Terra Cotta Coffee House

Whenever I’m back at uni, I always stop by terra cotta for either their ice coffee (Jamaican me crazy) or pumpkin spice latte when it’s autumn. Definitely recommend everyone to go, it’s even better than Starbucks in my opinion and it’s very affordable!

Nice environment, cozy feeling. Can order sandwiches and pastries etc. and find nice seating somewhere. Nice if you can go when it’s quiet so you can read with a cup of tea. Outdoor seating.

Yes it is cute, yes it looks like a nice coffee place, yes it is the only one, yes I go there for coffee. That said, the coffee is very weak, the service lackluster (sorry to the nice kids they sometimes are lucky enough to hire) and the food is very unexciting.
This week my coffee maker ran out and I had to drop by to buy coffee each day. I asked for the strongest and/​or darkest and got a very weak watery coffee. Then each day I tried each of their coffee’s thinking that maybe just maybe one would be better. Every last coffee was made poorly with too few grounds. I tried a cappuccino and thumbs down. I tried a bagel, it was cold, wrapped in wet plastic and when I said, oh I asked for it to be toasted she pointed to the toaster and said it is there.
Years ago I would eat a sandwich there once in a while, but they use only a tomato foccacca that I did not like, when I asked if there was plain, they said that is the only flavoe they get. I asked for hot peppers, nope. And that sums this place up. they are not interested in being an amazing tasting place that people really want to come back to, they just want to make the most profit with the least effort. And it certainly feels that way.

9 out of 10 times if I need a coffee, I’ll be coming to Terra Cota.
The baristas are very friendly and can also make a mean smoothie.
Whenever I can I usually go with my usual favorite muffin and chicken pesto sandwich (always fresh).
Over everything I just love the casual college atmosphere of terra cota. Definitely feels like a true café environment.
The only downside has been that recently on the National coffee day, they unfortunately ran out of milk. I figured that they could simply get a gallon of milk or two across the street as to not lose out on sales.
But other than that, it’s one of my fav spots to sit back, relax, and drink some coffee.

This place has nice charm for the college age coffee crowd. I held an event there in July for my family. During the planning phase the management gave my wife and I a price for 40 guests. After that, the management never contacted us about finalizing our arrangements. We had to call repeatedly to get a hold of someone who knew anything about our reservation.
The building was nice even know it seem to be in varying stages of construction or refurbishment. The food was the eatable, and still frozen, wholesale fair of bagels, brownies, but noting to rave about. Do yourself a favor pick these up at BJ’s or Costco and thaw them yourself.
Upon paying for the bill, the price had almost doubled from what the manager of the Terra Cotta quoted us. When questioning the manager on the price hike the manager said they changed their mind and J.N. said to charge per head. When I called John N. he said that he did not know anything about the price hike and would look into it.
In conclusion, if you want a cup of joe stop by, but for anything of importance do not do it at the Terra Cotta or any of the J.N. establishments in Alfred.
If you do, be prepared for the old bait and switch.

The Terra Cotta is an Alfred institution. The selection of food and beverages is solid: brewed coffee in several flavors, espresso drinks, teas, flavored chai teas (from a mix but delicious!), smoothies, paninis, breakfast sandwiches, and baked goods. This is your prototypical indie coffeeshop, with hand-​written menus, mismatched furniture, local art on the walls, and couches upstairs so you can work in comfort and quiet. There are patios on both the front and the back of the restaurant – the former is a recent addition and a great vantage point for people-​watching.
When you come in here you’re not going to find a Gibraltar made with single-​origin, shade-​grown Ethiopian coffee. The Terra Cotta isn’t a big-​city coffee bar. What it is is Alfred’s de facto «third place», and a microcosm of Alfred itself: an eclectic mixture of students, professors, townies, and professionals, coming together to make something surprising and great.

A comfy college coffeehouse experience. Spacious with art and pottery. The couches upstairs are perfect for drinking some joe and reading a book. They also have lovely outside seating.
My favorites:
Hot chocolate. Rich and chocolatey.
Chocolate chai frappé. Addictive.
Iced Jamaican Me Crazy coffee. Really good with cream and a shot of caramel or liquid sugar.
Many of their flavored coffees. I looooove cinnamon hazelnut.
Cordon bleu and greek beef focaccia sandwiches. The beef gyro too. They have a focaccia deal on Tuesdays. Buy one, get the second half off.
French toast muffins buttered and grilled. Heaven. Always ask for your muffin buttered and grilled.
Breakfast sandwiches. My favorite is a buttered and toasted everything bagel with fried egg, swiss cheese and bacon. Add hot sauce and roasted red pepper sauce. MY GOD.

If you like to sit outside, this is definitely the place for you. There are two levels to this place, and three outdoor seating areas! There’s tables out on the sidewalk, a balcony overlooking the sidewalk, and a balcony out back which is definitely a little quieter than the noisy street.
The homemade scones and homemade donuts are out of this world. They’re baked fresh every day, and always hit the right note. Try one of the homemade donuts with a barista’s signature drink — a drink exclusive to the Terra Cotta that changes based on who is working!

