Coffee Shops

I am a coffee snob, or so I’ve been told. My wife is as well. She’s from Portland. Bipartisan right by her house. We had our first coffee date there. Good memories. Dunn Bros is a cool chain around the Twin Cities. They have good food and sweet buildings. The best coffee shop I’ve been in is Agia Sophia in Old Colorado Springs, CO. The best coffee I’ve had is Harmony House coffee in Dayton, TN. Thankfully, in a month, I’ll be able to bask in the glory of drinking Harmony House coffee. My wife and I will be going back to Bryan College to help host the Summit TN conference.

Agia Sophia’s is an Orthodox coffee shop, photography studio, and bookstore just down the road from Pike’s Peak. I can’t remember if it’s Greek or Eastern. If you’re ever in the area, you should go. It’s two stories, leather seating on the second. My favorite chair sits in the left corner, with a gold-infused wood table next to it. Classy. Maroon walls with icons make for a great study or chat. Carpet makes sounds quieter and homier. Get a French-press and take Athanasius for a spin.

I’m sitting in Quixotic, at the moment, in St. Paul, MN. My wife is next to me. The main thing about MN coffee shops is the cement floors. Given a year-round winter here, most places have cold, hard cement floors to help the continual salt and snow tracks. Unfortunately, this makes for a horrible experience. It modern, not hospitable, and very unkind. I feel like ripping my legs off in the winter because it’s so cold. There is a glass room for reservations, though, which is quite cool. The coffee is Portlandish. I’ll give you a definition of Portlandish another time. A snapshot would be the going zeitgeist of coffee at the moment.

Harmony House was named for community. I like that. Pubs used to be a place for community. I’m not sure where you find community anymore, maybe Facebook? Minnesota lakes tend to be that for 2 months out of the year. The founder of Harmony House has his M.Div. He roasts his own coffee. You don’t want to put anything in your coffee, because it’s so good. He’s a local. Many Bryan students attend. Meetings are held there. It has good intentions.

Starbucks. Ever since starving my way through grad school, I’ve only drunk house coffee-no money for espresso drinks. I’m now content with a “tall Pike with room.” It generally costs a little under two bucks, and I get free refills with my Gold card. I don’t care about the Starbucks stigma. They have good go-to coffee anywhere in the world. It’s not the incomparable, Harmony House Yirgacheffe, but it’ll do much better than that gas-station Folgers. I only resort to Folgers when I’m having Southern-style breakfasts in the South from 6-11am with friends over a Bible study, or I’m making a road-trip that extends to midnight and Starbucks is closed.

All this to say, coffee shops must be determined for a variety of reasons: music, atmosphere, feel, tenor, taste, temp, and cost. I’m sure there are more. Actually, at the moment, staying at home and drinking French-press or tea with my wonderful wife is probably the best.