Really friendly baristas. Parking right out front. We only had coffee but the food looked delicious as well.

Loved their coffee! Their owners are an Australian couple and have thought about the whole experience. They were super friendly and lovely to talk to them!!!The only downside is the service, it is not good, the girls at the counter had quite a bad attitude. Only one of them was very nice, the other two were somewhat rude, not expected at a coffee shop where you usually find people with a great vibe.Recommend this place, they have really good coffee.

We were in Rapid City for the weekend and were thrilled to discover this gem.First it is sparkling clean and has a friendly welcoming staff. Their coffee is flavorful and smooth. We were so impressed the first morning we went back for breakfast again this morning. We shared a lemon coconut muffin which melted in our mouths and bacon cheddar quiche. There are several other items which looks delicious as we saw other customers’ plates. I know there is a main stay downtown breakfast restaurant, but this little place will get our return business.

Traveling through Rapid City and found this gem of a breakfast/coffee spot. The service was excellent and the coffee was the best Latte we have had! Vegan options made this a win win!!

Excellent flat white! Ordered 4 breakfasts and they were absolutely delicious and served up quickly. The staff were friendly and the tables were clean.

What a great find! We went for brunch and ended up splitting savory and sweet plates. Their take on a banana split was beautifully presented, healthy, fresh, and delicious. I also really liked the Mediterranean scramble with feta and artichoke hearts. Of course, we tried the pancakes. Sat outside with our dogs and enjoyed friendly service

We were in town from MN for the Hills Alive concert and we stopped in for breakfast. Great atmosphere and the workers were friendly and efficient. The coffee was tasty (similar to Spy House). The Aussie Breakfast was delicious (compliments to the chef)! We had breakfast on the patio and met some friendly folks and had great fellowship and conversation. Wonderful experience overall!

The best coffee in Rapid City! My husband and I tried many of coffee places during our week stay in South Dakota and Essence of Coffee was the best! My personal favorite was a lavender honey, iced Coconut milk latte.

I got an iced vanilla oat milk latte. Best Ive had ever. Also got an affogato, delicious. If Im ever back in rapid city I will definitely be coming here for coffee exclusively

Best cup of coffee I have had in a long time. The food was also amazing!

Absolutely amazing! Came in for breakfast and was not disappointed by the avocado bagel. Had a spiced chia latte to go with it and personally I think it was the best one in town!

Friendly staff and fantastic coffee! They roast it *on location*, and its delicious.

I started coming to Essence for its close proximity to my workplace, however, I keep coming back because the high quality of their coffee, food, and friendliness of their staff! I had probably been coming for months before I tried their breakfast, and my goodness, do they have the best breakfast! I personally love their avocado toast, sweet crepes, and the Aussie Breakfast.

I’m just passing through town and someone recommended Essence of Coffee and I am glad they did. Great food and coffee and reasonable prices. The staff is friendly and efficient and the place looks great. I was able to have breakfast and do some work on their WiFi while my vehicle was being serviced.

Lovely coffee and breakfast shop!

Great quality baked goods. Kind service.Nice design. Couldnt finish my coffee. Not sure if the brewing ratio was off on my pour over, if the water was too hot, or if it wasnt the actual coffee I ordered.

Very nice spot for coffee and breakfast. The brews were very good and a big selection, very friendly staff, great place for high and coffee in downtown Rapid City

Soo cute, cozy & inviting 😍 💖 💕 loved it .. coffee ☕ was perfect 👌 plus the team is so upbeat what I needed 🙌 before work 🙌 👏

Excellent coffee! Friendly baristas. My friend and I sat there for an hour talking... unfortunately the 7 flies in there were taking over...and hard to deal with!

Great little shop. Definitely try the chemex. Had the Java roast, was truly a treat!

A perfect place for breakfast. Have never tried such delicious omelette. The interior is beautiful and the staff was very friendly.

I discovered The Essence of Coffee a year ago and every espresso drink I’ve had has been excellent! The food and atmosphere is also wonderful, but the attention to brewing superior coffee is what I appreciate the most!

Super cute staff. Friendly. Funky. Foods good most times. Coffee is great. Love the Aussie owners.

Went here every morning of our 3 day stay for a lavender latte. So good.

What a fantastic coffee house that also serves tasty pastries and other menu items. The staff is always warm and inviting and definitely knows how to make the perfect cup of coffee… Thank you Jessie for making exactly the coffee I wanted... (yes it was so wonderful I have three cups)

Cute breakfast place. Enjoyed our breakfast and coffee. Took some pastries to go which were great.

Some of the best coffee Ive had in awhile. Friendly service and nice atmosphere. Had kids pancakes and savory crepes and all were delicious. Side fruit was mixed berries.

