Background:
Ian Kolb, friend of the pod, opened Cuplux off of Charlotte’s Freedom Drive in 2017 and was one of the first coffee purveyors in the Queen City to focus on crafting beverages made with housemade syrups and natural ingredients. If you’re getting a mocha at Cuplux, that’s not Hershey’s syrup in your cup – it’s made-from-scratch chocolate sauce that will put every other coffee house to shame. Likewise, the vanilla and caramel syrup, the chai mix, you name it – it’s all made 100% from scratch and with love by Ian and his team, including Head Barista Rachel (whom we also love and adore).
Mecca
What’s happening on top of that drink?!
Even though Cuplux is a drive-thru concept, you can expect to get better ingredients and kinder customer service than at most sit down establishments. We love swinging through Cuplux on our way to record a podcast, before running errands, or while heading to work on an early morning. Read on to see some of their best menu items.
The best drink Charlotte ever tasted
Eat/Drink This:
Cuplux does have a limited and rotating food menu with staples like breakfast sandwiches and pastries, and they are great if you’re feeling a little peckish or need some food to lay the foundation for some caffeine. However, Cuplux is 100% about the coffee, so that’s where your focus needs to be, Pancakes.
Cuplux is renowned in CLT for their cold brew slushee, which is essentially a tastier and healthier Frappuccino offered in seasonally rotating flavors like caramel, vanilla, pumpkin spice, and more.
Lest you forget!
Cinnamon Honey COld brew Slushee
Made with almond milk
OG Coffee
With coffee cake
Cuplux ships in Stumptown Roasters coffee for their drip coffee, and they also use a local roaster as well, like Enderly or Nightflyer Roastworks.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Made with organic pumpkin puree, raw sugar, and a secret blend of spices
White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha
With housemade chocolate-covered pretzels!
Pumpkin SPice Cold Brew
PSL, but make it icy!
However, our personal favorite Cuplux creation has to be our world-famous (right?!) collaboration drink: The Little MerPug. We found some cool sea buckthorn syrup that reminded us of our Scandinavian travels, and we challenged Ian and Rachel to come up with a fabulous, Scandi-Pug themed beverage for Spring 2019.
They used a black tea and lemon soda syrup base (iced), and topped it with a sea buckthorn-infused whipped cream. It was absolute heaven in a cup(lux), and some even found it highly reminiscent of Butterbeer, and by gosh by golly, who wouldn’t love that?
The Little MerPug
Black tea and lemon soda syrup with sea buckthorn-infused whipped cream
Atmosphere:
Well, it’s a drive-thru, so we hope you like the ambiance of your car (or bike...or feet), but since the customer service is so over the top great, it’s like a little of that Cuplux love seeps from inside the tiny establishment into your car, and that’s a wonderful feeling. We’ve actually had the pleasure of being inside Cuplux, and it’s pretty darn cute.
Behind the scenes action!
Drive-Thru Hospitality:
Ian is an absolute mensch, and he only hires people who are as passionate about coffee as he is, and once he finds a good crewmember, he trusts them to take ownership and create their own Cuplux magic. Take his Head Barista Rachel, whom he trusts to develop their own drinks (and they make some of the best!).
CUPLUX FAMOUS
There’s nothing that can brighten your day more than a friendly smile from a Cuplux employee, especially when they’re handing out free, housemade chocolate-covered pretzels around the holidays. They even give pups free biscuits and kids free Cheerios! What could be better? Oh yes, their rewards program that frequently graces you with a $1 or more off your drink. Yay!
Like manna from heaven
Frankie loves it!
Check out that merch!
Frankie’s Notes:
Frankie and Ollie have never turned down a free biscuit in their entire lives; We know that Allie from EatDrinkCLT is a major fan of a Cuplux iced caramel latte, and if that doesn’t speak highly of an establishment, well then we don’t know what does; The elusive MerPug has been known to swim down the Catawba River late at night when he thinks everyone is sleeping; We would like to make Ian a permanent guest on the Scallionpancake Podcast – that’s how much we <3 him.
The best!