A review of Lighthouse Coffee in Blacksburg, VA

Lighthouse Coffee is a coffee shop in Blacksburg operating on the pay-as-much-you-want model. I’ve been coming here multiple times each week now, and the barista, Madchen, surprised me today by remembering my order (large matcha latte, half-and-half, no syrup and an espresso, double-shot). Their espressos are always perfectly dialed in and sweet, I even got a single shot today and I was skeptical because they are notoriously hard to dial in as they require a different basket and a different pressure profile. But it defied my expectations and was really good.

I was surprised to find the best espresso in the NRV area, IMO, in a quaint small cafe in the basement of a church. Their vibes are immaculate (low-key indie/Christian music plays from two speakers from the front and back of the area), the coffee arguably the best in the area, and baristas friendly and knowledgeable. They made me a cortado the first time I went there in 2024, even though it wasn’t on the menu, and I remember thinking, I’ve gone to so many places and even pulled shots myself, but I had no idea there’s such good coffee so near to home.

At that time, there weren’t many options, Mill Mountain coffee felt burnt to me and Idego Coffee seemed to cater to people who liked to drown their coffee in milk and syrups, Bollo’s drip coffee was decent but their espresso was horribly dialled in. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this unassuming place brewing really world-class espresso, and over the years, I have always brought friends visiting Blacksburg here.

I’m grateful for them and I hope they stay in business forever.

PS: I forgot to mention that they use very high quality ceremonial matcha, the quality is evident in the vibrancy of the colour and the rich taste.

Note: I made this review originally for Google Maps, but I do not want the content I create to be owned by the mega-corporate overlords, so here it is again, slight amended.