Forty Weight Coffee Roasters

The cortado at Forty Weight gets called the best in Ithaca by enough regulars that it has become the obvious thing to order on a first visit. The cafe is set up inside the GreenStar Coop on Cascadilla Street, which sounds like it would feel like buying a coffee at a grocery store. It does not. The counter is built as its own thing inside the bigger room, with baristas who weigh shots to the gram and pull from fresh beans, and the welcome lands as cafe rather than checkout aisle.

The technical work is the headline. Shots dialed in by weight, not by eye. Espresso that is consistent across visits. Strong cappuccino results that come from the same discipline. On the milk side, soy and other non-dairy options are part of the standard lineup, which matters in a college town. Vegan baked goods sit in the case for the same reason. The oat peppermint mocha and the matcha both get repeat mentions for anyone who wants to step off the espresso path.

There is a farmers market presence too, which is how a lot of locals first run into the brand before they realize the cafe lives inside the coop.

The trade-off is the setting. You are still inside a grocery store. The space is what it is. Forty Weight is not the place to settle into for a long writing session with a window seat and a private corner. The footprint is limited, the energy belongs to the coop around it, and the appeal is the coffee in the cup rather than the room you are sitting in. For Ithaca third-wave drinkers who want exacting espresso and an actual cortado pulled with care, this is the answer. For anyone who wants a standalone cafe with the room to linger, the setup will not deliver that.