Speckled Ax

05/27/2026

So, I just conducted a tiny experiment. I brewed a half batch of our current iteration of Chickadee Decaf, gave it to two people in the roastery without telling them what it was, and asked them what they tasted and how they liked it. FOH: plum, juicy, nice. BOH: yellow fruits, caramel, delightful. Not only did these coffee pros NOT make a sad scrunchy face and say "what is this?" They thought it was tasty! And I concur. A big part of the secret sauce may be that half of its composition is a pricey NATURAL process Peru. And while I certainly wouldn't call this Chick a fruity coffee, it's got some character. Coffee is beat up and put through the proverbial meat grinder during the decaffeination process, so perhaps it makes sense that a quality natural would hold onto more of its character after the fact. In any case, this Chickadee is quite good. Try pulling the same experiment with folks in your life, and tell us how it goes!

05/24/2026

Hi! Wanna work here? Send us a note. [email protected]

05/21/2026

My job is not especially taxing, but every once in a while i have to tend to pretty disgusting issues--behind-the-scenes stuff that allow us to pull shots of espresso, for instance. I own maybe 6 or 7 pairs of jeans, and 5 of them have holes in a knee. Fortunately i have a creative and generous and skilled partner who likes to do this sort of stuff (pic 2!). And you can learn how to do it--along with other cool stuff--yourself, for free! Just follow

05/07/2026

Today, Thursday May 7, marks the 14th anniversary of our little shop on Congress Street. What a ride it's been. I was just thinking back to the time I was doing some late night maintenance to our POS Slayer espresso machine a few months after opening. I had failed to lock the front door when a guy came in holding a knife. Did i walk toward him and tell him to get the f**k out? I believe I did. And he did. Jesus. What a du***ss I was. I was so tired those first few months, maybe getting stabbed didn't seem like that big of a deal. In any case, I survived, as did Speckled Ax. And look at us now! in the midst of a Congress Street coffee renaissance, surrounded by other fancy coffee shops--some with business licenses, some without. Some paying their employees, some not. But hey, to each their own, right? We'll continue to find some of the tastiest coffee out there, roast it as best we can on our old wood fired Petroncini, and hope you continue to show up. And get this--if you do, today through May 14, you can get a batch brew or flash iced coffee for the modest sum of $1.40. We'll have a limited supply of delicious house baked banana muffins for $1.40 as well. So come on into Congress Street--for old times' sake!

04/11/2026

Check out and follow to see what our kitchen crew is up to! we are now serving breakfast sandwiches and house-made goodies 7 days a week!

04/07/2026

Speckled Ax offers a monthly single origin coffee subscription. It comes with a two page write-up for the coffees we send out. I'm writing for April today, and feeling introspective, as is often the case when I write these things. Here's a snippet. Like the rest of the world, coffee is a mess. And it's also beautiful. Check out our subs at speckledax.com.

03/08/2026

Come on over! i forgot to announce it last week and Sunday was a stinker, hoo-boy! Please come by and get a coffee!

02/23/2026

snow is one thing; 40-50 mph gusts and downed power lines are another. all shops will be closed on Monday 2/23.

01/30/2026