With Valentine’s Day approaching, Rooster’s Coffee Bar is bringing back its annual Valentine’s menu, offering students and locals a chance to enjoy seasonal drinks in the café’s warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Jakob Kibler, Roosters’ community engagement manager, said the coffee shop releases themed menus throughout the year, including holiday, winter, spring, summer and fall offerings, with Valentine’s Day being a consistent favorite.
“We usually do a Valentine’s one every year,” Kibler said. “So usually it’s throughout the different seasons…we’ll have a holiday menu for Christmas, for winter, for spring, for summer and then a fall, like Halloween-ish type menu.”
While most of this year’s Valentine’s drinks appeared on last year’s menu, a few new additions were introduced.
“I think the chocolate cherry float is new,” Kibler said. “Most of the time we either go with raspberry or strawberry for Valentine’s because that’s the move.”
Kibler said his personal favorite is the raspberry cream refresher, even though refreshers typically aren’t his go-to.
“I’m usually not a refresher person either, but that one just tastes really good,” he said. “I don’t like sparkling water, but something about when there’s the lotus cream in it, it just tastes smoother.”
According to Kibler, two drinks have stood out as customer favorites so far.
“The raspberry white mocha, and honestly, the raspberry cream too…those have probably been the two most popular,” he said. “I feel like because it’s around Valentine’s Day, people are looking for seasonal drinks and more Valentine’s-type flavors.”
Rather than relying on one person to design new beverages, Rooster’s takes a collaborative approach. Baristas are encouraged to share ideas, especially for longer seasonal menus like winter and holiday.
“We kind of all collaborate on it,” Kibler said. “Most of the time we try to pull from all of the baristas and try to get ideas. Then we’ll pick the best…and I think the most fun part is naming them.”
Rooster’s has also begun involving customers in the creative process. Kibler recently hosted a small drink-tasting session where participants experimented with flavor combinations. One result, a caramelized almond and cinnamon drink, is currently featured on the winter menu.
“They came up with those flavors,” Kibler stated.
The café also hosts Golden Rooster events for top-tier rewards members, allowing them to preview menus before they’re released. Kibler said Rooster’s hopes to expand these tastings in the future so regular customers can help create drinks that may appear on upcoming menus.
“They’re the ones drinking it all the time,” he said. “So it’s cool for them to get the chance.”
Kibler, who has worked at Rooster’s for about a year and a half, said the shop is especially popular with college students during the semester, though locals also stop in regularly. He added that Roosters’ inviting environment makes it a comfortable place to study, relax or catch up with friends.
He also shared a message for Slippery Rock students and The Rocket’s readers.
“I really like when people get drinks for here, because I’ve been working on my latte art,” Kibler said. “I like when people come in and sit. When there’s more people in here, it’s just so much more fun.”
The Valentine’s Day menu is expected to remain available until about a week after the holiday, giving students time to stop by, try a seasonal favorite and enjoy Roosters’ cozy vibe. Rooster’s Coffee Bar is open Saturday to Thursday 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.: stop in to try out their specialty Valentine’s menu.
