I can’t really call myself a coffee drinker. I don’t like the taste of it black, and the caffeine doesn’t fully affect me (except cold brew…watch out).

But I definitely enjoy (and often crave) a sweet coffee drink, whether it’s a hot mocha or an iced flavored latte.

Last week, I tasted the most amazing coffee drinks I’ve had to-date.

CupLux is Charlotte’s first and only craft coffee drive-thru. It’s not exactly convenient for me daily, but it’s absolutely worth routine trips (although my wallet thanks them for the distance.)

I met owner Ian on a Sunday morning and hung out inside the shop while he and his crew pulled shots and whipped up delicious iced drinks.

CupLux proudly serves Stumptown Roasters coffee, and they change roasters quarterly for the Carolina Drip. All syrups and sauces are made in-house, which makes ALL the difference. They hand-pull all espresso shots and focus on high quality products with great service. Does it get any better?

Ian also locally sources many of his ingredients. For example, he buys vanilla beans from Savory Spice Shop in South End (also a very cool place) and uses milk from Julian, NC.

On to the drinks… I had samples of the vanilla, hazelnut, dirty chai, and caramel iced lattes. They were all incredible, but the stand-out (and fan favorite) was the caramel. I’ve never had a latte with such a true caramel taste, which shows the importance of the house-made syrups.

Ian is also serving up unique drinks like the Lime Ginger Tea Soda (no caffeine) and the Cherry Sour Espresso Soda (AKA the Cherry Sour.) This one is soda, sour, cherry simple syrup, and espresso. It’s beautiful upon creation and tastes great.

If you’re hungry, you can also grab a daily hand pie, blueberry cake, or coffee cake made by Craft Cakes (a vegan CLT bakery.) The menu will rotate throughout the year.

If you’re still not convinced, the folks at CupLux are big on conservation and use recyclable cups and cutlery. Impressive.

Not sure what you’re waiting for… go get an iced caramel latte RIGHT NOW!

CupLux is open 6AM – 6PM daily at 3115 Freedom Drive.