VeganMoFo Day #15: Meet Me For Some Coffee @ Baby's - MM15, Saddlebunch Key

I never drank coffee until we bought this bed and breakfast. Insane, right? My entire life I couldn't take the taste though I've loved the smell. I grew up in a house where mom and dad both were heavy coffee drinkers, although dad took it to a new level. He would go through several pots daily, but towards the end of his life he did make some effort to cut the amount. By the end he had pretty much eradicated it. This was not because he disliked coffee anymore, but rather that he had quit smoking (too little, too late) and he said he simply could not enjoy coffee without his cigarettes. What a shame.

This is the exterior of Baby's Coffee @ MM15.
Dad would have approved.

Growing up, I worked in a supermarket and had to grind coffee for customers. I loved that part of the job because the smell was unbelievably heavenly. All the cashiers loved to grind coffee, nothing like watching a group of 16 year olds seemingly hang half their entire bodies over the coffee grinders just to soak in a little more perfection, haha.  Back then, organic wasn't an issue, neither was fair trade. Well, that's probably an unfair statement, because perhaps those concerns WERE issues at the time, but they were not at the forefront when considering the coffee crop.

Anyway, I knew how to grind coffee, how to brew an excellent pot, and how to serve it too. No one dared ask if I would drink it, in fact the joke in the family among my siblings was "hey, how about a GIANT steaming cup of COFFEEEEEEEEE." Might not sound funny to you, but considering the environment we were in (us vs. them with coffee), it was freaking hilarious.

Fast forward to here and now I drink coffee. One brand that is exceptionally well known through the Keys is called "Baby's Coffee." Baby's apparently is named after the "baby" in the first family that used to live in the place where Baby's eventually set up shop in the early 90s. This was in Key West. Baby's used to do all their operations out of Key West for a while, but has since moved up the Keys to MM 15. They have a store at this location where they stock and sell racks and racks of different blends with their label, some snacks, logo attire, as well as making and selling coffee drinks and such.

I typically pass Baby's at least twice a week, and they often look pretty busy, even in the off season. On a recent drive into Key West, I decided to stop in Baby's and see how they were doing on the issue of vegan options, as it had been some time since my last visit.

The store is very bright and clean. There aren't a huge amount of shelves, but they are there, and stocked with those bags and bags of coffees, many varieties of chips, candies and take-away snack bags. There is a cold case across the back which has a small selection of items like salads and bagels. They also have a fair amount of choice when it comes to attire with their logo (everyone goes crazy for their "Third Eye" logo. I know I use the place as a landmark whenever I direct someone to Kaya Island Eats (another day, another MoFo post). Lastly, Baby's sells a small selection of wine.

I'm not kidding around when I say there's bags and bags of coffee!
This is just ONE rack... there are several.

When I walked in, I went to the counter and asked if they had any non-dairy milk. Indeed, soy milk was available, so I ordered a small latte made with soy, no whip, no sweetener. I didn't really want the latte as I'd already had my coffee allotment for the morning, but how can I review fairly without trying the product? I set about to explore the store as people were coming and going. I asked permission to take photos, and they said sure, no problem. I walked around checking all the aisles and products for answers to my question of "is this vegan."

What I found was a fair selection of snack food and on-the-go food, but nothing to help us build a meal. This doesn't mean I won't be back in Baby's, far from it. In fact, the latte was far better than I expected, the coffee was perfectly brewed, not bitter, and very hot. I find too many places that serve bad coffee and I don't want any part of it.

I would like to see Baby's Coffee start to carry more vegan food items instead of just snacks. The area where Baby's is located is relatively rural, and very little choice for on the road stops besides them. There may be a gas station or something sort of close to them, but it's a bit of a ride to any other grab and go stores if you want to have something to go with your coffee besides chips or cookies. I am always happy when I go anyplace and find vegan food, but I also am a huge crusader for better choices for vegans, not just an "afterthought" of us vegans. I associate coffee and tea places with desserts, cookies, and choices like that. I'd like to see more selection of those type of items here too, in fact I may stop in one day and see if they're willing to talk with me about that.  Until then, if you're passing Baby's Coffee and are thirsty, stop in. We found organic juices, coconut water, tea & coffee available with soy milk as an option, and far too many snack foods than we'd ever want to think about. The service was friendly, prompt, and as I said, my latte was served piping hot with perfectly brewed coffee.

The cold case has some pre made, pre-packed bagels that are vegan.

Any vegan knows ABC cookies are vegan... Baby's has 'em. 

Nice to see coconut water in the case.

Organic beverages. The other happy vegan bought 2, and liked them both.

Vegan snacks.

More vegan snacks.

Several brands of accidentally vegan chocolates are available
this is just one of the brands.

More accidentally vegan sweets.

I saw this box, but it was empty. Sad face. 

I don't often see this brand.
Accidentally vegan.

I'm sure there's vegan wines among the selections.
You could check at the Barnivore web site.

Everyone loves the Baby's Third Eye logo.

In all fairness to Baby's, they bill themselves as all about the coffee, not a sit-down, stay-in, coffee house. I'd describe it more of an upscale 7-11. I didn't see any organic or fair trade varieties, but there were so many bags, I didn't really have time to go through every single bag on every single rack. They may have some choices as far as that goes, and I would really like to hope so. Baby's has no seating inside, this is strictly a grab and go place. So, maybe my thoughts on vegan cookies and cakes are off the mark. But, if there's grab and go food in the cold case, I'd really like to see hummus as a choice. It travels well, and is a staple for vegans, plus high in protein and fiber. You can go into Baby's and have a good tasting cup of coffee, lightened with soy milk, or even a latte which was an unexpected treat for me. Perhaps in time they'll see the benefit of offering other non-dairy milks like almond milk, or other  nut milks, along with a larger selection of grab and go vegan foods. Until then, you can pop into Baby's and get provisions that will tide you over til you get north to Good Food Conspiracy on Big Pine (another day another post), or into Key West for Sugar Apple (another day, another post) or Help Yourself (already MoFo'd!). I'm glad Baby's has been with us for the long haul, and I hope they'll continue to be a long time resident in our beautiful Florida Keys.