Raise your hand if you hate lima beans. Me too. Shall we discuss if Lima coffee is as bad as the beans?
Y’all know the drill: I try out different coffee shops in FoCo so that you can live your best Pinterest-coded life. Shops are rated on a scale of 1-10 based on service, menu variety, music, social and study potential, and overall ambiance. I have also noted (but not rated) factors like price, gluten-free/allergen-free options, location and parking lot, where they source their coffee, and their mission (if they have one). At every place, some friends and I will order an iced caramel latte, a featured drink or chai, and a sample of their black coffee.
Lima is on the line between “mom and pop shop” and food chain. Lima is exclusive to Fort Collins but now has three different locations across the city. They have locations on Mason and Troutman, Campus West, and in Old Town. Depending on which location you are at, there will be different parking situations. I went to the Lima on Mason and Troutman so I’ll tell you about that parking specifically. At 4229 S Mason St, this parking is actually kind of a headache. The lot outside of Lima itself has nine spots that fill very quickly so they tell you to park in the back of the Target parking lot–which is a bit of a walk. The prices range from $3.50 for a 12oz drip coffee to $6.30 for a 20oz matcha latte. Their business hours are 7:00 am to 6:00 pm but they are closed on Sundays.
Lima is a coffee roaster, so they sell their own coffee. They get their beans from a variety of countries and each coffee has different flavor notes. Lima is the first shop I’ve gone to with a clear outlined mission statement. Their mission is to “Love People, Love Coffee.” They make this a priority by rotating their employees across all three locations so that they can get to know their whole customer base.
You can tell they value coffee production in the taste of their coffee. Their Isabel black coffee has the classic coffee taste with an earthy veggie note to it and a slight sweetness. Their caramel latte is really great. It’s smooth and has a great balance between the caramel flavor and the base coffee notes. It’s perfectly sweet and rich. We also got the pumpkin latte and it, no joke, tastes just like pumpkin bread. It’s a fall morning in a cup! The nutmeg that shines through the pumpkin is delicious.
Final Scores:
Ambience 9/10–Lima has a very open concept and it’s giving clean-girl aesthetic dorm room. It’s a very cool place to hang out and I think that it’s chaotic in a calming sort of way.
Service 8/10–The employees are kind and helpful. They are often quite bubbly and positive. They make sure to look customers in the eye and smile.
Variety 5/10–They have less variety than other places but the quality of their drinks is great. They always have a great seasonal menu and have the typical coffee choices that are always consistent.
Music 6/10–The music is pretty chill. It’s not loud enough to really be noticed over all the other noise. It provides good background noise while you sit.
Study potential 4/10–This can depend on when you go, but overall Lima is pretty loud.
Social 8/10–Lima is one of the best places to go for one-on-one conversations and catch-ups with your friends.
Lima has the usual milk substitutes as well as having some gluten-free pastries.
I really love Lima. I give it an overall 8.5/10. It’s a really great place to go when you want to hang out with your friends and their coffee really is top quality. Lima is for sure better than your kitchen table.
