I want to talk to you folks about the coffee on campus– it is a bittersweet entry for me to make, as my final one, but I hope you will come to understand the place it holds in my heart.
My favorite little downtown place is called WC Clarke’s Cheese Shoppe (and yes, they also sell cheese). When I first walked in here, I climbed down the stairs to the subterranian strip, virtually following my nose. They were roasting coffee grounds freshly in this large, old-school conch grinder that made little puffed noises at me as I went. The floor-to-ceiling shelves are loaded with different varieties, and not just coffee strains– there are loose-leaf teas, little tubs of shiny candies, and chocolate covered espresso beans, all in these little glass containers. The combined effect is somewhat between a coffee shop and Olivander’s. There are things on their menu that I cannot pronounce, like the rube that I am, and I like it that way.
Most importantly, my friend with delicate taste in acidic coffee (more milk than coffee kind of gal) actually enjoys their lattes very much, which surprises me. The fact that we can both get what we like out of coffee from the same drink is, frankly, a statistical wonder. My favorite part is sitting outside, in a space that is neither indoors nor outdoors, watching the foot traffic roll by with a friend.
I have always enjoyed the feeling of being underground, and so sharing a coffee with a friend underground is somehow very relaxing to me. It is a natural pairing, like the smell of paper in a bookstore– although not all bookstores are created equal, the partnership between corporate chains of coffee and bookstores always made sense to me. I love the Starbucks installation in the library because you can sit anywhere in that quiet reading section and feel it around you, like the perfect reading partner. 
I have always woken up to coffee in the morning regardless of the stage of my life– as a kid, I turned up my nose, but it has grown on me in the strange way that those acquired tastes do. It’s just how you find yourself to be able to tolerate vegetables one day, or the cigarette smoke– the things that we all culturally agree are rough to get through, but become somehow endearing over the course of our lives. 
Maybe that will be college, for me. It has been hard getting my feet under me, and then the learning curve after that is even steeper that I was expecting– but I think I will come to appreciate the Happy Valley in that same bittersweet, coffee-smell sort of way. Some folks drown it in other things that mellow out the flavor, but I think I will take my coffee black; I think I’d like to lean into the challenge a little bit more, skin my knees a little more often, and see where that lands me.
All in all, I’ve had a great time discovering this unique microcasm of a town, and I think I will keep rediscovering it for a long time yet to come.
See you around, Penn State.
This blog post was incredibly well written and a very enjoyable read. The manner in which you described the coffee shop made the appeal clear, and the diction was overall very impressive. I love the way you ended the blog. It tied everything together very nicely and was a great conclusion.
I’m not the biggest coffee fan myself but reading your blog and seeing how your able to express your love and passion for coffee really intrigued me to keep reading. Your description and personal references really felt like we were having a one on one conversation. Great work!
Your metaphor comparing coffee to college and Penn State really hit home for me. Not necessarily loving it at first – but seeing so many other people enjoy it, so knowing there must be some good in it. I agree with the last sentence of the second to last paragraph – searching for things that challenge me. I have also heard good things about the Cheese Shoppe from many people – I need to check it out sometime soon.
College has been an equally difficult, learning curve-filled adjustment period for me, and as someone who drinks their coffee black, I cannot think of a better comparison. The Harry Potter nerd in me is greatly intrigued by the Olivander’s/coffee shop hybrid that exists underground, although part of me doesn’t believe it’s real. But then again, maybe my Muggle mind just couldn’t fathom it. Who knows? Either way, I too will lean into the challenge and hardships that college has to offer, and hope that I can someday look back and realize there was once a time when I knew nothing about a place I’ll know inside and out.
I worry about building it up Too much– a lot of the experience of finding little shops is about the joy you make for yourself! I just think it’s neat 🙂 you’ll have to tell me how it goes!
I read your other post about the tailgating and I really enjoy how you seem to find a deeper meaning in such simple things. In this post I really like how you symbolize coffee to your experience here at State. I am also an avid coffee drinker (more coffee than milk for me), so I can definitely appreciate this post. I will have the try the Cheese Shoppe as I also love cheese. and I am always looking for new places for coffee it is such a hobby!
This blog post is extremely well-written and very interesting. I’m a coffee-lover myself and have definitely relied on it a lot this semester. Coffee shops are the places I seem to do my best work. I love your attention to detail and the beautiful description you use. Keep up the good work!