Crumble (IN)

Crumble, Bloomington, IN (7.5/10) | Many many times! (B-town regulars!)

Crumble is not only 15 minutes walking from my place, but it is 3 minutes walking distance from Wilson's... Here is a case where we work on our co-authored project together while a guy next to us is doing a private lecture through Zoom... In a coffee shop... After a while, it becomes just funny rather than annoying - at least for him! This picture, and the trips to Crumble, also confirm it is definitely a better choice than Soma Coffee shop, given both his and my places are again 3 and 15 minutes away from there...

The prices, sometimes good coffee promise, and lots of empty spots with lots of franchises across Bloomington also make Crumble a good option. For example, whenever we cannot find a place in Needmore, and we have already driven to the College Mall side with Wilson, we end up there near the C3 Bar location with big windows surrounded by a nice neighborhood.

My first time in Crumble was after my first year in Bloomington. While I was living outside of the campus, I used to go to Needmore (another local coffee shop, and my favorite in B-town) every Saturday. Even after I moved to campus to be closer to the Business School, I was very stubborn about my Saturday Needmore tradition. I would take the bus, I would walk next to the highway for 40 minutes, or I would bike while raining... However, one day, an emergency coffee shop situation arose. I do not remember the task, but it was challenging, and there was a deadline. Being in the office and stressed was not helping, so I had to romanticize working while treating myself to a cute pastry. Since I was on a deadline, I walked 15 minutes to Crumble - the first time after I moved into my new place.

I remember I got some kind of cake with an Americano - they did not have pour-over like Needmore does. On top of this, I hated my Americano because the coffee tasted nothing like Needmore, or my secondary favorite, Hopscotch Coffee. I got my thing done, and immediately texted my other coffee lover friends how much I hated Crumble, how sugary the baked goodie was - those were times my taste buds were not adjusted to American sweet treats.

One may think, oh well, you never go back there, right? If you hated it this much, you would not visit again. As a Mediterranean, my passion for walkable places won on some days, and on some days I just needed emergency coffee shop trips; what could I do? Crumble is also one of the cheapest coffee shop options in Bloomington, too. So, if it is the end of the month with some travelling happening in the middle, as a PhD student, even 1$ can make a huge change in your decisions... Slowly, Crumble got into me. I have to say, their coffee quality fluctuates a lot, so after my first visit, I had both very good Americanos and cappuccinos at this place.

My first time realizing now that I actually like Crumble was a study date with my dear friend Navid. He was on the job market, very stressed. He did not enjoy his coffee cake as much as I did... These were the first moments I realized that my taste buds were getting used to American sweetness, and right after this visit, we started officially dating with Wilson, so I was right :)

My go-to orders are Americano and cappuccino if I am in the mood for something sweeter. I can easily say they are more consistent with a cappuccino. If you like that bitter coffee taste more dominant in your cappuccino, more bitter than usual, you will like it. For an Americano, I suggest getting a large one with a double espresso shot for a good, thicker Americano texture.

One of the best sides of Crumble, together with being walking-distance, and cheaper; if you order an Americano, you can always refill with drip coffee. I guess this is again being a PhD student, but a very important feature for me! Especially if you go there early in the morning.

I write this review almost 2 years after my first visit, on June 27, 2026. I made countless visits to Crumble with Wilson and me, and from time to time with friends. It will have a special place in my heart because of this familiarity. They are a wild card in terms of quality, both the sweet goodies and the coffee. A good place to watch snow falling or a thunderstorm. I think the only thing left for me to try in this coffee shop is their crepes at the location near Wilson's house. Do I expect to be impressed? No, not really. Why do I want to try then? Because I know one day it will be the most convenient option when we do not want to make breakfast, and Crumble will be just there waiting for us. As it waited for me just right there when I was struggling to study theoretical asset pricing for my quals, my brain was stubborn about starting the data work I was procrastinating. I needed a sweet treat to move on and keep working. Crumble was just there whenever Needmore did not have a spot. It was there with its American-sized sweet treats that would heal me.

I will update this review once I indulge in those crepes :)

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