UNC-G – the center of Greensboro’s coffee universe

Mocha Mutt recently went on an exploration of the UNC-G neighborhood, which is actually quite large and takes up a significant portion of central Greensboro.

In addition to the bookstores, drugstores, restaurants, and bars that typically serve a university population, UNC-G and the immediate area boast a great variety of coffee shops, which cater to students, professors, staff, their families, and local residents.

On the southeast corner of campus, beginning at the intersection of Tate & Spring Garden Streets, coffee shops abound. Within sight of this intersection is Tate Street Coffeehouse, which considers itself (rightly so) the “granddaddy” of Greensboro Coffee Shops, and Coffeeology, which prides itself on the knowledge and culture of coffee.

Further along Spring Garden Street, headed west, you will find The Coffee Break at the corner with Chapman Street – step inside for a variety of drinks and snacks, gift items, and great window seats for people watching.

Less than a block east is Spring Garden Bakery and Coffeehouse. In the past, it was primarily a place to get great baked pastries, muffins, cakes, etc., and a quick cup of coffee. However, new owners recently expanded the store, which now has a large seating area for customers, a great selection of baked goods, and lots of electrical outlets for those of us who just have to be “plugged in” wherever we go.

Still further west on Spring Garden, you’ll encounter Moulin Rouge Café at 3612-D Spring Garden, in a small shopping center catering to the international community surrounding it. Moulin Rouge prides itself on coffee brewed “to perfection.” Across Spring Garden, on Merritt Drive, is the recently opened Wildwood Fruit and Coffee Company. The husband and wife team operating the store have created a great combination of coffee selections, fruit smoothies, bagels, and bakery items.

With most of these shops, you may find parking a challenge – unless you know where to look! Most of these shops have limited on-street parking in front of the building. In addition, Coffeeology, The Coffee Break, Spring Garden Bakery, and Wildwood all have parking lots behind their buildings. When in doubt, ask the shop’s staff where to park - - they have a vested interest in making sure you can enjoy your visit and can linger without fear of parking tickets.

Coffee Shop fans - - let us know how your tour of the UNC-G Coffee Universe turns out!

CoffeeCat Resolves: Drink More Coffee

Last year, I did the best I’d ever done at keeping my New Year’s resolution. I wasn’t perfect, but I made some improvements. The trick was, choosing something that was more important to me than the usual things of losing weight, saving money, or exercising more. Those resolutions aren’t successful at the start of a new year. They’re successful when you’re ready to take them on, and Jan. 1 just isn’t the optimal time for many resolutions.


So, earlier this week, I flippantly posted on Facebook that I resolve to drink more coffee. But this statement is one of those things said in jest that is only half a joke. Resolving to drink more coffee will help me build on last year’s resolution, so I think I can keep it.

My first coffee shop visit of the New Year:
The Coffee Break in Greensboro. Beautiful setting,
great coffee, friendly people. Happy New Year to me!

When I say I’ll drink more coffee, I’m thinking of more than just caffeine. Here’s what my resolution means to me:

1) I resolve to enjoy the things I love. I work hard at my day job, volunteer jobs, and helping family & friends. I put a lot of effort into helping others and doing my part to make the world a better place. I don’t do as much as many others do, but I do as much as I can. So, if I want to spend a little extra to buy coffee shop coffee to brew at home, I think I will!

2) I resolve to enjoy Triad Coffee Shops. As I’ve said before on this blog, it is a luxury to pay someone to make coffee for me and a luxury to sit in a well-furnished, warm, inviting coffee shop. But I’ve also written about the great things that coffee shops do in our communities and in the communities around the equator that grow coffee. Our little luxuries support farmers, college students, small business owners, and nonprofit organizations. Enjoy!

