Mad Priest Coffee

1900 Broad St. Chattanooga, TN 37408

Holy crap. Chattanooga has a supremely compelling coffee brand, Get Mad Coffee. It’s named after the Mad Priest, a character from Alexandre Dumas’ (also wrote The Three Musketeers) 1844 classic, The Count of Monte Cristo. Just when the wrongly imprisoned protagonist was ready to give up and die in a dank dungeon, The Mad Priest bestows on him knowledge, wisdom, logic, philosophy, freedom and immense wealth. It’s a tremendous tale (book and movie). This coffee shop’s ethos runs parallel to the protagonist’s fight against injustice. It may sound lofty, but they practice what they preach with numerous activism events. They also have a whole bunch of fun irreverently playing off this quasi-religious theme with a branding campaign that is stunningly creative. In their words, “While we may be irreverent, we always take our coffee and our mission seriously. Because we are mad about injustice, especially societal inequality...and bad coffee.” Every once in a while, you fall in love with a brand. Guilty.

Coffee:

Except for my cortado’s to-go cup (its their only option) my cortado was just how I like it, a silky smooth combination of whole milk and vibrant espresso melded into a single consistency. The beans were their Dark Night of the Soul Blend. For my drip I opted for their delicious Sloth Dispelling Breakfast Blend which is a medium roast with a hit of nut butter.

Barista:

Tarig is their “Bishop of Broad Street” and I found him to be a cheerful, proactively engaging, and informative craftsman. I revisited Mad Priest some hours later to pick up some beans and was served by Cherita, their “Matriarch of Marketing” and I also chanced upon meeting Michael, the owner and “High Priest of Coffee.” With that trio of encounters, and my observances of other customer interactions, I can confidently tell you that serving up a lump of goodness with everything they do is a part of their training, staff selection, and who and what their identity.

Vibe:

The shop is a espresso bar, having a to-go counter with a elbow bar running along the front bay window. They have a compelling and insanely creative brand that they leverage it with gusto, having reverence for what they do, with a healthy dose of irreverence too. They have an Old Testament (coffee) menu, a New Testament menu of signature seasonal beverages, and church lights hang from the ceiling. Their merch is next level. At no coffee shop ever have I spent even a third of what I spent there: • A thermos with an image of a nun turned into wonder woman with the text: “Here’s to Strong woman. May we Know them. May we Be them. May we raise them.” • A mug with their Mad Priest logo and the text: Craft excellent coffee. Educate the curious. Champion the displaced.” • A fistful of stickers • W.W.J. Drink wrist bands, and • T-shits that left me with no option but to buy them for myself and as gifts.