- Trade and Lore in NoDa
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Trade and Lore is a PERFECT workspace, with huge tables that line the walls and groupings of comfortable chairs and couches, if you’re there for socialization. The walls are lined with abstract art and plants, so you can vibe with the environment as much as you vibe with the people you’re with (please pretend that I didn’t just use the word vibe as a verb). If you want a good meal to accompany your coffee, my favorite menu item has to be the “Michelle O’Banh-Mi”, which is a vegan sandwich with “avocados, carrots, tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro. and smokey marinated tofu with spicy vegan aioli on a toasted hoagie.” If your homework is driving you to the brink of insanity, have no fear because at 5:00pm, the coffee shop turns into a fully functioning two-story bar that’s open until midnight. Truly, truly everything you could ask for in a coffee shop.
- Sunflour Baking Company
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Sunflour Baking Company is my favorite place to get cinnamon rolls and my favorite place to visit one of my best friends at work (Hi, Hannah!). Sunflour is a lovely coffee shop with three (3!!!) locations in Charlotte: Harrisburg, Elizabeth, and Dilworth. The location in Harrisburg has the most instagram-able mural of sunflowers, not to mention a towering field of real sunflowers that Hannah herself has spent hours a day watering (thank you for your service, Hannah!). If you’re leaving from UNCC, you can reasonably get to any of them in 20 minutes, and THAT is what we love. We also love their chai tea, french press coffee, and expansive vegan/vegetarian menu.
- Not Just Coffee
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Not Just Coffee is my favorite place to get a fancy cup of coffee and my favorite place to visit one of my OTHER best friends at work (Hi, Emma!) (Yes, it is a requirement that you work in a coffee shop if you want to be friends with me) (I’m done with the parenthesis now). Not Just Coffee has multiple locations in the Charlotte area, one of which being The Marketplace on 7th street, which is right off the light rail, so you don’t even have to drive! Not Just Coffee partners with North Carolina based businesses such as Counter Culture Coffee and Homeland Creamery, so by supporting Not Just Coffee, you’ll be supporting a multitude of local businesses. As you’re doing your homework or discussing the world’s tribulations with a friend, you can enjoy a Cortado or Bhakti Ginger tea and feel incredibly posh doing it.
- CoCo and the Director
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This coffee shop is SO COOL. Coco is arguably one of my favorite coffee shops in Uptown, because of how COOL IT IS. There are two levels of seating, with the top level overlooking the entire shop. They have the conventional tables and chairs, but they also have an entire wall of staggered stair seating with cushions and board games. On the bottom floor, there are areas with larger meeting tables that produce a more ~professional business lady~ environment. No matter why you’re going into their shop, you’ll find a space for you. Their lattes and apple fritters are amazing, and you can enjoy their coffee and apple fritters from 6am-10pm! Early birds and night owls unite ;)
- Amelie’s French Bakery
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I would be remiss if I didn’t include one of my most visited coffee shops in the Charlotte area. The decor is whimsical and random, with french undertones all around. With locations in Uptown, NoDa, and Park Road, Amelie’s maintains a menu rich with napoleons, macarons, and delicious cakes. My favorite location has to be in Uptown because it’s ALSO right off of the light rail, and it always makes me feel like I’m a part of the city. My friends and I spent the greater part of my sophomore year riding the light rail to Amelies to hang out instead of doing laundry or homework, and those are some of my favorite, and tastiest memories I’ve made in college.