Coffee

Coffee that comes from the Land Down Under

by Alex Hawkins

G’day, mates! It’s your friendly, neighborhood Alex back again for another round of coffee! My next post comes from one of my friends who I have had the pleasure of having in some of my classes here at Lipscomb. Not to mention, she reads my posts every week.

Annie is a nursing major from Chicago, Illinois, and also a coffee appreciator like me. She’s a great friend and also does not mind (most of the time) that I drag her with me around Nashville. In the winter of 2017, she had the opportunity to visit her cousins in Melbourne, Australia, and she was introduced to this local Melburnian coffee shop in her travels.

Photo from TripAdvisor

“Dark Horse on the Brit was the place my cousins would take me every morning before we would explore the rest of Melbourne,” said Annie. “It was always packed! I never knew that you could pack that many people into a small space in the strip mall. The environment is very family and pet-friendly. I loved seeing all the dogs with their owners in the morning.”

Photo from TripAdvisor

Annie was telling me that her favorite drink from Dark Horse on the Brit was a plain cappuccino. She said that it tasted milkier and creamier than the Starbucks version she gets from her local Starbucks. Not to mention, it also serves really good food. Why are most things that we love to eat or drink always better is another country?

“I flew 22 hours for a cup of coffee…and to see my cousins.”

So, friends (or should I say “mates”?), if you have a favorite coffee shop, and tell me all about it. It might get put up on here if you leave it in the comments below! Also, if you wouldn’t mind doing the poll below so I know what you guys want me to for the next post. It would be greatly appreciated!

Until next time…Keep it kinda classy!

Ohio coffee? Let’s go!

by Alex Hawkins

When I was deciding if I wanted to pursue a communications minor, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could incorporate that with a biology degree. I needed to talk about it with someone who had some experience in the field, so naturally, I went to my RA who, conveniently, is a journalism major. Thanks to Olivia, I am now a communications minor and am now sharing about her favorite coffee shop to share with you guys.

The Coffee Peddlar

My awesome RA was telling me about this local coffee shop in her Ohio hometown of Harrison called The Coffee Peddlar. It’s in downtown Harrison and has a really cute storefront. It is a community-oriented coffee shop where the baristas know who you are and what you what to drink. I’m also told that it has some inspirational quotes and interesting drawings on its chalkboard.

“It’s a fun place to hang out,” said Olivia. “I would meet my friends there and we would study there, or we would grab something to drink and just talk. My favorite thing to order there is the frozen hot chocolate, even if it cost me $5 for a cup.”

The Coffee Peddlar doesn’t just specialize in coffee, but also hosts local art shows and will occasionally have a live musician. Olivia also tells me that the coffee shop celebrates “national pajama day,” when everyone who wears their pajamas to the coffee house will get a free cup of coffee.

Thanks, Olivia, for sharing your favorite coffee shop with me even though you don’t drink coffee! If you have a secret coffee house that you like to go to, tell me all about it! Tell me what your favorite drink is and where to find it too. Also, a little thought for fun, if someone narrated your life, who would you want to narrate it? Until next time… Keep it kinda classy!

Where to find my favorite cup of joe

by Alex Hawkins

Every morning, I start up my Keurig and brew myself a large cup of coffee to take with me to classes. I usually finish it before my second class of the day, but still, it is a necessity for my morning routine.

There’s no such thing as a “good morning” until I’ve had coffee.

Over the years, before I became a religious coffee drinker, I would take coffee for granted and would drink coffee only if my friends invited me to a coffee shop. Now, as a college student, I cannot tell my mother how much coffee I drink because I fear her having a heart attack knowing I drink a lot of coffee every day. Living in Nashville for the last five months, I have visited a few of the local coffee shops, but I still haven’t found a coffee shop that can compare to my favorite coffee shop/bar in Waco, Texas. So let’s start with the best first.

Deep in the heart of Texas, Dichotomy is considered one of the best coffee shops in the city of Waco (behind Common Grounds). It’s a small hole-in-the-wall coffee shop/bar that I make the three-hour pilgrimage to every year just for a 12-ounce cup of joe. It has this strange vibe going on inside the shop with solar-powered lights (how awesome is that!!!) and a mock skylight that shows the patrons the beautiful Texas sky. Not to mention, a lot of college students and wannabe hipsters like to hang out in the place too, so you never really know what to expect or who you’ll meet there.

The best thing to drink on the coffee house side of Dichotomy is any of its coffee because it gets its coffee from a Texas roasting company, so everybody knows it is going to be good coffee. My favorite drink is Dichotomy’s iced mocha. It’s not too sweet nor is it too bitter. It’s the perfect blend of espresso to everything else. It’s delicious. I wish I had a cup right now, but I’m not about to drive 13 hours for a cup of coffee at the moment.

Dichotomy’s Iced Mocha

I can actually taste the memory of an iced mocha from Dichotomy right now. Guess I need to find a coffee shop that can rival Dichotomy. Tell me what is your favorite cup of coffee, where to find it, and why it’s your favorite! Until next time… Keep it kinda classy!