Talking About Coffee

A Coffee Maven Literary Interlude

Having enjoyed Matt Haig's Midnight Library, which we had read together, librarian Pam has been reading his How to Stop Time, which she describes as light science fiction. A few days ago, she said she needed to read the following passage to me. She was, of course, correct.

The setting: the protagonist is 400 years old and is being interviewed for a job as a high-school history teacher. 

'I understand you've done a lot of great things here,' I say, trying to get the conversation back on track.

'I try. We all try. It's sometimes a losing battle, though. That's my only concern about your application. Your references are amazing. And I've had them all checked ...'

I feel relieved. Not that she has checked for references, but that there had been someone who had picked up the phone, or emailed back. 

'... but this isn't a rural comprehensive in Suffolk. This is London. This is Tower Hamlets.'

'Kids are kids.'

'And they're great kids. But this is a different area. They don't have the same privileges. My concern is that you've lived a rather sheltered life.'

'You might be surprised.'

'And many students here struggle hard enough with the present, let alone with history. They just care about the world around them. Getting them engaged is the key. How would you make history come alive?'

There is no easier question in the world. 'History isn't something you need to bring to life. History already is alive. We are history. History isn't politicians or kings and queens. History is everyone. it is everything. It's that coffee. You could explain much of the whole history of capitalism and empire and slavery just by talking about coffee. The amount of blood and misery that has taken place for us to sit here and sip coffee out of paper cups is incredible.'

'You've put me right off my drink.'

And he is, of course, correct.

Twist Bakery Cafe - Burlington, MA

Aidan Cash speaking, 

During Patriot's Day Weekend on a beautiful Monday afternoon when me, my younger brother and my father had some extra time we decided to stop at the Twist Bakery and Cafe which is located in Burlington, MA. This shop has been around for 6 years but the whole company since 2011. The workers here were nice! It's a very positive environment in a mid sized shopping plaza. I told the workers that I was doing my little inspection for the assignment and introduced myself to her, told her that I was a college student. It's in a pretty cool part of the town. Twist only has two locations; one in Millis and one in Burlington. The place is located right across from the Wegman's and near the Okipoké Poké bowl restaurant. This location is actually not that far from the mall. It's a 3 minute drive and a 16-17 minute walk.

I really liked the place and would gladly come back here again if I could. I am just a huge fan of the location and the shopping center itself. The place is open longer on Fridays and Saturdays but everyday they open up at 7AM. On Sundays to Thursdays they close at 4PM, or 16:00 but on Friday and Saturday they close at 7PM, or 19:00. The shop has a very modern look inside and the seats are comfortable. Lots of people eat inside the place.

This is a general idea of the menu:

As according to these pictures they have a pretty big variety of options on the menu such as breakfasts lunches dinners sweets and many drinks such as coffee, tea, matcha, etc. The coffees are customizable so you have a little bit more options to choose from.

This was the food we ordered there:

I really liked that cake and it was indulgent and the coffee wasn't bad. The matcha wasn't as good as hoped for when my brother tried it he didn't particularly like it. If you come here you can choose anything you'd want they have a wide variety of food and the staff here is good.

It was not very easy to notice the coffee roots but I was able to spot some coffee beans at the machines that the workers would use for brewing coffees.

This is a map of the cafe nearest to the biggest coffee chain

In my opinion, I find that the coffee and food at Twist Bakery & Cafe is actually better than Dunkin Donuts.

Rise & Shine Coffee House - Wakefield, MA

Rise & Shine Coffee House

    On Sunday March 30, on a rather gloomy Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of visiting Rise & Shine Coffee House in Wakefield, MA.  The sky wore a soft blanket of gray, as if urging the world to slow down and sip something warm and refreshing. Located in the center of a prideful suburb of Boston, Rise & Shine is a small yet charming coffee shop with a warm ambience, friendly staff, and a menu that caters to all. The shop is open every day of the week until 2 P.M.,with hours just slightly varying on the weekends. They open at 7 A.M. Monday through Friday but get a little bit of extra rest on Saturday and Sunday mornings opening at 8 A.M.

   

Rise & Shine proudly serve coffee from Atomic Coffee Roasters, a second-generation family company. The company is run by a pair of brothers, Spencer and Logan who pride themselves on ensuring the quality of their coffee is higher than the standard. "We pay a premium to support coffee farmers and ensure the highest quality green beans."- Spencer and Logan (Atomic Coffee Roasters)

 During my visit, I ordered just a black coffee, the only way I drink coffee nowadays. I have been told that this is a sign that I'm all grown up. I'm not completely sure about that. Anyways, I really did enjoy the coffee although it took, what felt like, 30 minutes to cool! It was a relatively dark yet smooth beverage. I would recommend trying out their other items on the menu like specialty drinks, smoothies, and food since I was not able to. 

Location relative to nearest Dunkin' locations.