3) I resolve to make a resolution I can keep. I never resolve to start something new on Jan. 1. Rather, I look back over the past year and think about what I’ve enjoyed, what has gone well, and what I need to improve. If you read this blog and my Facebook page, you know that CoffeeCat enjoys animal rescue, writing, and working hard in general. Embarking upon 2011, I can say that I’ve enjoyed getting involved in animal rescue, but I can’t do it 24/7 like the true, heart-and soul rescuers. So I’ll continue the other things that worked well for me, too – writing, blogging, and supporting local businesses. Doing all of this requires energy, so for that, I will need coffee!

4) I resolve to be cheerful. I’m not a naturally cheerful person, as those who encounter me before my first coffee know. But over the years, I’ve learned something that is backed up by research: coffee is a mood elevator. When I’m blue, just a few sips of coffee get me in good spirits. When I run out of steam, coffee gets me going. So, for the sake of world peace (at least my corner of the world), I resolve to drink more coffee.

So, coffee shop fans, what do you think? Will coffee help you achieve your resolutions in 2011? Best wishes for a great New Year, friends!

World Peace at your local coffee shop?

NASA photo uploaded from about.com

A coffee shop is its neighborhood.

To be successful, a coffee shop has to have something in common with its neighbors, something that attracts them to come in, come back, and spend money. My neighborhood doesn't have a locally- owned coffee shop, so I enjoy trying out other people's neighborhoods.

For example, I enjoy The Coffee Break, Tate Street, and Coffeeology, all located in the UNC-G neighborhood. All of these appeal to students, professors, and the professionals who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. Even so, each shop has a different look & different energy.

iCoffee in Summerfield is in the neighborhood of Lake Brandt, so it appeals to people on their way to the lake. It's also a hub for the Northern Guilford community and reaches out to the students and families through student art displays, concerts, and gatherings for sports teams.

Sitting on the patio of Krankie's in Winston-Salem, I noticed that the county detention center and one building of the Piedmont Triad Research Park rise over the old industrial city block on which Krankie's is situated. What kind of neighborhood is made up of a jail, a biomedical research building, railroad tracks, and a coffee shop in an old warehouse?

Spend some time listening to the poets and musicians who perform at Krankie's, and you'll feel the neighborhood. It's the neighborhood of innovation, energy, and creativity. It's a crossroads of artistic, scientific, and ordinary people. Some poets rhyme about life on the streets and how it landed them in that jail across Chestnut Street. They're using their energy and creativity to innovate new, better lives for themselves, and they're not afraid to get on stage and let people know.

Other poets rhyme about diseases and human conditions that are being confronted head-on at the research park. While scientists in those labs develop new, life-saving drugs and grow human organs to replace diseased organs, a poet named Eurycide White shouts a poem called, "**** you, cancer."  The disease took people she loved, and across the street, strangers are taking on disease. Does it get any more real than this?

Coffee shops don't rate the same coverage on front pages and newscasts as health care reform, Middle Eastern peace talks, or the war in Afghanistan. You and I know that. But real life is happening in and around Triad Coffee Shops. Take some time to explore your neighborhood coffee shop, or someone else's. You never know - you just might be within arm's reach of world peace or a cure for cancer.

UPDATE: See Life in Forsyth's wonderful photo

It Must Be Love, Love

Fans of one coffee shop created a blog to celebrate it. Great photos! This is the same coffee shop that hosted groundhogs on the patio!

Anyone else have a fan page for your favorite shop? Post a comment here so we can all check 'em out.

Be sure to look for your favorite coffee shop on Facebook and Twitter. CoffeeCat is trying to keep up, but as you know, "so many coffee shops, so little time."

True (Chai) Confessions

MochaMutt has a confession to make - don't worry, it's not bad!! MochaMutt truly cherishes a good ol' cup o' chai. That's right, chai - - spiced tea. Since nearly every Triad Coffee Shop has a variety of teas and other non-coffee drinks available, I thought it would be OK to go public on this blog with my preference for this delectable drink. MochaMutt has a good sniffer, but has, on occasion, stumbled on a poorly concocted cup of chai.

