Sept. 8, 2014
Ashley Thompson
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No matter your taste in coffee and setting, you can find something that fits you if you look hard enough. There are plenty of off-the- wall coffee shops around Colorado Springs. It just takes a careful eye to spot which ones are the best.
Stir
Stir is an old auto-shop garage turned coffee shop with black walls and a groovy vibe that is located in downtown Colorado Springs on 2330 N. Wahsatch Ave.
Menu items include varieties of coffee, tea, desserts and pastries, and breakfast or lunch items such as quiche, breakfast burritos and blackberry cheesecake. Their sweet-potato apple cookies and banana-rum cookies are particularly popular.
Stir is a favorite watering hole for chemistry education senior Isaac Herold.
“The biggest reason to go? The awesome staff,” Herold said. “They’ll sell whole pies if you give them a 24-hour notice…and they are delicious.”
Their hours are 8 a.m.-3 p.m. every Monday through Saturday. On Sunday they are open from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices mostly range under $10.
Mission Coffee Roasters
Originally started to financially support Christian missionaries, Mission Coffee Roasters is a business-like coffee shop well-suited to those with laptops and work to do as well as those looking for a place to get good coffee in a timely fashion.
Located on 11641 Ridgeline Drive off of North Academy, this coffee shop has a very efficient atmosphere. As a smaller coffee shop, slightly chilly and devoid of background music it is not the place to go for a long chat in cozy armchairs.
Mission Coffee Roasters is placed amidst several suburban neighborhoods for locals to enjoy.
Each Mission Coffee roasts its own coffee beans as well as uses its profits to benefit others. As the company advertises, this is the coffee shop to go to for “Really good coffee with a mission.”
Their items are moderately priced and include usual coffee items, drinks and pastries.
Their regular hours are Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday from 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
Jives
Jives is the secret club of the locals of Old Colorado City at 2418 W. Colorado Ave. You have to be looking for it and even then Jives has a way of blending into the rest of the street.
Once inside, Jives is unforgettable. It has a welcoming atmosphere and an antiquated feel of uniquely painted walls of cartoon figures, animals and trees.
Freshman Sydney Baldomero loves the unique aspects of Jives, such as the live music performances and the handwritten menu.
“It’s all on a chalkboard and it changes all the time. I’ve never seen something like that,” Baldomero said.
Jives holds open-mic night every Wednesday night on their small stage for anyone who wants to perform, whether you want to play the gong or perform a self-written piece on the piano, each person gets the chance to play or sing at least two songs.
Whether to study, play chess or checkers on the tables, or listen to live music, Jives Coffee Lounge creates this environment with moderately priced coffee drinks and food such as turkey croissants or a chai-tea latte.
Jives hours are Monday through Friday 7 a.m.- midnight, Saturday from 8 a.m.-midnight, and Sunday from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Urban Steam
Urban Steam is not your average coffee shop. Whether you are looking for a morning latte, lunchtime Panini or late night cocktail, all can be found in this European-punk setting.
The bar (used to order coffee as well as whiskey) is decorated with underground metro lamps and welding masks, which might be intimidating if not for the shop’s seafoam green paint job.
“This is where a modern-day Ernest Hemingway would hang out,” said sophomore nursing major Anna Wolff.
Depending on what you order it can be pricey, but the unique atmosphere and endless menu options make Urban Steam a must for any coffee lover. Several options include Café Afagato, which is their machine head house espresso over a scoop of vanilla bean gelato or New York style cheesecake.
Hours for Urban Steam are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday and Sunday, and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sat.