I'm at my favorite coffee shop in Jozi - my favorite one to work in - and it is reminding me of the discussions my friend Kate and I used to have about what makes a really great coffee shop. As I recall, good music was top, top, top of Kate's list. At the time, top of my list was that they made a good decaf latte - notoriously hard to come by. But a very close second was that the staff was friendly and double points if they knew my name. This second criteria was put in solely because of Diesel Cafe - a small, women-owned coffee shop, a mere 3 minute walk from where I worked. Now I really wanted to support a woman-owned small business, so I went there every single morning before work and ordered the same damn thing. Every day. Skinny, decaf latte to go. Every. Single. Damn. Day. And every single damn day, they acted as if they'd never seen me before. No smile, no "nice to see you again," no "the usual, Caroline?" And let me tell you, their decaf was not that great. (and their music SUCKED - mostly heavy metal. Okay, probably not heavy metal, but whatever it was, it was too heavy for me. Is there a kind of music called Diesel?)
So I stopped going. I switched to Starbucks. Not a small business. Not woman owned. But their decaf is good. And more importantly, after about 3 mornings, the manager greeted me by name. She knew what I wanted. After about 5 mornings, her counter staff knew my name. Before I even ordered, the barista would catch my eye and ask if I was having the usual. The music was inconsistent, the ambiance was mediocre, but that "Good morning, Caroline," made up for everything. Chain coffee shop creating a neighborhood feel. Got my business. Every single damn day.
So, now as I sit here at Motherland Cafe in Johannesburg, South Africa, I realize my criteria have shifted a little. Here's what I like about Motherland.
1) Diverse clientele - not only in terms of race (and that one is big for me), but you get funky students, hip young professionals, staid old professionals, middle-aged newly in love folks who are using all their will power to keep their hands off each other (maybe not every day, but that is who landed at the table right in front of me today), and really talented, gorgeous writers (maybe not every day, but that is who landed at my table today.)
2) Their coffee is fair trade.
2) They always play African music.
3) The wifi is free - not all that common here in SA.
4) Only half marks for ambiance. Nice brick wall, great lighting, comfy bench. But it can be cold. They need to more severely punish customers who don't close the door after they come in - it is WINTER people!
And today, Motherland soared head and shoulders above every other coffee shop. As I ordered my coffee, the counter guy said, "Hey where have you been. I haven't see you in a while."
What's top on your list?
Favorite coffee places? Embarrassing but Starbucks is one of them, maybe partly because Harford County isn't a mecca of coffee shops (although maybe it is and I just haven't been looking. Maybe because it's connected with Barnes & Noble, meaning I can browse until I see a book I may or may not decide to buy, sit at one of the tiny round tables slurping my icy frappuchino and browsing through the book. I like the anonymity, the delicious absence of any responsibility, the Harriet the Spy checking out what other people are talking about and/or reading.
ReplyDeleteAnother favorite is Lewes Bake Shop in Delaware: Sunday mornings at the Lewes Bake Shop with Becky and Don, where we collect our coffee and sticky buns and squeeze into a table between burlap bags of coffee beans and settle down to our New York Times crossword puzzle.
I just cannot wait for your blog, B Hopkins!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh: Two more favorite coffee places: One is/was the coffee shop at WC (Good heavens, I am just realizing that WC stands for things other than Woman's College, as if Woman's College wasn't bad enough!) where we'd go after our Chaucer seminars with Miss (yes) Jane Summerill to talk about The Miller's Tale, which Professor (which it should have been) Summerill never assigned to us or, just as delicious, The Wife of Bath's Tale. The other favorite place (and, well, I know this might be off your chart, you extrovert you) is my kitchen table in the early mornings, preferably after an even earlier long walk (I have it down to 53 minutes now!) and shower. I make my own coffee, Peet's if I'm feeling self-indulgent, otherwise Eight O'Clock which isn't bad if you double the usual amount of grounds, pick fresh pansies for the table, light a candle, open the windows so that I can see the goldfinches and hear the whirr of hummingbird wings, smell the freshness of early morning, smell the coffee, and just be. And, introvert though I am, all my favorite coffee places are also peopled by the memories of others who have shared them with me
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