Today, however, MochaMutt put the sniffer to work and discovered a treasure hidden in plain site. Java Jo'z on High Point Road in Greensboro was a welcome sight for my hot paws this afternoon. The barista promised me the best chai in Greensboro, and he might be right!! I ordered it cold, blended with ice instead of over ice, and dawg, was I impressed. It got me through a horrible weekly chore (grocery shopping) with a caffeine- and sugar-inspired spring in my step.

MochaMutt plans to try a few more varieties of chai concoctions and report back on them. We'd love to hear about your favorite cool treats for these steamy hot days. What's your favorite cold coffee shop drink? Where do you find it? MochaMutt wants to know.

What's not to love?

The Pilgrim (well, half of it) came with tortilla chips & salsa.

Coffee pot collection at Tate Street

Tate Street Coffee House is one of those eclectic places where you see something new every time you visit. Tonight, I noticed the collection of 50 or so coffee pots that span many decades. One day I'd like to get the story on each piece.

Today, I was more focused on getting food. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I had a warm Pilgrim sandwich (turkey, cheese, and spinach on a fresh roll) and a frozen lemonade set in front of me. For a shrine to coffee, this place has great food for just a smidge more than you pay at a drive thru.

When you're surrounded by posters of American music & literature icons, tons of local art, and the smell of fresh coffee, the drive through lane doesn't seem one bit appealing.

Don't let the name fool you -- more and more coffee shops are offering good eats and frozen treats!

Discovering the coffee shop

I first discovered coffee shops when I moved to Winston-Salem in 1993. Suddenly, I learned that coffee wasn’t just for mornings. My sister, friends and I enjoyed poetry slams at the Horse’s Mouth in the heart of downtown and listened to up-and-coming bands at Morning Dew on Burke Street in the West End. Tate Street Coffee in Greensboro was an attraction where we took our out-of-town friends. In coffee houses we found the opposite of the smoke-filled, strobe-lighted, eardrum-bursting nightclubs that were “the” night life for college students. At the coffee house, everyone could get a grown-up yet non-alcoholic drink, stick to a tight budget, and hear the conversation.


More than a decade later, as a graduate student, I rediscovered coffee houses in the Triad. I appreciated calm but busy coffee houses like Café Roché in Winston-Salem and The Coffee Break in Greensboro. They provide a great place for coffee and reading by day, and conversation with friends by night. I’ve also discovered that coffee shops are much more than a place to gather for lattes and chai. New shops such as Krankie’s, Brew Nerds, and Chelsee’s, all in Winston-Salem, are putting a new spin on coffee shops and welcoming new concepts and new customers of all ages.

Winston-Salem’s Brew Nerds on Hanes Mall Blvd. is a glass, brightly-lit, ultra modern hot spot for Wii tournaments and trivia contests. The owners of Krankie’s transformed an old warehouse into an arts and entertainment destination where customers can watch documentary films, shop at a weekly farmers market, and visit nearby galleries and shops also housed in what they now call “The Wherehouse.” Krankie’s customers give it props as a good place to drink a glass of wine on Saturday night and read the newspaper over coffee on a Sunday morning. Some Saturday nights you can find gospel concerts at Juicy Java in Kernersville. iCoffee in Summerfield offers bluegrass music some nights and a gathering spot after Friday night football games.

The desire for good coffee and a place to enjoy it is universal. Coffee shops are great places to drink tea, smoothies, and even beer. And since people come to coffee shops for different reasons, you can be sure there’s a place and a time for any of them. To write your great novel, most coffee shops would be the perfect place on a Sunday morning or a Saturday afternoon. To meet new people, try Friday night art openings, concerts almost any night of the week, or Saturday mornings while walking your dog. To enjoy the literary arts, there are poetry slams, book signings, and scrabble tournaments.

In this blog, I’ll tell you about upcoming events at Triad coffee shops. Want me to visit your favorite coffee shop? Want to promote an event? Let me know about it.