By: Tim Donahue
As a student, a writer, and someone who gets a headache if ten o’clock passes before I’ve had my first cup, I [very humbly] consider myself to be an expert on Western’s coffee scene. Especially when it’s cheap coffee and when it’s close and fast, I can buy a little treat to go by its side, especially when midterms are coming and my un-caffeinated brain prefers about a thousand things to my next logic proof.
When I was in high school and watching Gilmore Girls daily, I imagined college as a land where coffee flows like water. However, it’s not that, but there are three or four good coffee places on campus, four or five if you have access to the dining halls, which I do not. These options, the good options, are Zoe’s Bagels, Miller Market, the VU Market, and the Starbucks in the Atrium. I get a drip coffee and a bagel whenever possible.
Study Spots and Coffee Shots
Miller Market: No more soup, but the coffee’s still there. The self-serve aspect is gone, the sandwiches have changed as Aramark has changed to Chartwells, and the food on campus has shifted. The problem with Miller Market is not in the food or the coffee or the views or even the decorations, the problem with Miller Market is the fact that the study area is an echochamber. One person talks, and I hear it, one chair squeaks and the sound shoots to the other side of the room. It’s the high ceilings, I think, and the glass on the walls, but any and all sound is amplified. Now this wouldn’t be a problem for most people, but I can’t function in a crowd like that. There’s too much noise, and it washes my focus away from the front of my mind every single time. I like that the cafe’s been built up in recent years, though, it feels a little fancier than it did in the self serving days.
(Left) The entrance of the Atrium. (Right) The inside of the Atrium Starbucks, with a long line at the front. Tim Donahue // Wavelength
Starbucks: The line’s too long. There’s a fireplace and a view of the arboretum. It’s a comfortable place when nobody’s there. My most vivid memory of the Atrium’s Starbucks came the day before I left for last year’s winter break. The air was warm with the heat emanating from the fire. The food’s not the same as it is in the Starbucks off-campus locations, there are no breakfast sandwiches, only baked goods. I’ve run into this problem before, coming to Starbucks seeking some protein and leaving with a cookie, a coffee, and nothing but sugar in my bloodstream. The cozy environment’s usually too hectic to enjoy for very long, and while it is nice to get a fancy Starbucks drink every once in a while, the price point and the line get me to pass it up more often than not.
VU Market: Convenience, and the lady can never hear me when I’m trying to order but there’s something endearing about that. There’s an old arcade game in the seating area nearby and the windows look out over the Bellingham Bay. Perfect to watch a storm blow through on a dark day in November when there’s a midterm spread over the table between you and the sea. The draw to the VU Market is the view, the coffee’s the coffee and the food’s the food, but come at the right time and your meal/study comes with a show. When looking out over the bay, the sky moves around you. I often feel trapped when midterms come around, the long hours on campus blur and the world gets smaller, but the view of the water provides a taste of freedom on even the busiest days.
Zoe’s Bagels sign hanging over the counter. Line forming in wait for bagels and coffee. Tim Donahue // Wavelength
Zoe’s Bagels: I just drank a cup of coffee from Zoe’s Bagels and finished with a mouthful of grounds from the bottom of my cup. That usually doesn’t happen though. I honestly love Zoe’s Bagels; the space, the food, the coffee, it’s all just about perfect for what I need from my study spot. It’s quietish, being located in the library requires that from a space, but it’s not eerie. People talk, and unlike the upper levels of the library you can enjoy your food without having to worry about every crinkle that the bag makes when situating your food. Personally, I get a toasted sea salt bagel with regular cream cheese, and along with my coffee I’m satisfied ninety-nine percent of the time. This is the one day, with the grounds piling up at the bottom of my cup, that I’ve left Zoe’s Bagels with a bad taste in my mouth. But it’s comfortable, just social enough, and usually not as crowded as people say.
So in the eleventh hour, when your midterms are on their third draft and you feel like you’re going insane, don’t give up. That fourth draft is calling your name! Sometimes all it takes is a little more caffeine.