Roots Roasting

The vanilla is made in house. So is the rest of the syrup lineup. And the grinder gets recalibrated for humidity by owner Pete, which is the kind of detail that comes up in customer feedback because the regulars know it. Roots Roasting is a Mac-Groveland St Paul roastery that roasts beans on site and runs through seasonal specialty drinks that lean creative.

The seasonal drinks are the calling card. Smoked maple latte runs fall. Miso maple latte rotates in around the same time. Golden Milk Latte is on the menu year-round. Vanilla iced oat milk latte for the standard order. Miel latte. Matcha latte. An iced spiced mocha that occasionally comes out with undissolved spices (one regular flagged it with an eye-roll). Classic Espresso is the bean to buy. Decaf is on the menu as an Americano, though there's no decaf drip.

Pastries come from Marc Heu and Rose Street. Kouign-amann. Croissants. A regular has called one rotating cinnamon item "the swirly-dirly-twisty cinnamon bun thing" with affection. Vegan brownies in the case.

The room is small. Bright, full of natural light from a wall of windows. Seating fills up around 9am and again around 3pm. Those are the rushes. Wifi has been consistently flagged as bad, so this is not the place for heavy remote work. Dogs aren't allowed inside but a treats bowl sits at the door.

The queer-friendly framing comes up directly in regular notes. Mac-Groveland St Paul locals make up the bulk of the customer base. Families with toddlers fit. French Press and home espresso brewers come in for beans. The serious remote worker probably belongs somewhere else.

One real catch. Drinks run pricey. Small drinks over $6 in some reports. One critic compared the room's energy to a fast food restaurant. The eye-roll service response to a complaint about undissolved spices showed up too. Most other things land.