In my mid-sixties I’ve discovered an affinity for coffee shops. Not for coffee, mind you, but for the places where coffee is brewed and served. Places where a banana nut muffin along with a chai latte can keep me company while I write or people watch.
Tallahassee has several good coffee shops, so I’ve been trying one a week for the past couple of months in hopes that I’ll find the perfect combination of good vibes and good tea.
The good ones all have electrical outlets wherever possible. The great ones have outlets and serve vegan goodies. I’m still trying to decide which place rates my devotion.
Red Eye is really good—lots of places to write and a nice selection of decaf teas, but, alas, no vegan baked goods. The Square Mug has great vegan selections, but they’re in a smaller space with fewer outlets. I haven’t tried Lucky Goat, mostly because the one time I visited there were no masks in sight in a crowded space. That was a deal breaker.
Yes, I know I could brew a cup of tea at home and have my quiet writing space while I snack on muffins purchased in advance from Sweet Pea Cafe, but going to the coffee shop makes me feel like I’m actually at work. Like I have a place to be. Call me weird, but it’s comforting.
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 
Sounds good Leslie x
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I’m surprisingly productive in such settings.
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Good for you my darling. Then you should go often.
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It’s good to get out and about. Besides, don’t all the great authors have to have their own “special” writing spot? Can a place be a muse I wonder?
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Maybe!
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You’re a person after my own heart
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😊
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For years I got together with a good friend at Panara Bread and we would get coffee and a baked good and write together. It was so much fun. Then she moved to California. But we just made a date to Zoom and write together next week. It isn’t quite like meeting over coffee, but I’m glad we still do it.
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Oh! I love that idea. It’d be nice to have a writing buddy.
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Aaaah few things bring me as much joy as sipping coffee and writing in a coffee shop 🙂 Few years back when I lived in another city, I would make a list of all coffee shops there are and on every opportunity I’d see another one. It brought me so much pleasure to explore different variations of it – coffee, pastries, ambience, vibe. I love that cozy but creative vibe coffee shops have. You come there on your own, do your own thing, but seeing other people being creatively productive like yourself feels like you are all working on something together, but individually. If it makes sense 🙂 Oh I could go on talking for hours about what it is I love about coffee shops. It brings me so much joy hearing other people enjoy those magical places in same way 🙂
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You’ve hit the nail on the head! I have been so engaged in the day to day business of publishing one book that I haven’t been able to enjoy writing at a coffee shop. As soon as possible I’m going to return! Thanks for this lovely response.
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I have a similar addiction that I am facing to being in coffee shops – not for a coffee but the place 🙂
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Infact I wrote a small piece about what a coffee shop could mean to different people. Sharing it – do read !
https://appamprawns.wordpress.com/2021/12/03/coffee300-at-coffeeshop-festive-cheer-offer/
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I have written a piece on random coffee shop conversations that I have heard in my city in India – am sharing it. Do read !
https://appamprawns.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/coffee-conversations
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