Crust & Crumb Cafe, a new artisan bakery, recently opened its doors on Beaver Ave. The cozy cafe serves signature coffees, gourmet sandwiches, and made-from-scratch pastries to the Penn State community.

Crust & Crumb was founded by Penn State alum Amber Winkler, who, after graduating from the College of Engineering, received a culinary degree from the American Academy of Culinary Arts.

She is now bringing her culinary skills back to State College, so our staff decided to head over and give it a try.

Ava Brendgord: Pumpkin Spice Latte & Bagel With Horseradish-Dill Cream Cheese

When I heard there was a new coffee shop by my apartment, I couldn’t wait to try it out. After visiting, I am happy to say that Crust & Crumb exceeded all my expectations.

As fall quickly approaches, I opted for the pumpkin spice latte. It was very sweet but warm and flavorful. It actually felt like I was drinking ~fall~ in a cup. The bagel was also very good, although it would’ve been much better toasted. The horseradish-dill cream cheese was a work of art and complemented the bagel perfectly. I highly recommend trying one of the specialty cream cheeses.

Crust & Crumb, I will be back soon!

Grace Cunningham: Hibiscus Berry Iced Tea & Chocolate Chip Scone

Due to the fact that I am a certified weenie, I don’t like coffee. So, I opted for one of the cafe’s iced teas. I chose the hibiscus flavor because I thought it would be comparable to the Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher. However, Crust & Crumb’s take on the drink was a little different.

It was way less sweet than I was expecting but definitely refreshing. I think I still prefer the Starbucks version, but I’d get this drink again.

The scone was *chef’s kiss*. It was super light and sweet with the perfect number of chocolate chips. My only tip would be to go early in the morning and get one fresh out of the oven. I can only imagine how heavenly my scone would have been if it was warm.

Teagan Staudenmeier: Lavender Vanilla Iced Latte & Sea-Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Crust & Crumb Cafe was adorable from the outside and a super-short walk from my dorm, which made it even better.

I got its lavender vanilla latte and it was amazing. I had never tried lavender as a coffee flavor and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t too strong and was super smooth without being too sweet.

When I was waiting for the barista to make my drink, I noticed there were cookies in a case on the counter. The sea salt chocolate chip cookie was a big as my head and calling my name. It was so good and went perfectly with the coffee. If you have a sweet tooth and a love for caffeine, I highly recommend you try this little downtown coffee shop!

Anna Wiggins: French Vanilla Cold Brew With Oat Milk & Ham & Cheese Sandwich

As a coffee fiend, I was so excited to try Crust & Crumb out. The coffee was good, though I didn’t find it overly special. Oat milk has a tendency to be super sweet, so I couldn’t really taste the cold brew. I wasn’t in love with this coffee, but I wasn’t mad at it either. 

I did, however, have a lot of feelings about the ham and cheese, and unfortunately, they aren’t great. It was $9, so I was hoping it would be the best ham and cheese ever. The good news is that it’s a massive sandwich (almost two of my hands for size comparison), so you really do get a bang for your buck. However, I found there to be an intense amount of arugula, diminishing the taste of the other ingredients. The rind was still on the brie cheese, which I personally am not a fan of.

My experience wasn’t totally unenjoyable, but due to the price, I personally don’t think I’ll be heading back anytime soon.

Colleen Nersten: Oat Toffee Crunch Iced Coffee & Espresso Chocolate Banana Muffin

Overall, my experience with Crust & Crumb was extremely positive. I would go as far as to say that it was the best service I have received in State College. The environment that Crust & Crumb created is unlike any of the loud, stressful coffee shops downtown. The workers genuinely wanted to have a conversation and offered their honest suggestions about what to order. For that reason alone, I highly suggest supporting this new business.

The coffee itself was on the sweeter side, but for ordering a specialty drink, I should’ve seen that coming. It was a fun flavor that I have never seen anywhere else, but if you’re a coffee drinker, I would suggest sticking with the classics. The muffin was easily one of the best muffins I have ever had. It was so MOIST! The flavor was unique, and it was clear that the owner knows what she’s doing on the pastry side of things.

For being open for less than a month, this place rocks.

Dana Nunemacher: Hibiscus Berry Iced Tea & Hodge Podge Cookie

First off, Crust & Crumb is the cutest place and the workers are so kind! Second, I am a STRICT unsweetened iced tea drinker but decided to switch it up. I ordered a white hibiscus berry iced tea. Where has this been my whole life? It wasn’t too sweet at all and tasted delicious.

I also tried the Hodge Podge cookie, which was full of delicious ingredients such as marshmallows, chocolate chips, and pretzels. According to my receipt, Julian took my order. Julian, if you are reading this, I will be back soon!

Ryan Parsons: Black Coffee

I really like this place. The atmosphere was really nice and inviting, and the owner was extremely sweet. She said the coffee they had was from Papua New Guinea and as a sort of coffee snob, I appreciated knowing where the coffee was from.

Although it was the end of the day, the coffee was pretty good and had some very sweet notes. I’ll definitely be going back to try their espresso drinks and different roasts.