By Shelby Moquin [email protected] It could be the job interview of a lifetime, or social hour with your friends, or study time: all of these could happen at a coffee shop. Aside from the chain shops like Dunkin’ and Starbucks, the new times have revolutionized coffee and cafes. Some stick true to their quiet, cozy, five drink options menu roots, while others have turned into social hubs and meeting places with outdoor seating that serve soups, teas, and sandwiches along with coffee. It can be difficult to decide what cafe or coffee house fits your needs. Especially in The Corridor area where we have a wide variety of options. So my friend Alex McMorran (‘21), an avid coffee lover, and I, the avid writer who desperately needed a final article topic outside of her comfort zone, decided to go on the hunt for the best coffee and cafes in Iowa City. We began our journey at Caffe Crema on the outskirts of Iowa City. It’s kind of this hole-in-the-wall place and you wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t know it was there. The people who worked there were super polite and friendly. McMorran explained, “[It was] Very quiet and calm and put together. Extremely relaxing and private, the music choice however did not fit the atmosphere. Seems like a good place to do homework, hang out, and relax.” There was a collection of seating options such as a couple of booths, multiple tables and chairs, and a couple of couches. The dim lighting was not hard on the eyes, but the cafe did have a lot of windows which provided natural but not harsh light. We sampled an iced vanilla latte at each location to preserve consistency. “As for the coffee, it’s average, seven out of ten, not mixed very well but if you stir it more it’s pretty good. I would definitely come here again because of the atmosphere, even though the drink was slightly overpriced,” said McMorran. We then left Caffe Crema and began our trek to downtown Iowa City to The Java House. We had both been there before but decided to bear the Saturday traffic to get some of the best coffee in Iowa. McMorran said, “The coffee is overpriced and they have limited size options. But, like, it tastes amazing, even though the price is high.” The price of this coffee was over five dollars compared to the previous location which was just around four. “I really loved the atmosphere, especially since we’re in downtown Iowa City, it was great. The workers are wonderful, really cool, hip, and young. Good music, very fresh. Plus the place is really big so it doesn’t feel overcrowded,” commented McMorran. The Java House would make the perfect location to get some work done as a college student. Located right next to the Pedestrian Mall and in the heart of the campus, it’s very convenient. Just a few streets over is Highground Coffee. When we looked at it, we didn’t expect much out of it, but were we surprised. “Best place so far,” said McMorran. “Really amazing coffee, nine out of ten.” The price of this latte was the same as The Java Houses’, but with a much different taste. “Great atmosphere, very modern and chic. Definitely more of a social get together, meet with friends kind of place. Although there were a lot of people working so it goes both ways. Has outdoor seating so that's nice. A wide variety of menu options, beer, tea, soup and sandwiches.” Our last stop was right on Clinton Street in front of the Old Capital at Cortado. The space is illuminated by light and has a couple tables outside for outdoor seating. “I really didn’t like that place,” said McMorran with a laugh. “The atmosphere was too busy and rushed. It felt like a place where you would go get what you need and get out.” A lot of people were working, so it seemed like a very professional and organized environment, probably not the best place for two teenage girls to be. “I really didn’t like the taste of their coffee because it tasted very artificial, and I think there may have been some kind of vanilla bean in that and I didn’t like that. Overall, the coffee itself was a four out of ten.” On our day long journey, we met and saw a wide variety of different people in cafes. We also definitely ingested more caffeine than one human should have in one day, but we did discovered the best coffee in Iowa City at Highground Coffee. The iced vanilla latte at Cortado. The iced vanilla latte at The Java House.
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