Coffee Coffee Dingle Dingle

It’s that time of year again… finals season is upon us. Students are hunkering down in libraries, trying to find any last slivers of motivation to study for their finals so they can go home for the holidays. But studying in libraries can get monotonous, and students (including me) are starting to hit walls. So what’s my remedy? Why, a cafenture of course! Or should I say, a “bwafenture.” A bwafenture is an adventure to a coffee shop around the city, where one seeks a change of scenery, solitude, and fresh air beyond the Barnumbia gates. After my many bwafentures. I continue to circle back to these three coffee shops on the UWS when I’m at my wit’s end, and while they have their pros and cons, they will always have my heart. But I’m not a gatekeeper. So here are 3 UWS coffee shops that you should “bwafenture” to if you need a break from the libraries this finals season. (Side note: these are not ranked in any particular order):

  1. Dear Mama

With a nice walk uptown, Dear Mama is located just off Broadway on 129th street. It has wifi, great coffee, and yummy pastries. A cafe with lots of windows, Dear Mama’s interior is very light and makes one feel a sense of hope while working there. However, in order to work there, you do have to wake up at 7 am to get a table that isn’t marked with a “no laptops allowed” sign. I guess it’s part of the vibe (??), but there are only a few tables that you’re allowed to work at with your computer. Lame. (Personally, I don’t understand coffee shops that don’t allow computers. Isn’t that the whole point of a coffee shop? Idk.) But if you rise with the sun and get there early (wearing a jacket because it’s chilly in there), you can consider yourself sat for the day.

  1. Daily Provisions

Take the subway down to 79th street and you‘ll hit the coffee shop jackpot. Daily Provisions offers a variety of food, including their delicious parfait (my roman empire) and their maple crullers that are quite literally to die for. Buy yourself a creamy and smooth coffee (I recommend their iced latte or hot mocha) and get to work with their free wifi! The one issue with Daily Provisions is that they have limited seating, so you might have to wait for a spot to open up. But don’t worry, the wait shouldn’t be too long and it’ll be worth it.

  1. Irving Farm

If the wait does get too long at Daily Provisions, head next door to Irving Farm. They serve a mean iced Mercer Latte – a latte blended with oat milk and maple syrup, topped with cinnamon. It isn’t on the menu, but trust they have it. I think about this latte daily. They also have plenty of seating, with a whole back room full of tables if the front is full. But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies here… you must be warned that Irving does not have wifi. Yes, I know, I have issues with it as well. This does cause problems for students, so if you work here, either download your readings beforehand, or sit in the front (because that’s where the best hotspot data is). Despite its flaw of being a coffee shop with no wifi, Irving has a top-tier vibe.

I love these coffee shops. And as long as you know what you’re getting into, you’ll love them too. The coffee is about the same price at each place, although Irving’s Mercer might be the most expensive because it’s a specialty drink. Obviously, there are still a multitude of coffee shops I need to try, so if you have one you would like to be ranked or tested, email tips@bwog.com.

Hopefully with the addition of one of these cafes into your daily study grind, those brain beans will start brewing and whipping up some stellar grades. Let’s get to brewing and finish this semester strong!

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