For all you fellow coffee lovers out there, I have decided to try and find some new and exciting coffee shops to review this semester. Charlottesville has so much to offer and after a while Starbucks can begin to get old. After spending the summer waking up at six in the morning on a regular basis in order to make it to work, my love for caffeine turned into something more along the lines of an addiction. So here I sit, with a venti iced soy latte in hand, ready to tell you the details of my first coffeehouse adventure: Bon Coffee, located on the downtown mall.
The first and most distinguishing feature of Bon that struck me was the exterior of the building: it was pink. “I like this already.” I thought to myself as I crossed the street from the Farmer’s Market early on Saturday afternoon. When I stepped into the shop I was immediately impressed by the large size of the shop. It resembled something between a furniture warehouse and a music venue. I looked to my left and saw a raised platform with a sign that said “Music Venue.” “Right.” There were tables with chairs all around. Crowdedly sitting around a small table was a group of young hipsters and their small dog. All of this contributed to the vibe of the Bon being incredibly unique and full of new-age cultural vibrancy; not to mention there were furry animals.
Besides the main floor with the coffee bar and seating, I explored the back and found a room full of drums, an art gallery, as well as a room full of refurbished furniture. Not to mention, if you get a chance to check out their bathroom it will be well worth it. I won’t ruin it for you, you will be amazed.
I walked up to the counter and ordered a latte. I learned that they do not use syrups in their drinks; the only flavored lattes you can order are vanilla and maple, so in pursuit of adding variety to my life I opted to try the maple latte. I browsed over the menu and discovered that not only do they serve coffee, but they have a very impressive smoothie and juice menu as well. The only qualm that I could find with the menu was the smoothie titled” Nut-berry Apocalypse”, which, to my very-severely-allergic-to-nut-self, sounded like something from the ninth circle of hell. Aside from that, they had a fabulous variety of drinks.
The barista and I had an interesting conversation about the intricacies of being a barista, during which she promptly made my latte, and then enlightened me on the effects of cross contaminants from local produce. Her adorable ten-year old rang me up at the register. Seeing a youthful face in the midst of coming back for my third year of college reminded me of this past summer spent working with children and of how much I miss their unique and creative perspective on things.
The latte was very good. I will admit, about halfway through I caved to my inner sweet tooth and dumped a packet of Splenda into it, but it still had the perfect amount of espresso. I left the shop with a smile and the intent of definitely returning to this quirkily different place. Variety is the spice of life, and if your caffeinating is in need of a change of pace, Bon Coffee is a great place to start!