A Special Blend

Located at 3900 West Market Street in Greensboro, A Special Blend offers coffee drinks, chai teas, smoothies, and baked goods. Coffee beans and mugs are also available for purchase. A Special Blend is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8-7 on Saturday, and 10-6 on Sunday.

A Special Blend is one of two (the other being Chez Genese downtown) recently opened establishments geared toward employing adults with developmental disabilities. Both have received unanimous rave reviews, which raises the question of how much of the praise is reflective of the quality of the experience and how much is encouragement of a commendable mission. In A Special Blend’s case, the plaudits are well-deserved.

Housed between Nostra and Mythos in a shopping plaza across the street from Sheetz, A Special Blend is deceptively spacious. The inside is bright and clean with plenty of seating. Tasteful wood trim and blue coffee cup wall accents give A Special Blend one of the most inviting and distinctive interiors since Coffeeology’s original iteration.

Selection and service are both excellent. A Special Blend offers coffees (drip and cold brew), mochas, lattes, chais, frappes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, hot chocolates, and teas. There are about ten different syrups available, including a few sugar-free options. Those wanting something to munch on can find muffins, bagels, scones, and croissants (sweet and savory varieties). The coffee comes courtesy of Carolina Coffee Roasting while the food is sourced from local bakeries. All of it is prepped quickly and efficiently courtesy of hard-working baristas. The cashier was polite, and the manager (?) on duty was very welcoming.

For our first visit, my wife and I went with a mocha and a white mocha frappe, respectively. The drinks weren’t cheap – they ran $4.95 and $4.80 – but they weren’t uncompetitively priced and were very much worth the money spent. The chocolately frappe was among the better blended coffee drinks I’ve had anywhere while my wife reported her mocha as tasty and smooth if a bit sweet.

We had been wishing for a coffee shop in walking distance of home (sorry, Sheetz, you don’t count) to arrive for quite some time, and it looks like A Special Blend will capably fill that role. Good drinks and a comfortable atmosphere would make it worthwhile even if it didn’t have an admirable raison d’etre.