The cold brew in St. Petersburg that tastes faintly of rum.
Issue 17
Hogg Batch on Central Avenue ages its beans in a spirit barrel and serves only pour overs and cold brew, a plain counter in a city of syrup lattes.
Most coffee in St. Petersburg comes sweet. Syrups, flavoured lattes and foam are the house style, and plenty of it is made well. Then there is Hogg Batch, a working roastery on Central Avenue, where the menu is pour overs and cold brew and not much else.
We ordered the cold brew. The beans are organic Sumatra, aged in a spirit barrel and steeped for 18 hours. It tasted of vanilla and brown sugar, with a clear note of rum that never turned sweet. We liked it enough to buy a bag of the same beans on the way out.
Vanilla, brown sugar and a clear note of rum, and no sugar added.
Why it is worth planning around
Hogg Batch is a Steep Pick. It is a roastery first and a cafe second, so there is no long drink list to read and no wifi table to claim. The coffee is made on site, and the co-owner will explain how the beans are aged and roasted if you ask. We spent a good while talking about it, and it was one of the better conversations we have had in a cafe this year.
The hours are limited, and the roastery leans toward pickup and appointments. Call or check Instagram before you go, and do not make it a stop you cannot reschedule.
- Hogg Batch Coffee Roastery Steep PickDowntown St. Petersburg · St. Petersburg · Steep Index 8.7/10
A working roastery on Central Avenue that ages its beans in spirit barrels, pours only pour overs and cold brew, and does it better than anyone else in a city built on syrup lattes.
- Daycation Coffee Steep PickDowntown St. Petersburg · St. Petersburg · Steep Index 8.8/10
A tiny owner-run shop just north of Central Avenue that looks like nothing from the street, where the owner and staff talk you through how to drink the house specialties.
If Hogg Batch is shut
Daycation Coffee, a short walk north of Central Avenue on MLK Street, is the other Steep Pick in the city. It is a tiny owner-run shop that looks like nothing from outside. The cortado was full of aroma and brown sugar, and the banana bread was moist. Plan around the hours there too, since it closes mid-afternoon.
On our radar
We wrote up why the best cups in St. Petersburg tend to come from its plainest rooms in a new guide on steep, and a walking route along Central Avenue links eight cafes in about half an hour. If there is a St. Pete stop we are missing, reply and tell us.