10:19 Coffee

There is a specific kind of magic when a coffee shop graduates from a trailer to a real space. The vibes are rarely the same. The corners get sanded down. The personality leaks out. Somehow, 10:19 pulled it off.

Not long ago, you could find Leilani and Ty pouring drinks out of a vintage Airstream parked in front of Taqueria Factory on Arizona Ave. Now they have a real spot in Uptown Chandler and the place has range. Pastel waves wash across the upper walls. A gallery of clocks (a nod to the name) takes over another. The service counter is deep green with a light stone top running the full length. The pendant lights are woven. And a chunky white La Marzocco anchors the whole bar. It is retro without trying too hard which is the hardest kind of retro to pull off.

Now to the drinks because that is why we are here. The house coffee beans are a single origin Honduras from Little Jupiter Cafe which I also reviewed on this site. The beans are of washed process and medium roasted. Slight notes of cocoa powder, praline, brown spice, hazelnut and red apple. As a guy who favors light roasted single origin beans, I am into it. The espresso runs mellow rather than punchy but here it is doing a job. The drink program is built around bold flavored signatures and the espresso is meant to support, not steal the show.

And the signatures are where 10:19 really flexes. The menu pulls from Filipino, Korean and Vietnamese coffee traditions while still feeling like its own thing. The Brown Bear is a brown sugar latte topped with house made salted caramel foam and a little graham bear biscuit perched on the lid. Whimsy in a cup. The Espresso Split uses house made Korean style banana milk and sweet cream foam with a chocolate drizzle. And the Blueberry Cloud rounds things out with sweet cream foam and a blueberry drizzle.

We worked our way through two drinks on this visit, and both delivered. The first was the I'm a Star, their tiramisu latte, and it might be the slam dunk of the menu. Cocoa, mascarpone and espresso all sitting in perfect balance. No flavor elbowing the others out. The espresso is not bitter but it also does not bring much of its own personality which turns out to be exactly what a drink like this needs. The bean is a perfect pairing partner. The second was the Blueberry Cheesecake Matcha, which sounds like it could go sideways but absolutely does not. The matcha and blueberry sit in perfect harmony, and the whole thing is rich and smooth in a way that genuinely reminds you of cheesecake. Two for two.

A word of warning. The shop can be loud. Like, very loud when it is busy. This is not the place to grind out emails or finish your novel. This is the place to grab a drink, post up at the bar and chat with whoever is working the espresso machine.

10:19 is named after a moment in time that means a lot to the owners. A reminder to pause. To check in. To think about family. To wish.

And yeah, you should probably go make a wish.