Enjoyable Ride to Last Drop Coffee Shop in Monroe, CT

The Ride

At the starting point in Cross River, NY, I was joined by two riding buddies, one on a BMW S1000R and the other on a Triumph Tiger.  I was on the BMW R18 Classic today, and the Beeline Moto compass indicated 18.1 miles in a straight line to the Connecticut coffee shop, Last Drop Coffee Shop.  See our article on discovering new roads with Beeline.   

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Our route led us through many small back roads winding through the hills of CT.  We started heading east on Route 35 toward the border with Ridgefield, CT.  Just before reaching the village center, we turned right on Route 102.  Route 102 is a lovely winding road as it descends to the valley, where the road ends at Route 7 near Branchville.

We briefly headed north on Route 7 before turning right onto Old Redding Road, which matched our compass heading. Fortunately, We found a road with many winding turns as it climbed the other side of the valley where Route 7 lies. The road came to an end where it met Umpawaug Road. Either direction was 90 degrees from our desired one, so we turned right and quickly found a left onto Diamond Hill Road, heading northeast.

We passed over Route 53 (Redding Road), where the road changed its name to Great Pasture Road, which started a descent again. The road repeatedly switched directions to either side of our desired compass direction before joining Hill Road (Route 107). These were more major roads than the side streets we’d been riding on. When it began to turn north, we turned onto Cross Highway, which, true to its name, was a very straight road leading to Redding Ridge, where it intersects the Black Rock Turnpike (Route 58).

We continued straight as the road became Church Hill Road and then turned onto Poverty Hollow Road, heading southeast. I’d ridden on this road before, so I knew it was an enjoyable scenic route that followed and sometimes crossed the Aspetuck River.  Several elevation changes with small waterfalls were seen on the river alongside the road.

When we found Stepney Road, which was heading more east, we grabbed that as it crossed over the river, we’d been following.  The road rewound its way up a hill before becoming North Street.

North Street ended at an intersection with Judd Road, where we turned right. Our compass urgently asked us to turn left as we were within a couple of miles of our destination. I’d missed the turn for Knapp Street, which would have been more direct. Instead, we had to head nearly due south before finding Maple Road, which, after joining Route 58, led us to the parking lot, where it joined with Route 25.

As we pulled into the strip mall that was the home to Last Drop Coffee Shop, Rever indicated we had traveled 24.8 miles.  See the route below.

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The Coffee Shop

While the coffee shop’s address is Monroe, CT, it’s located in the village of Stepney.  Stepney was originally a farming community, but Route 25 became a transportation hub for travelers between Danbury and Bridgeport.  It had a stop for the Housatonic Railroad, and the former station can still be seen.

This major travel hub means Route 25 has several strip malls on either side, including the one where we find Last Drop Coffee Shop. Fortunately, the interior belies the image that may come to mind. A full wall of bookshelves is in view as you enter. On the left is a chalkboard decorated with a woman in a hat holding her yellow coffee mug, with the words “Support your local caffeine dealer” in large letters beside her.

Standard options for various espresso-based coffees were available. For breakfast, a complete menu of omelets, French toast, bagels, and muffins could be ordered, while an extensive menu of sandwiches and salads was available for the lunch crowd.

It was busy, with a queue of people waiting to order drinks and food, so it took a while to get to the front of the queue. Almost all the tables were filled, so my group grabbed the last one available. I picked a Latte, served in a paper cup, as it was mainly takeout and busy.

However, the urgency of making so many orders so quickly to address the large crowd may have impacted the quality of the coffee I sampled.  While the coffee wasn’t bad by any means, the one thought that kept popping through my head as I sipped it was “meh”.  It’s not bad, and it’s not great.  If you are already in the area, it’s a convenient place to get a decent coffee, but I probably wouldn’t make a trip to visit based on my experience.  Fortunately for us, the roads that led us there were enjoyable.