavender latte with almond milk. Overall, I liked the flavor of the espresso-it was not too bitter yet not too dull and had hints of cinnamon. Unfortunately, I felt like the lavender and vanilla syrups were a little lost on me and did not have a major impact on the drink. The drink tasted a little bit like Metto’s vanilla latte in Mount Pleasant, which is my go-to on that side of town. I would love to try some more drinks in order to get a more accurate gauge of Orange-Spot’s overall drink-making. Next up on my list would definitely be a dirty chai-an iced chai tea latte with a few shots of espresso. 

Food Review 

By Katherine’s suggestion, I arrived early so there were still plenty of bagels. I decided to take this opportunity and ordered a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese. I was excited to see the bagel came with the cream cheese already on it-I hate when places like Starbucks offer only the sides of frigid cream cheese that always run out too soon. Overall the bagel was very good and was well-toasted. In my opinion, the cream cheese was the best part and took the whole bagel to the next level flavor-wise. 

Conclusion 

Is Orange Spot Coffee worth the hype? In my opinion, yes it is definitely worth its fame. Due to its convenient location, I think Orange Spot would be the perfect meeting place for friends before school. I highly recommend getting the bagel with cream cheese. I thought I was done with my review, but after some reflection, my article took an exciting turn. It was unavoidable: I needed to return to Orange Spot for the second day of reviews. 

Day 2

I returned for the second day of reviews with my colleagues, Laura Robertson (12th) and Chloe Trowman (9th). I ordered an iced dirty chai with almond milk. Laura got a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese, per my recommendation, and an iced pumpkin spice latte with almond milk. Lastly, Chloe got an iced caramel latte with almond milk and a “morning bun” as she called it. It was really just an orange-flavored muffin. 

Drink Review #2

Since Laura ordered a quintessential fall staple, I decided to get her thoughts first. Laura stated that “the pumpkin spice latte had a much for authentic pumpkin essence compared to the classic Starbucks PSL.” She complained though, “it was not very sweet and sometimes that’s what I’m craving.” Ok, Laura. 

Chloe’s caramel latte seemed pretty basic, but she did feel this way. She said it “tastes sour at first, but then the flavor transforms into the chewy caramel candies that I love.” Chloe said that she loved the “nostalgic taste of the chewy caramel candies” since she eats them all the time. 

My drink definitely won the award of the best drink overall. The dirty chai, or an iced chai latte with 2 shots of espresso, was so good. This is the drink that will keep me coming back. The chai flavor is unmatched and I could not recommend this drink more. 

Food Review #2

Out of the many flavors of muffins, Chloe had her heart set on the orange pecan one. She said this muffin was “so delectable” and it “tasted like it was freshly baked.” Laura agreed that the everything bagel was very good, especially the cream cheese. 

Final Thoughts 

Overall, I loved Orange Spot and I can’t wait to bring my other friends if they could ever actually wake up early. When I invited her to come to my second-day review, Avery Voelkel says “I refuse to wake up earlier to do that.” Her attitude is unfortunate and Avery now has to miss out on the delicious dirty chai. Laura, Chloe, and I already settled on returning next week. If you have yet to experience the magic of Orange Spot, I highly recommend making a trip to Park Circle as soon as you can.