SK Coffee Minneapolis

14/08/25. Adam Roberts

What’s up cats?! We’ve made it to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul…well, just Minneapolis to be precise. The home of the Vikings, Twins, and the most famous of all Minneapolians (is that a word?)…Vince Vaughn. After a great sold out show up in a wet and windy Chicago and a chilled day driving West, I’ve managed to focus on my favourite part of the tour - Coffee Club!

Yesterday was another day in the driving life of a touring drummer. Some well documented vehicle issues encountered at the start of the tour in New York have meant I’m doubling up as road dog, driving my Liberty Truck Brethren on the highways and byways of the good old US of A. As tiring as it may prove to be, driving across a country like this is something I never thought I’d be lucky enough to do. Just as important as the tyres we’re rolling on is the choice of tunes to accompany such a road trip. Our playlist covers everything from Dolly Parton to Queens of the Stone Age! Sammy and Dirty Mike in the cheap seats are taking care of business, and business is good. I’ve not crashed yet (!) so s’all fine.

Our arrival in Minneapolis presented me with a much needed chance to get a sweat on at the hotel gym (gone are the days where the bar is my favourite part of the stay!). So that’s a winner! My partner in crime on tour so far has been Tom Jenkins - driving partner, room mate and exercise pal. He gives me a much needed kick up the arse whenever I say I can’t bothered. The man’s a farmer, so he’s relentless when working out, which is probably why he looks so damn good on stage in a vest! Anyway, I might even be in with a chance of losing some weight on this tour…!

The morning after the night before. Where’s the bloody coffee? A bite to eat and a few light ales last night watching the ball game in the local Sports Bar flew up a notch. I blame that big ol’ beer monster Chris Buck pushing the pace! So I’ve hot footed it over to a highly recommended coffee spot in search of some life. SK Coffee is not far from our hotel, over in the Business District of Downtown MN. But I couldn’t find the place for the life of me!! My map directions took me into a very swish looking high rise office block. As I walk through the luxurious revolving doors looking perplexed, an equally amused Security Guard yells over ‘SK Coffee? It’s upstairs man!’. Ah, thank you Sir, I appreciate you!

Here we go. Finally. A cute, quirky caffeine dispensary that clearly knows what it’s doing. Oh, and we roast here too! Life on the road thus far has provided few, annoyingly few opportunities to check out some nice coffee spots. I’ve instead been forced to guzzle down the liquid muck served up in Highway Truck Stops. It’s been hard. But here at SK, we’re awash with bean options and brewing techniques. Nice, really nice.

I’m a creature of habit and take a single espresso to start, with a small black Americano for main. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve not had too many opportunities to get a good espresso on tour so far. As much as I love the ‘All-American’ way of a drip coffee poured in the quintessential American Diner, I’ve missed the sight, smell and reassurance of a good crema. Oh, and another gripe I have - what’s with the sizes of coffees in this country?! No one needs 30 oz of coffee in one cup! It’s madness I tell you! Sorry, rant over. I’m just hungover.

Let’s look at the beans here. If I’m honest I was a little spoilt for choice, so I panic order my default preference of a Colombian bean for the espresso - ‘Manos Juntas Micromill’ to be precise. It’s a natural bean, which comes out in that complex taste of chocolate and blackberry. Chilling out after getting lost in Downtown MN sends me back to neutral. The vibe here is pretty artsy and surprisingly cool for its business district location. It’s nice, with some chill music playing low in the background. Just before I get my order in, I get a call from Michael (of ‘Dirty Mike’ on the keys fame) who’s also lost! ‘It’s ok mate, just walk into the building and look up!’. The latter part of my visit is enjoyed with a nice crisp black coffee, from a washed Nicaraguan bean this time - ‘Nueva Sigovia’, talking over plans for the day in the city before show load in. A few of the guys fancy heading out to ‘America’s Mall’. I can’t think of anything worse to be honest, so I opt out in favour of a Vietnamese lunch with Messers Hollister and Jenkins around the corner. Lovely.

See you tonight in 7th Street Entry for our Meltdown in Minneapolis! Ciao!

Where - SK Coffee. Downtown Minneapolis

Coffee - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vibe - ⭐️⭐️⭐️