5 stars all around! Literally everything: amazing handcrafted coffees, complete with coffee art on almost every drink that leaves the bar. An outstanding breakfast! Everything on the menu looked so good it was difficult to decide. Pleasant environment, whether to work with a laptop for the afternoon or to enjoy coffee and a meal with friends. On top of that the owner Dale and all the staff are personable and friendly. This is definitely the best coffee shop around! You can even order online!

Great coffee shop downtown. Nice selection of breakfast items including a tasty Chorizo burrito. Dining inside, outside, and takeout.Nice chalk art descriptions of coffee drinks and good quality espresso. Definitely worth the stop.

Best flat white in the Black Hills! Excellent breakfasts as well. I see some beer taps, too, but I haven’t been in at beer o’clock.

What a great coffee shop, everything one looks for in a coffee shop. You can tell a lot about a place by its staff. The Staff here treat each other like family, this place just has that warm friendly vibe. I had the opportunity to meet the owners and they have truly made this coffee shop a reflection of themselves. It is quite clear they are vested in the area and the people .

Great coffee as always! We ordered a plane omelet and it was delish. I will be back for that!

The iced salted caramel latte was really good! They were out of the cookie butter tarts I ordered so she gave me two jelly tarts instead, I didnt really care for them cuz it pretty much just tasted like jelly but Im sure some people love them. Hopefully they have the cookie butter ones next time I stop in.

They know how to cook an egg over medium!

Great place! We all enjoyed our coffees and breakfast here.

Had a great experience here! Good food and the coffee was fantastic. You could tell by how busy they were that this is a local favorite! Purchased coffee to go. One of my friends said it was one of the best mocha lattes she has ever had!

Fresh brewed heaven in a cup. This espresso kick started my day!

Great food. I mean great food with an Australian twist. Superb coffee and a friendly and attentive staff. Laid back, casual vibe.

Was searching google for a good local coffee place before passing through town (because Starbucks is BLECH) and scored with this place! Service was great and so friendly! We got some little quiches and bfast sandwich which were delicious! Coffee was awesome, my iced mocha was a bit too much chocolate for my taste, but had their almond milk in it - it’s so good! over all was just what I wanted! Wish I had one of these back home.

Excellent!Stumbled upon and went back 4 days in a row during our visit to Rapid City. Super fast service, great food and great coffee.

Food was really good but unfortunately took over half an hour. The space is really nice, felt a bit under dressed walking in post several days of camping. Staff was interesting, really nice but one guy seemed completely lost... more interested in gawking at food and girls than anything.

We were heading home for our vacation in the Black Hills and had a flat-white before the start of journey. Worth the stop.

Very friendly and helpful staff, and the food I ordered (mocha and the breakfast banana split) looked as delicious as it tasted. Unfortunately I was only passing through the city but would come again and highly recommend.

Full time RVers breakfast foodies we loved this place. The best place for coffee and breakfast in rapid City South Dakota by far! Its definitely our top 10 in all of our travels to date. Try the apple sausage hash unbelievable taste sensation. Perfectly brewed coffee and teas the lemon coconut muffin sweet and delicious. The bacon awesome. Definitely recommend for everyone to try.

Cute little spot that services lunch, baked goods and coffee.

Great breakfast selection. The open-faced avocado and egg was very good...twice.

The atmosphere is great.I love to watch them make the coffee and it was just great.

Fantastic downtown hidden gem of a cafe. Their coffee is some of the best Ive ever tasted; you can really tell they are passionate about what they do. The food menu is on the same level as the coffee which means you better be headed there now instead of reading this.I went in thinking i wanted something basic like a coffee & a breakfast burrito, but decided to give the breakfast quesadilla a try. Oh man Im gonna annoy all my friends by talking about this for weeks. So get this...instead of the usual humdrum scrambled egg youd expect nearly anywhere else, you get a light and crisp tortilla embracing eggs cooked over easy so that a little of the yolk mingles with thick bacon and sliced avocado and just the right amount of cheese that brings it all into a harmonic delight to the senses.This place is highly recommended.OH AND ALSO THEY HAVE LOCAL CRAFT BEER ON TAP

We had breakfast and some great coffee here. That breakfast was really good and very interesting.

Great food, good coffee, knowledgeable and friendly baristas. Can be a little expensive though.

Great place for some unique Australian fare inspired food dishes including breakfast.

Very nice local coffee shop. Better than the star brand by far

Great food, clean business and very friendly folks.

I really enjoyed my Salted Caramel Latte and chorizo breakfast burrito.

I came back to my review to update it. I definitely recommend Essence of Coffee. As always, their food is delicious and they have great coffee! I think my favorite is the Australian iced coffee!! If you like food and/or coffee, you must stop here! Great staff and service as well :)

Love this place and had a healthy banana split with yogurt, honey and berries and it was so delicious.

Delicious coffee and a warm friendly staff.

Great coffee selection and amazing baristas. A select menu of scrumptious and healthy food.

