The Local Coffee Shop

I’m the girl in the brown skirt scribbling. My top is a little too revealing (I bought a cami to amend that later) and I’m just drinking in the atmosphere. That’s what makes a good coffee shop you know, atmosphere-scones are just a perk.

This morning I joined my coffee shop buddy at A Cup Above. Smallish, it sits next to the Taco Bell on the corner of Barry Road and North Oak Trafficway. Sunlight pours in and clashes against the dark brick color of the walls and black of the furniture. On a cloudy Winter day, this could be paradise. Country music sails though the air, bringing a smile to my face. I’ve been on a country kick for the last few months after detouring from it in what I call my Dave Matthews Devotee years. Music is essential to coffee shop atmosphere. At Starbucks, you never quite know what to expect; Sinatra and Martin one day, indie rock the next. Yesterday, Latte Land seemed to be playing “The Best of Perhaps-It-Was-In-A-Movie-and-if-not-It-Should-Be.”

As I continue to inspect my surroundings, I glance up at the ceiling. It’s not quite white and it’s covered in tiles that look like crown moulding. I’m not sure what the real term is, but that’s what they look like to me. Ceilings are oft forgot when building a space. That’s how you end up with popcorn ceilings. I found myself staring at the ceiling in Latte Land-never before had i noticed the different colored beams, tinged smooth like lemon meringue. I wish people would think of it as a “seal-ing,” a unifying finishing touch.

The contrast between Latte Land and A Cup Above is drastic. Latte Land is open and light while A Cup Above is compact and dark, but both have the ability to inspire. They both welcome and relax. I have said for a few years that my ideal is to make spaces that feel like a good book. It’s almost an indesribable feeling-but I’ll try. It wraps you up and swaddles you. You breathe easy, slow and quick without thought. Emotions are uncaged and natural. Your focus is absolute, full of contentment. You merge with the pages of the book. You should merge with your coffee shop.

Visit the website for A Cup Above and you see that this is more than a coffee shop; it’s a place for community. They seem to understand that a coffee shop is about more than the liquids they pour into a cup–it’s about the experience of drinking the liquid. By-the-way, the coffee’s not bad either; they make a yummy iced vanilla latte, aka Katie-Kryptonite. (I almost bought a second one.)

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