Our beloved Wit’s End is closed. The room with the orange walls on the 3rd floor of Wheatley that once dripped with the smell of roasting coffee beans, now sits vacant. The music that drifted through the air is now silent.
Fear not, there is still plenty of coffee here on campus. Two editors at “The Mass Media,” Amanda Huff and Ryan Thomas, have taken the initiative and consumed way too much coffee, all to let you know where to go on campus to get your java fix.
Four different venues, four different brands of coffee, all conveniently reviewed for espresso enthusiasts: Peet’s at the Atrium Café, Green Mountain in the dining hall, Starbucks in McCormack, and Jazzman’s own personal blend in the lobby of the Healey Library. There is lots of caffeine and lots of choices. So, read on, discover the campus through coffee.
1 Atrium CafeUpper Level, Campus Center
What’s Offered: The Atrium Cafe serves Peet’s Coffee in three flavors: Costa Rica, Gaia Organic Blend and Fair Trade Blend. Also, Peet’s is the strongest coffee you’ll find on the campus. There are specialty drinks as well, like a blended iced mocha that gives Jazzman’s white chocolate mocha a run for its money.
Best bet: Honestly, I have to go with none of the coffee flavors. I did not like any of them. However, the espresso was nice and rich and not as hot as the espresso at Jazzman’s, and the blended iced mocha was phenomenal.
Steer clear: Unless you’re a hardcore coffee fanatic with a penchant for bitter-tasting things, stay away from all of them and get yourself a latte.
Prices: Small- $1.70; Medium- $1.95; Large- $2.10.
2 Campus Center Food Court1st Floor, Campus Center
What’s Offered: The first floor food court is for your run-of-the-mill coffee drinker. There’s nothing off the map here, nothing that you can’t pronounce and it doesn’t offer its sizes in three different languages. The Green Mountain coffee offered here is mild and solid. The hazelnut leaves something to be desired after the sweet smell draws you in. The iced coffee selection is limited, but if all you’re looking for is a solid cup of coffee at a reasonable price, this blue-collar establishment is for you.
Best Bet: Green Mountain’s “Our Blend,” is better than you’d expect. It’s piping hot, not too bold, gives off that great coffee aroma and is perfect prior to that 8:30 Macro Economics class.
Steer Clear: Hazelnut coffee should taste almost as sweet as it smells. The nutty coffee here has a faux fragrance that leads to a bitter coffee face. Maybe 10 sugars and a handful of creams would do the trick, but unless everything else is dry, heads up when it comes to the Hazelnut here.
Your Pocket: Starting at $1.40 for a small and creeping up to $1.90 for a large, both the iced and hot coffee selections here are a great bang for your buck.
3 McCormack Express1st Floor, McCormack Building
What’s offered? If strong coffee and name brands are the way you like to roll, then McCormack Express is the place for you. Just make sure you show up about 15 minutes before your class because the lines here often stretch across the hallway. With a wide variety of Starbuck’s coffees and cappuccinos, this isn’t your grandmother’s coffee shop.
Best Bet: Since the selection here is significantly broader than in the Campus Center Food Court, McCormack Express needs to be broken down into two subcategories: coffees and cappuccinos.
Coffee: Starbuck’s is an acquired taste to begin with, but surprisingly, the “extra bold” Sumatra was the best in show when it came to the coffees. It was full of flavor but not too bold or overpowering, creating quite a pleasant flavor.
Cappuccinos: There really wasn’t a standout when it came to these creamy delights. All were equally sweet, but depending on what your forte is, there’s a flavor to please your palate. I recommend the Belgian Hazelnut, which is sweet and creamy with a mild nut flavor that teeters on overpowering, but never tips.
Steer Clear: Starbuck’s doesn’t have too much that would cause you to turn your nose up, but the supposed “mild” House Blend was bitter and dark and not pleasant at all. When it came to the Cappuccinos, the Italian was the least desirable, as it reminded me of instant hot chocolate and not a cappuccino.
Your Pocket: With the name comes the price, but to my surprise the price hike wasn’t bad. A small coffee will run you $1.75, while the large is $2.15. A small cappuccino will dent you $1.95 and the large will cost you $2.45. With price and quality considered, you’re making out good here at McCormack Express.
4 Jazzman’s CafeSecond Floor, Healey Library
What’s Offered: Jazzman’s Cafe has coffee that’s specifically produced for the café, instead of by a mass manufacturer. There are six coffees in front of the register, ranging from deeper blends like a fair trade organic flavor, to dessert-like flavors such as creme brulee, vanilla and hazelnut. There are also specialty drinks, like an almost-better-than-sex white chocolate mocha to indulge in, as well as pastries and cold sandwiches.
Best bet: Being one of my favorite coffee flavors, I have to go with the hazelnut coffee. It’s a much more distinct flavor than the hazelnut in the Food Court and doesn’t require much sweetener.
Steer clear: I’d have to go with the fair trade organic on this. I’m not a huge fan of bitter things, and it just had too much of that typical-coffee taste as an under-note that I really didn’t find it appealing.
Prices: Small- $1.55; Medium- $1.80; Large- $2.10.