OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Dave Zorko here. As I set metaphorical pen to paper it’s in the 50-degree range in the fine city of Omaha, Nebraska and the approaching Saturday looks to be below freezing in the 20s. You might think these temperatures would change my caffeinated beverage choice, but they indeed do not.
Nope! Rain, shine, snow, sleet, 100 degrees plus and 100 degrees minus — the math remains the same: I love cold coffee.
Welcome to Faturday Omaha’s Cold Brew Chronicles
Now wait a moment, please don’t metaphorically hang up on me if you don’t like cold coffee or prefer another morning beverage. The places encountered here within the Chronicles can attend to your beverage needs no matter your temperature preference. Come in for the cold brew and stay for the warmth you’ll get at these excellent shops in Omaha.
Hardy Coffee
It has become a mainstay for me throughout the pandemic when they started offering curbside pickup at the Highlander location (2112 N 30th Street). I really appreciated this business pivot for its awesome coffee-to-my-window convenience. The cold brew at Hardy is made with their Benchmark Blend, which is described as having tasting notes of “smoke, spice and dark chocolate.”
I am not a coffee sommelier, so I will relay that I enjoy this cold brew with cream and ice for its consistency. It's an enjoyable and satisfying first sip. You crack the lid on the to-go cup of a properly iced beverage and your palate is struck with a confident coffee and a taste that says care was put into the cup.
You will find varying sizes of beverages for your liquid needs at Hardy as well as an extensive bakery. Do you need an awesome lemon cake for a birthday? Well, Hardy can bake one for you. They also feature breakfast burritos, scones, and muffins.
In fact, there is a Hardy Coffee cold brew sitting to my left as I write this.
Felius Cat Cafe & Rescue
How about a purr-fectly percolated coffee? You can find your feline inspiration at Felius!
Did you know we have a cat cafe in Omaha? We do, at 522 S 24th St. The coffee here is provided by Bad Seed Coffee (2452 1/2 Harney Street).
Here’s the cool part: you can do quite a few things at Felius, but its mission is the adoption of cats in Omaha who need a good home. You can go into Felius and obtain your coffee, all the while watching playful cats and kittens romp in their sun-filled playroom.
If you don’t want to adopt, but maybe you’d like to stop by and provide some love to a furry friend, you can reserve times with Felius to go in and see the cats in their adoption-ready habitat. This is a fun place with a noble mission. Give them a look.
Archetype Coffee
In Little Bohemia (at 1419 S 13th St., #101) you can find another favorite stop of mine, Archetype Coffee. These folks are serious coffee creators and even compete in coffee competitions. The cold brew here is available in one size and consistently delivers.
What I really enjoy about Archetype, besides the obvious delicious coffee, is the ambiance. It feels urban with a retro kiss. There is an old Marantz amplifier perched behind the counter with similar vintage Bose speakers up in the rafters carrying a warm sound throughout the cafe.
Being in Little Bohemia, you are in the 13th Street vibe and the staff is always friendly. Also available here are various food items, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Nice Rollz. You can find Nice Rollz creations like Korean Egg Bread with its sweet and savory combo along with Archetype muffins and other baked items to pair with your coffee.
Amateur Coffee
Amateur Coffee at 3913 Cuming St. builds a cold brew with their house blend that packs a punch. This is morning fuel.
A standout in the vegan arena, Amateur provides drinks and comestibles that fit your requirements as they are a vegan coffee shop. My go-to here is the cold brew with oat milk. The oat milk is not sweet and has the lightest hint of oat flavor.
With all of the awesome shops in Omaha, I like that each shop’s blend and preparation is different and rotating between the various places keeps things interesting. You can also recognize an Amateur Coffee beverage from a distance as they have a reusable jar program.
These are tall thin jars with lids that travel well and fit in the all-important cup holder in your vehicle. You might think a hot beverage would put a person at risk, but fear not, as Amateur has tiny koozies to keep your hands safe from the warmer climates of coffee.
Pro tip: don’t forget to save that jar! If you bring back your nicely cleaned and empty jar, they will give you a dollar off your next coffee.
Zen Coffee
Another favorite Faturday foray is Zen Coffee. It offers varying sizes of cold beverages and an array of fun choices from the Honey Bee Latte, Coffee Flights (yup, coffee flights!) and my most recent purchase: a Cold Foam Latte with its waterfall cascade of cold foam into delicious espresso.
Zen’s menu has made me want to “yes, and —” my purchase. Meaning, “yes, I’ll take a cold beverage, and — ” then another beverage due to the consistently interesting menu. Give their monkey bread or avocado toast a try and don’t forget to check out those tasting flights.
Both the West Omaha location at 2505 S 133rd Plaza and downtown location at 2504 Farnam St. are excellent spots to enjoy.
I still have coffee in my cup, but I am short on space in this article so I will leave you with this. Please check these spots out as they are all different and wonderful in their own way. There are other shops around Omaha like Rally Coffee, The Beanery, and Culprit Cafe for the Tower of Power that I’ve come to enjoy, but don’t have the online real estate to describe. Have fun, go forth and caffeinate.
Please find/follow @FaturdayOmaha on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Locate our podcast, Faturday Omaha on your podcast provider, and our radio show on 91.5 KIOS FM Saturdays at 2 p.m. You can email Dave at FaturdayOmaha@gmail.com.
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