BweeklyRoast provides weekly off-campus coffee shop reviews for students who can’t spend another waking moment at Butler. This week: Plowshares Coffee Bloomingdale on 105th.

This week’s reason to leave campus for coffee is to avoid gate closures and having to walk triple the distance to get to your Columbia classes. Also, to study for your midterms without the stress of Butler looming in the air. Regardless, Bwog wishes you the bwestest luck on any exams/essays/presentations you may have this week! 

Plowshares Coffee @plowsharescoffee

Finally! A walkable option on Bweekly Roast. Plowshares Coffee Bloomingdale is located at 105th and Broadway. While you could technically take the subway to 103rd, the walk is about 15 minutes from campus and totally doable. Go outside, and take a break! Trust me. This one’s worth it. 

There’s so much that makes up for it, but some of the logistics of studying here are iffy. This shop is undoubtedly small. Inside, there are three tables and a bar with three stools. Outside, there are two additional tables. I imagine this place could get packed, but you’re good to go if you can secure a spot. I’ve definitely seen shops with much less seating than this, so comparatively, it’s not that bad. I also could not find an accessible power outlet, so come charged up or with a portable. They don’t have a bathroom, but the staff was very friendly and said there was an open one right next door. Lastly, the shop closes at 5:30 pm, which is not ideal for those in classes all day.

Regardless of these flaws, the interior was very cozy and had good vibes; I felt very comfortable and productive. The cafe’s playlist didn’t really stick to a genre, but it was overall chill, enjoyable, and not distracting. There was, however, a man sitting next to me who loudly talked (about Columbia!) for over an hour, but nothing some headphones couldn’t fix. One nice touch I noticed was the bookshelf, where you could take a book and leave one! I didn’t participate, but it was very cute. 

The menu was overall a little small and basic, but at least I wasn’t overwhelmed. I ordered a classic hot latte, and it was absolutely beautiful (I mean, look at it!). The coffee also tasted amazing, but even if it were bad, the fancy latte art and pretty mug would’ve made up for it. In retrospect, I wish I had added some syrup or sugar to my latte to make it a tad sweeter. The prices include tax, so it’s truly not expensive compared to any given coffee shop in NYC or even on campus. My drink was $5.50 (milk substitutes are $0.75), but after last week (still recovering), I consider that a deal. My friend’s iced latte was an extra $0.25, but it was also so very good. We both noticed you could taste the difference in quality, which, after some research, we learned is because the company roasts its own coffee! They offer various pastries, including muffins and danishes, so we decided to share a chocolate croissant. While it tasted fine, we thought the chocolate-to-croissant ratio was way off and not as visually attractive as other croissants in the city (to each their own). 

Highs: yummy coffee, great vibes, close to campus, Instagram-worthy!

Lows: kind of small, no outlets, loud man next to me?

Overall: 8/10. Amazing coffee and great vibes, and I didn’t even have to pay $2.90 for the train. Sure, there are some potential hurdles when studying, but nothing that can’t be fixed. Definitely go here if you want a quick break from campus and to feel really put together with your latte and empty Google doc. 

Plowshares Coffee via Author