Collective Espresso

2023: 4/5 stars. Collective has lost some of its magic over the years. It's still pretty good, but the costs have just gone up a lot. Pour overs that were once $3–4 are now $6–7, when they actually have them, for example. They are using North South for pastries now which is a big win. They have largely stopped doing lots of the fine touches that used to make them what they are, such as the single origin espresso option. I still visit, but a lot less than I used to. There are so many other options now compared to OTR in 2016... the newest spots, Redtree and Coffia are both worth checking out. 2016: 5/5 stars. It's the best coffee shop in OTR and in Cincinnati. The espresso drinks are nice, pour overs are great, and they do some weird stuff like espresso lemonade ("spronade"). The baristas are very friendly and the owners are down to earth and around most days. Very good neighborhood spot.

Passed through Cincinnati and figured I'd check out a local specialty coffee shop and I was not disappointed with my find. Collective had a variety of different coffee roaster's beans on their shelves, my barista Ashley was friendly and made the experience pleasant. The espresso was dialed in, drip was great and the pastry was delicious! I hope to stop by the next time I'm in the city and grab more dank bean from ya'll! Til' next time.

Love this shop! Small and cozy, but most importantly they pulled the best espresso and poured the best pour-over I had in the handful of Cincinnati coffee shops I visited. They didn't use a machine (is this common?), but did pourover by hand and it was great. Definitely will come back in future Cincy visits!

This OTR coffee shop is right before the Ziegler pool on Woodward, just off Main St. I usually visit for their great coffee, but they have pretty good pastries too (and a decent selection of them). If there's a line, it tends to move fast. Most people get stuff to go, but they do have some inside seating too. All the servers seem pretty chill and know about the different coffees and know what they're doing.

Coffee was great tasting, but the place is super small, so Saturday morning means you'll probably have a bit of a wait outside. Definitely not a place you can hang out and chat with friends for very long. Also, the cashier didn't flip the screen during tipping which is a little intimidating that she's watching your tipping action. I'm usually a generous tipper, but that was a little off-putting. Otherwise, pretty good overall experience.