4 Coffeeshops/5 Days

So one thing I do when there's something that I want to do but don't have to do is trick myself into doing it. Last week I challenged myself to work outside the house at 5 different coffeeshops. I made to to 4, but only because the 5th — Abogados Cafe — looks awesome but does not currently allow dine-in service.

The first was Hepcat Coffee in the Osborne Building in downtown Saint Paul for a meeting. The counter itself is like a small stand, but there's seating all throughout the lobby; we sat outside. There's a small menu, good dark roast, and a very friendly staff. I would certainly meet someone there again (and hey, I'm told they are opening a cocktail bar soon!)

Tuesday was meeting IRL with some online friends at Quixotic. Their vibe is always a little too-hip-for-thou than I would like, but I appreciate how they thread the needle on that one for anyone in the neighborhood to stop by (and I like their meeting room for community groups!) Quixotic is reliably good in a place that can be a little barren of coffeeshops; I might stop there when I next go to the new dog park in Highland this week.

But my goal was NEW coffeeshops, so I next hit Makwa Coffee up in Roseville. It's being raved about for the "Ziigwan Sugar Maple" drink, which I did not have because I don't like cold brew, but my basic caramel latte was delicious. Though in a strip mall, it's also a very comfortable atmosphere; people were interesting, I liked the vibe, and I got a lot of work done. It's too bad it's so far away, because I could imagine spending a lot of time there if it were closer.

Speaking of closer to home, my final coffeeshop was Flava Cafe, which just opened near me and University and Dale. I have to say, I had some ambivalence about the place before it opened because of everyone saying "Finally a Black-opened coffeeshop!" without taking Golden Thyme into account. But their mission is important, and the space is lovely.

The coffee was sort of meh, and I splurged on a yoghurt bowl that was also nothing to write home about, but in their defense I rolled in not long before they were closing (I guess they had just changed their hours). So I would for sure go back to try it again.

All in all, it was a fun and useful exercise and inspired me to get some extra work done offsite where I should concentrate more. However, I CLEARLY need a similar comparison for taprooms and cocktail bars...