Restaurant Review: Java Blend

Eight years ago, Java Blend was what its name implied.

Owner Rebecca Brown gambled that Kimball coffee drinkers--enough of them, anyway--wanted something more than drip grind from Sysco and opened a storefront dedicated to espresso, cappuccino, cafe au lait...as well as unadorned brew.

Or, as she explained, “it seemed like a good idea.”

The concept borders on urban. Brown uses organic, fair trade beans grown in Brazil and roasted in Fort Collins, Colorado, to a point where bitterness and acidity settle into mildness--though some of the more traditional cups carry a jolt.

“A lot of peo...