My Coffee Odyssey

 

It began with a real conversation. 

Me: “We need to have coffee and catch up.” 

Friend: “Sure. When?” 

Me: “How about….?   (We agreed on a date.) 

Friend: “Where do you want to meet?” 

Me: (Pause) “I’ll get back to you.” 

I paused because I realized I wanted to go to a real coffee shop but I wasn’t sure where to suggest. There are plenty of places to drink coffee and there are coffee shops. They are generally not the same thing. I have launched My Coffee Odyssey to find and visit real coffee shops. I will write about my visits as they occur. When I visit a coffee shop I want a place to sit in peace, drink coffee, and read or perhaps visit with a friend. When I drink coffee, I drink it black and usually dark roast. That is what I am interested in. This is not a tour of muffins, bagels, quiche, cupcakes, or any other munchies that may be available. 

My Coffee Odyssey will evolve as it happens. I expect to learn and develop my notion of what a coffee shop should be. As a starting point, here are some of my thoughts on what I will be looking for. 

Most important, and my first comment in any report, will be the coffee. I will drink it black. It will be dark roast. It should be reasonably priced and may or may not include refills.  

A good coffee shop should be a little unique, someplace one wants to meet a friend to catch up. If it looks and feels like a chain store with a national advertising budget it just doesn’t make the coffee shop cut. 

Coffee shop patrons will generally be grown-ups. They are not after school or evening teen hang outs. They are not places where you expect to see (or hear) small children or infants. 

Coffee shops will almost certainly not have a menu for your table. The more service and food choices you have the less likely you are in a coffee shop no matter how good their coffee might be. It is a place to drink coffee. 

Starbucks is an easy example of a chain store that many people confuse with a coffee shop. On any given day, there is a contingent of teenagers and moms with small children. Every store is pretty much like every other store. They are a place to drink coffee. They are not a coffee shop. 

(Feel free to make suggestions in the comments regarding anything I have overlooked.)

This is a mission I have chosen for myself. I will write about my odyssey because it is what I want to do. If you are interested you can follow along. If you are really interested you can suggest coffee shops I should visit. If you are really really interested, you are welcome to meet me for coffee. When I tweet about my adventure I will use the hashtag #MyCoffeeOdyssey. (If you don’t follow me, @drcamey, on Twitter, you should.) Most of my visits will be around the greater OKC metro area but as I find myself in other areas I will be looking for good local coffee shops.