Senior Project - Guru Donuts

If you're from, live near or have visited the Boise area, chances are you've heard of Guru Donuts. And if by slim chance you haven't, what are you waiting for? A visit to Guru is always something to look forward to. The staff are incredibly friendly, the space is cheery and explodes with the smell of warm donuts and freshly ground coffee. It's beautiful.

I've been here plenty of times before, likely more than I can count on three hands, so there wasn't any doubt when it came to deciding whether or not Guru would make the list. But going in, I knew I had to throw my biases aside and approach this experience as if it were my first.

But before diving into this particular experience, let's sit back for a brief history lesson.

Guru found it’s permanent location inside the historic Idahna Hotel in 2016 but can trace it’s humble beginnings all the way back to a North End grocery store in 2012. Thank god this place was around when I was a freshman in college. I couldn’t imagine getting through the year without a good quality and good tasting vegan donut.

Guru prides themselves on making their donuts from scratch every morning, every day and utilizing local ingredients: fresh eggs, family farmed regional flour, and (arguably the most notable) expertly roasted coffee right here in Boise.

"We hand craft our donuts fresh, from scratch every morning. The art of making a donut requires patience, discipline and commitment to detail."

There’s something about the combination of an iced latte and a warm donut. They’re the perfect combo of hot and cold, savory and sweet, a sugar high and a caffeine high? All jokes aside, this visit was fantastic and everything I needed that day. So what drink did I order to accompany my sweet accoutrements?

Without fail, you can find me ordering Guru’s hot matcha latte. I can assure you, this is one of the best matcha lattes you’ll find in the Boise area. I don’t know how to articulate why it’s so good other than it just hits right. But today, the star of the show was surprisingly not a matcha, but a classic iced latte with almond milk. $3.50 + tax.

Heads up to other non-dairy folk, they also serve coconut and oat milk, two of arguably the best non-dairy alternatives for lattes. These people know what they’re doing.

We're not in the business of overloading our sweet tooth here. To avoid that, typically my rule of thumb is, if I order a sweet treat, order a plain old coffee. If I order a savory bite, order a sweeter drink. It’s all about balance, right?

Well today that balance was found because this iced latte was one of the best I’ve had. I don’t know, maybe it was the fact this was the first thing I consumed that day, that we ordered a whole box of donuts that were waiting to be devoured or that I hadn’t had an iced latte in a handful of months. Take your pick. 5 beans.

As evident by the photos, the room was entirely disheveled; donut delivery boxes were nearly stacked to the ceilings, all chairs had been removed, but still, the donut display cases were full to the brim. There were a handful of staff running the place, which was a nice change from the typical single barista. "They still have some life left in them", I thought. I spoke briefly with the kind barista who took our order about the current status of business.

If I couldnt tell enough from the oodles of boxes ready for donut delivery, she informed me that business is surprisingly doing quite well. This is a class A example of a business ebbing and flowing to a rapid change in demand. It was quite impressive actually, watching the boxes of donuts flying out the door for delivery. Being a long-standing customer of theirs, I was so happy to see that they're doing as well as they are. Not only has the current situation sparked fear for falling ill, but also fear for not going out of business. Hats off to the Guru family.