If you walk about 10 minutes away from Davidson Hall, you’ll reach Jay Street in downtown Schenectady. Jay Street is home to a variety of small businesses, each having something unique to offer. Looking to review some of the coffee or tea shops, I visited four businesses: Bud’s on Jay Street, Raw Juice Bar, Storied Milk & Teas, and the Whistling Kettle. Of course this does not cover all restaurants on Jay Street, but these four are good places to start if you haven’t explored much beyond the Blue Gate.
Bud’s On Jay
This is the first time I’ve been here, and I instantly fell in love with this small-town coffee shop. They have your standard coffee types; a cold brew, an Americano, lattes, etc. However, thanks to the syrups and other options they have, it’s easy to customize your coffee order to just how you like it. They have around two dozen syrups behind the counter, and some of them are incredibly niche. Fan favorite flavors like caramel and hazelnut, but also ones like mango, English toffee, blackberry, and toasted marshmallow.
I ordered a decaf iced Americano and a plain bagel with cranberry walnut cream cheese. My coffee arrived around 3 minutes, yet the bagel took 15 minutes. The wait was worth it, though, as the bagel was fresh out of the oven. The homemade cream cheese with walnuts and dried cranberries made the bagel complete. However, I would have enjoyed the cream cheese itself to be cranberry flavored.
Since this was my first time here, I feel like there’s more to explore at this coffee shop. On the menu, they have a lot more breakfast and lunch options, like omelets and sandwiches, and I’m hoping I get to come here again to enjoy them.
Raw Juice Bar
This is not a coffee shop, but still one of Jay Street’s gems. It serves both smoothies and juices, and I’m glad I got to try this place.
My order consisted of the green dream, a smoothie with pineapple, spinach, kale, mango and coconut water. I absolutely loved this smoothie. It felt like the right balance of sweetness and citrus, making me want to go back for more.
However, this shop is one of the more expensive shops on Jay street; my smoothie cost $9, and an additional $1 could get you lemon and ginger. In my opinion, the price is reasonable because they use all fresh ingredients. You can see an ingredient bar behind the counter, which contains all the fruits used for the smoothies and juices. That definitely drives the price up. These prices were no surprise as they are consistent with other juice or smoothie shops I’ve been to outside of Schenectady.
Storied Milk & Tea
The beauty of this shop is that it can let you build a community, all while drinking bubble tea.
When you walk up to the counter, there are books and board games available to borrow as you sip on your coffee and boba tea. There is seating at tables along the wall, or on stools overlooking Jay Street. A small bulletin board by the door advertises local events. Paintings you can buy from local artists decorate the walls. Retro clocks sit on tables.
At Storied, I ordered a raspberry milk bubble tea. What stood out to me is that most of their flavors are made in house; I could tell with this raspberry tea. It was sweet and tasted like raspberry concentrate; it complemented the milk in the tea well. I love how this shop has bubble tea, as well as coffee, so it’s the best of both worlds.
Whistling Kettle
This place has to be my holy grail. As a tea lover, this is where you’d see me get takeout or eat on the weekends.
Their selection of tea is incredible. At their restaurant on Jay Street, they have a display of at least 50 teas there. These range from your classic black tea to niche flavors, like the king of silver needles, lotta colada, Moroccan mint, and more. You could spend your entire Union career sampling these teas every weekend.
Loving the food and tea offerings, I get take out here often. I frequently get their afternoon tea, which is a tower of three items: goat cheese salad, the apple, bacon, and three cheese panini, and a savory crepe. Yes, It’s a lot of food, so I like to get it for takeout around 11 am, eat some of it, and save some of it for later in the day. This order will be your new obsession, making you want to go back to Whistling Kettle.
