My Coffee Odyssey - Vintage Coffee

Vintage Coffee

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Vintage Coffee reminds me a little of the coffee shop from years ago on Campus Corner in Norman. It is a bit on the dark side, has an eclectic, college campus sort of feel, and they serve really good coffee. In addition to good coffee there is a small selection of cupcakes and pastries for those times when you just must have something to nosh on. There are plenty of small tables spread among different rooms room one can read, work, visit, or just hang out. There are a couple of small “breakout” rooms that can be reserved for privacy. The baristas today are Joy and Ashton. They are friendly and the service is great. This is at least my third visit to Vintage and I can affirm that this is definitely a coffee shop.

Now, regarding the coffee. As always, I am drinking the dark roast, a French roast, if I am correct. The price is definitely right. It is $1.90 for a cup with free refills as long as I am here. That is a pretty good bargain. My coffee today was solidly in the Great! end of my simple coffee scale.

Vintage has not been overly busy when I have been here; however, I tend to visit coffee shops in the mid-afternoon which is not exactly prime time. The first impression is interesting. Don't be confused. What you are looking for is right through that green door. When I walked in the first time it almost felt as though I was walking into a private place of some sort. I suppose you are, in a way. Vintage makes you feel like you have escaped the world for just a bit. I really like this place. It has a comfortable feel that makes it easy to just be here. A big plus is that on none of my visits have there been any teens or people dragging small ones with them. Would I meet you here for coffee? Absolutely. In fact, if you called me for coffee, Vintage would be high on my list of suggestions. So, call me. I’ll buy you a cup.

Joy & Ashton

Disclaimer: I am not a coffee connoisseur. I am just a guy who lies to drink coffee in coffee shops. I tend to think of my coffee in terms of Meh – Okay - Good – Great. Most coffee I drink is okay to good. It has to make an effort to get to Great or Meh. These are just my opinions. Take or ignore them as you wish.

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.