Philz is easily one of my favorite coffee shops. I’ll go way out of my way if I’m even close to a Philz and gladly stand in the long lines to score one of my favorite sweet and creamy iced coffees.
This past weekend, I went out of town with my cousin and we were able to stop at a Philz on the way there and the way back. It was a true highlight to the road trip and I snapped some pics of the drinks to share with you today!
If you’re new to Philz Coffee, let me tell you a little bit about this cult favorite coffee house you won’t want to miss.
What makes Philz Coffee different?
Philz works a little differently than other coffee shops. They customize each drink to your taste using their own lingo. Plus, they only use coffee as a base, no espresso machines in sight. They use a pour over method to brew just the right amount for your order. So here’s what you can expect:
Wait in line until a barista is open and calls you over. Order your drink and then walk over the line to pay. Order any food you’d like and pay for everything. Go to the waiting area or bench and your barista will flag you when your drink is ready. In some stores, you are paying before you order now, which works, too. You’ll see when you walk in which way the line is going.
5 Best Drinks at Philz Coffee:
Now is the time to fill you in on the best coffee drinks at Philz. We order ours iced, because we’re in California – the land of eternal sunshine – but you can get all of these hot as well. They use the same cups for both and they come in three sizes, small, medium and large.
1. Ecstatic Iced Coffee:
By far one of my most favorite coffee drinks of all time. The pour over coffee that is iced with the perfect amount of foam on top is heaven on earth. I always order mine “sweet and creamy” and they nail it every time.
If you are an iced coffee lover, you will adore this drink. There are no syrups added, and honestly, you don’t need them. Just a straight up delicious iced coffee drink you’ll stand in line for again and again.
2. Mocha Tesora:
This is my favorite mocha ever. Whatever they do here, it’s magic. They use the same pour over method using their Tesora medium-blend roasted coffee as its base, which adds dark chocolate, caramel and cocoa notes to the drink. Then, they add a lightly sweetened cocoa and customize it to your taste. It’s magical, I’m not even kidding you. It has just the right amount of chocolate to coffee flavor.
3. Iced Mint Mojito:
Could this be the most famous Philz drink of all time? It could be. If you love mint, you are going to love this iced coffee with fresh mint leaves. Yup, no mint syrup in site, it’s all fresh, muddled mint.
I don’t usually go for mint coffees, but I love this one. Sometimes they float the mint and other times they’ll muddle it at the bottom. Personally, I prefer floating, because I don’t like to get pieces of mint when I’m drinking – but to each their own. Even my cousin, who doesn’t like mint in coffee at all had to admit that this is delicious.
4. Iced Coffee Rose:
This was a new find for us on this trip and it’s now one of our favorites, too. They start with a smooth and creamy iced coffee and then float a subtle rose cream on top that is perfection.
My cousin went gaga over this one and barely let me have any at all, so I’ll be going back to Philz soon to get my own. Muy delicioso! Another fabulous creation at Philz!
4. NEW: Honey Haze Iced Coffee
This new drink is so, so good. Honey Haze starts with freshly brewed Philtered Soul Cold Brew blend, then they add honey and oatmilk. Usually, Philz uses heavy cream in their drinks, unless you request something different, so this is a departure from their norm. Plus, the honey replaces the brown sugar they often use, too, for a softer – yet still sweet – taste.
I thought Honey Haze was absolutely delicious and it ended up being the drink I had the most of the last time I went to Philz (I still bought 3 coffees – because #obsessed). I shared the other two, which were also very good, but the combo in Honey Haze was absolutely perfect. I’ll definitely be making the trip for another one soon.
If you want to make a similar drink at home, check out my new post on how to make an iced oatmilk honey latte at home!
What other drinks does Philz have?
Here’s a great menu, courtesy of Philz, with their other drinks. If you’re lucky enough to be near a Philz, don’t hesitate to order two – trust. me – they’re that good!
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE DRINKS AT PHILZ COFFEE:
Now, on to how to customize your drink so it’s perfect for you. You’ll need to know the lingo.
1. First, you can customize your “cream” and “sweet”.
Cream options include cream, milk, vanilla soy milk, oat milk and almond milk.
Sweetener options include honey, sugar and artificial sweeteners.
2. When you ask for your cream or sweetener (or both), you have four different levels: light, medium, regular or extra.
So, you might order like this, “I’d like an Ecstatic Iced Coffee Sweet and Creamy”. This means you’d like the regular cream and sugar and regular amount of both cream and sugar.
If you’d like to customize further you could say, “I’d like a mint mojito, light cream and sugar with almond milk and honey.”
3. If you don’t specify what type of cream or sugar, they’ll default to the regular cream and sugar.
ORDERING SHORTCUTS:
- Straight Up – You want your drink without any cream or sugar.
- Philz Way – You want medium cream and medium sugar. If you’re new to Philz, this is a good place to start.
- Sweet and Creamy – If you don’t want to mess with types of cream and sugar, just start here.
I always order my drinks sweet and creamy. I happen to be somewhat dairy intolerant, but there’s isn’t so much cream that it sets me off. It’s such a rare treat for me to go to Philz, I like to stick to my favorites.
More Philz Tips:
Want to make Philz at home? You’ll want to read our post with the best Philz coffee blends to buy at a store near you and brew at home! Check out that post here.
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Thanks for reading. Come back soon for more coffee house and coffee drink tips.
Get roasted,
A