Fun little place with great food and responsive service.

This is not your normal coffee shop hard stale food... food was fresh and lots of good flavor! Coffee was hot and strong! We will stop in again if we get the chance. Staff was very friendly

GREAT FOOD! GREAT SERVICE! Will definitely be back.

Great food coffee and shop. Thanks.

Delicious coffee. Friend was VERY happy with the ginger tumeric tea also.

Just running through town, great place to stop, great customer service, great coffee!

I had the citrus tea and it was fantastic. Definitely coming back to try the coffee!

I came in from out of town and had the best coffee in Rapid City. Cant wait to get another cup.

All the way from Ohio. Excellent coffee!!

Yummy!

A great find. Good coffee. Good food. Nice vibe and comfortable space. This may be our go-to place in Rapid City. Highly recommended.

Essence of Coffee is my favourite coffee place ever as well as my favourite coffee. I have never tasted such amazing, smooth, beautiful roasts of coffee. It is superb. Their food was also delicious and their service was so kind and helpful whoever the kind woman was that suggested I try an Aussie iced I thank you from the bottom of my heart. After moving away, I crave it all the time. We now live overseas, but I will ask friends to get me a bag of their coffee or purchase in online. It is THAT good.

Our waiter was very attentive and shared menu suggestions with us.

Friendly staff with delicious food & coffee

Great place. Wonderful couple from Australia own and run it

This was our first visit to Essence of Coffee, and we loved it!!! The atmosphere was quaint and cozy, the staff was cheerful and kind, and having the opportunity to chat with the owners was a rare and delightful experience not often available in todays economy. Thank you, Michael and Leslie, for your kind hearts and amazing coffee house. God bless you and your family. - Kevin and Michelle Reese, Rapid City, SD

Very good coffee, mostly friendly staff.

Friendliest staff in town!!!A+

The staff was extremely rude and unfriendly. The woman with the long braid and sleeve tattoo was shockingly rude to customers. Would not recommend.

Great flat white

Looking for amazing coffee and unique delicious food....look no farther....you have found your way to amazing

Great food coffee, good parking, nice seating areas, amazing staff, very friendly.

As I expected, my wife wanted coffee after arriving in Rapid City airport. I had passed this place on the way to pick her up so we stopped in on the way back. Well here we are, back yet again. Why? because this place is off the charts fabulous! We had the avocado open face, americano and flatwhite each time. This will be my first stop and last every time we are in town. Awesome awesome awesome!!! EASY ACCESS FROM Rt 44.

Excellent coffee even for the most picky coffee aficionado. Ordered the pour over coffee and cold brew. Both were delicious and very strong. Some of the best cold brew Ive had besides making it myself. Definitely a few steps above Starbucks or alike

Their salted caramel iced latte is delicious. Their coffee is really strong though so this is not for people who like a splash of coffee with their cream and sugar. Everyone was friendly and the atmosphere was chic and cozy.

This is a great little coffee shop, delicious food, the coffee is amazing, and staff is super friendly and helpful

Good coffee and quiet. Will be returning.

Stopped here while passing through town. Kind of an odd vibe - locals, business people, and tourists. I asked for skim milk, which they dont carry (that was fine). Laughable moment when the substitute recommendation was half & half. Besides not knowing the composition of milk at a coffee shop, the coffee was very good. Little slow for food orders, but if you have the time, fine for your caffeine fix.

One star because multiple members of the staff were not wearing masks - one person creating our drinks and one person handling food in the back. Do not recommend for anyone who is immunocompromised. Not sure why they wouldn’t follow CDC guidelines and not only protect each other but their customers.

This is absolutely and honestly the best coffee I have ever had!! I usually will only drink Starbucks or Dunn Bros. Neither can make a coffee as great as this! I live in Minnesota and wish I could get a cup of coffee like this there. Service was wonderful, everyone was really sweet. Atmosphere was really nice, comfortable.

Coffee was great, staff was extremely friendly.

Service was great! Food was prepared FRESH, quick and was Delicious! We will definitely be coming back for breakfast again before we leave out of town!

Really good crepes!! Their houseplants need a little company.

FANTASTIC! Splendid fresh food & coffee drinks. Avocado Open Face (ordered mine with a gluten free bagel) was EXCELLENT. Cozy atmosphere inside & also has outside seating. Will come here every time we visit.

Wonderful food n coffee, the ppl were great

Delicious coffee!! Friendly service!

Delicious, best breakfast in the Black Hills.

Really really really good! Excellent coffee, great variety of food and drinks

Coffee is always great! Staff is friendly and kind. Food is always yummy.

Favorite spot for lunch in town hands-down. I always get the avocado chicken sandwich and Australian iced coffee. It’s a local favorite of my co-workers too for coffee or food.

Food & coffee are always great- plus the staff are really friendly !!

This place is awesome. Great food and kind people.