I thought everything was pricey for a café in college town. The panini I ordered cost me about $ 8 and a latte was about $ 4. It was way over my budget for lunch, and the taste was a-​ok, but it’s pretty much the only café in the area, I will go back for a cup of coffee to relax.

Stick to the coffee. Nearly all of the food is forgettable, though very cheap. Most frustrating is their focaccias which are MICROWAVED and MUSHY instead of the bread being toasted in an oven or panini press (how it should be).
Scones are triangle shaped muffins
Bagels are bread with a hole in the middle (still considerably better the AU’s bagels)
Cookies decent
Bakalava is pretty good (and very cheap! :)
Basically, just stick to the coffee

This is the best coffee house I have been to. I do not drink coffee very often because I am not a huge fan of it, but I can drink Terra Cotta every day!
This place blows the pants off of Starbucks. They have a wide selection and also offer food. There are two levels, a back patio, and sitting out front. Upstairs they have a piano, couches, board games, and chess/​checker tables. They also throw open mic night once a week that I always went to while attending Alfred State. I even performed a few times myself. Always a great place to meet friends and hang out.

Oh, Terra Cotta!
The coffee is pretty solid, and there are only so many places around for some of the other specialty drinks they offered (until the Creative Arts Center opened in Wellsville, it was the only place to find Jones Soda).
And then there are the baked goods. Cookies the size of my head — that’s all I have to say.
And the real food? Mmmm. The artichoke panini might be one of my favorite things ever. I went once and they were out of the red pepper sauce so they offered to substitute pesto — I think I might like it even more that way.
Of course, I can’t neglect to mention the place itself. Funky artwork (which is basically a requirement for Alfred businesses) decent seating (although it can get a little cramped). And when the weather’s nice you can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. How cute is it that they give you a stuffed animal so they know what table to bring food out to? And the upstairs is great if you have a few more people — I brought a writing group one time and we had plenty of space to spread out and it was quiet enough up there for us to work.

This place is super cozy and a great place to grab a warm drink in the cold months. They have a bunch of board games with comfy couches upstairs which is really nice.
The best night to go here is Tuesday. They have two focacca sandwhiches for $ 8 which is a good deal. They are quite good but you have to inspect them before you eat them, I ordered once and they surved my salad with a chunk of real life dirt. They didn’t offer me anything for my trouble and were pretty rude about the ordeal.

I can not believe that this is the first time anyone is reviewing the Terra Cotta…
What words may I express to articulate the glory that is this establishment? What gratitude may I give to this heaven-​sent entity that got me through my four years in Alfred without going insane? I really do not even know where to begin…
What is there not to LOVE about the Terra Cotta Coffee House? First and foremost, there is nothing (and I mean nothing!) like it anywhere around (even in neighboring counties). The Terra Cotta Coffee House is really a place one can come home to — I looked forward to it whenever I returned to Alfred year after year and at the end of holiday breaks. This establishment provided a much-​needed and quite beloved respite from both academia, and the semi-​cultureless vacuum that Alfred can become (especially to those of us from large cities).
Now for a few words on the food and drink at the Terra Cotta: Excellent from top to bottom. Their coffee (which is offered in a variety of changing flavors) was always extremely top quality. The selection of teas, iced drinks, soft beverages, etc. is literally unparalled in my universe and in that of Alfred, New York. Everything at the Terra Cotta is chosen with the customer in mind, and in presenting a funky, ecclectic, exciting (and healthy) assortment of items to visitors. The food including sandwiches, panini, soups and salads is superb. When you’re marooned on a college campus for days on end eating subpar campus «cuisine,» the options here are wonderful. Tuesday evenings, you get a second panino for $ 1.00 when you buy the first (this may have changed in the 18 months since I’ve left Alfred, but I doubt it). Overall, the food is the biggest reason to go here.
The atmosphere at the Terra Cotta is laid-​back, cozy, comfortable, welcoming, with a funky and ecclectic vibe that belies its location — The Terra Cotta is, without a doubt, one of the reasons that Alfred is such a lovely town to go to college in. Local and student-​made art and pottery decorates the warm sitting areas of the store. Large glass sliding doors open on Main Street in Alfred during milder weather, allowing one to sit outdoors if they would like. Upstairs, one finds a fireplace, a large projection screen (on which movies are shown), a colorful mix of chairs and couches, a computer/​internet lounge (free to use), a small stage on which musicians may perform and large rear deck providing more outdoor seating when the weather provides. The Terra Cotta hosts a variety of events during each week including Open Mic night on Wednesdays, when local performers/​singers can play for a loving and often quite robust crowd.
I literally can not say enough good about this place. I made sure to go for a visit recently during a return to the area, just because I simply adore it so much. If you’re in Alfred, or passing through, stop by for a great small-​town experience that you can only wish for elsewhere.