Coffee junkies rejoice! First of all, Athens has a bunch of coffee shops all within walking distance, and most of them are affordable. Secondly, the best coffee for everyone and every mood has been painstakingly researched and is finally here!
(Scale For Reference: Excellent = 5, Fabulous = 4, Good = 3, Okay = 2, Not so good = 1)
Fluff
Coffee: 4Coffee-esqe Drinks: 3Pastries/Food: 5Study Atmosphere: 2Best mood to be in when entering: Whimsical.
Fluff is a unique coffee shop in many ways. When you walk into Fluff, most likely a song from the 60’s to the 80’s will be playing. The shop even features local artists’ paintings on the wall (for sale) and it now serves alcohol making it a super modern coffee shop.
It doesn’t have Wi-Fi yet, making it a bit hard to study in, but Fluff always smells delicious. Which makes sense because all of their food and pastries are delicious.
My best Fluff recommendation for a Fluff newbie is to try a simple cup of coffee and a “Booty Shaker” pastry.
Donkey
Coffee: 4Coffee-esqe Drinks: 2Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 5Best mood to be in when entering: Deep and philosophical.
Donkey is the ultra-hippie, chic coffee shop that every college town needs. Donkey coffee is all fair trade, all organic and delicious. WARNING: this is serious coffee, for serious coffee drinkers. If you are a “sometimes I drink coffee” or “I take my coffee with 8 creams and 15 sugars,” this coffee is probably not for you. It’s very rich, fairly dark, and very strong.
Donkey has Wi-Fi and constant, yet not too loud, background noise, making it a pretty good place for some light studying or homework. However, getting a table in Donkey is not the easiest thing in the world (think Shively at noon now that Boyd has closed): not impossible, but not easy.
My best Donkey recommendation for a Donkey is a cup of coffee and a homemade cookie.
Brenen’s
Coffee: 4Coffee-esqe Drinks: 5Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 4Best mood to be in when entering: Focused and ready for business.
Brenan’s is probably the closest thing Athens has to a brunch place. Brenen’s consists of two parts: coffee, breakfast, and fancy drinks, and lunch time menu items (to be ordered separately). Brenen’s does an amazing job with having tables (Saturday around 11 a.m. is packed though), and their specialty drinks are always the right call.
Brenen’s is a pretty good place to study despite their small-ish tables. They are a relatively quieter shop in town (again, not on Saturday mornings).
For a Brenen’s newbie I recommend a Milkyway – one of their specialty drinks – and a homemade almond biscotti.
Whit’s
Coffee: 3Coffee-esqe Drinks: 3Pastries/Food: 5Study Atmosphere: 3Best mood to be in when entering: Ready for ice cream, so the best type of mood.
Whit’s is the best ice cream shop around town, but they also serve coffee. Seriously, this town is so caffeinated we get coffee with our ice cream (see recommendation below).
Lots of people study at Whit’s and no matter how someone studies they can accommodate; they have tables, a high table by the wall, and a couch and coffee table area.
For a Whit’s newbie I recommend an Affogato – custard and coffee.
Court Street Coffee
Coffee: 4Coffee-esqe Drinks: 4Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 3Best mood to be in when entering: In desperate need of coffee. Pretty much the “Monday morning mood.”
Court Street Coffee’s biggest problem is not enough room to keep up with their packed cliental. This is good and bad news for them: good because there are so many people, bad because it’s hard to study in there.
Their coffee and non-coffee drinks are the bomb-diggity though and their food is never a bad idea.
Court Street recommendation: frozen vanilla latte (Warning: there is no coffee this drink) and a bagel.
The Front Room
Coffee: 2Coffee-esqe Drinks: 4Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 5Best mood to be in when entering: In the study mood.
Front room is a synonym for “we serve Starbucks coffee, but we aren’t franchised by Starbucks, so we can’t call ourselves that.” When you hear “The Front Room,” just think Starbucks with different pastries.
It’s an excellent place to study, however. Plus, it’s located in the Student Center, so it takes Flex Points and Bobcat Cash.
Try a skinny vanilla latte (get it with the sugar syrup though, not sugar free. Trust me.) and whatever cookie your cashier recommends.
Café BibloTech
Coffee: 2Coffee-esqe Drinks: 4Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 5Best mood to be in when entering: In the study mood.
It’s pretty much the same thing as Front room except it’s in the library. Score.
South Side
Coffee: 3Coffee-esqe Drinks: 4Pastries/Food: 3Study Atmosphere: 5Best mood to be in when entering: In a study zone. Ready to marathon study.
South Side is probably the best of the on-campus coffee shops, but it’s so out of the way, located in Nelson Dining Hall, and people constantly forget about it. It’s an even better place to study than BibloTech and Front Room though, because it has a fireplace and it’s so quiet. Also, they don’t serve exclusively Starbucks coffee there.
My recommendation: try a milkshake.
Tweet us @hercampusohiou to tell us your favorite coffee shop on campus!