One Saturday morning in February, well into the chaos of Winter Quarter, I found myself drowning in obligations and work I needed to get done. I needed to work on a group assignment for my math class, had a fellowship application I needed to complete, and some much needed Bible lettering I was itching to do as well. I knew none of this would get done if I stayed within the confines of my bedroom, and going to the library wasn’t a particularly attractive option, either. I realized that it had been awhile since I went out and visited a new coffee shop. My list of recommendations from friends was extensive and growing, and so I figured what better time to finally check out some of these places.

Within an hour, I found myself sitting on an uneven chair at a table that was barely big enough to fit my laptop in a cramped space in the middle of downtown Pomona. While the latte I ordered was tasty, the space itself wasn’t very comfortable. I packed my things and decided to go to the next place that was on my list. Here, I found myself sitting in a plastic chair that felt like it would give at any moment, in a crowded space with no WiFi, with hard metal blasting over the speakers. It didn’t help that the drink I ordered was sub-par, either. I sat there and thought what an incredibly unlucky day for me to go out and try something new. Both of these coffee shops came to me under the recommendations of friends who knew that going out and getting work done in a coffee shop was one of my favorite things to do. I then realized that while I like to think that I’m open when it comes to what kind of coffee shop I like to visit, the truth is probably that my taste is far more refined than I would like to believe. So if you ever have a coffee shop suggestion you would like to give me, while I will still make note of it in the notes app on my phone, I do have a few things I like to consider before visiting any place new.

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