The price of a cup of coffee...

I enjoy spending time in coffeehouses.  The people interaction is something I enjoy and it makes my research and writing much more tolerable.  As noted previously, most of my work (such as the greater portion of my dissertation) has been completed with the help of a little caffeine boost.

Laramie has 3 such establishments that I frequent: Coal Creek Downtown, Coal Creek Uptown, and Turtle Rock.  Most independent cafes have qualities that make them unique, something as a cultural geographer that I really enjoy taking in.  However, the two Coal Creek locations have an additional quality that would make them unique on the national level: a clover machine.

A few years back, the clover machine was introduced as a new (and somewhat revolutionary) way of brewing coffee.  The coffee is made a cup at a time and has a reputation as being of the highest quality.  Expensive, but of very high quality.

A certain coffee giant from the Seattle area recognized the potential in this and bought the rights to the product keeping it out of the hands of any competitors.  However, before doing so, a handful of clovers were sold to independent establishments.

One of these establishments is Coal Creek.

As someone who needs cream and sugar with his brew, I'm by no means a true coffee connoisseur.  But even I can taste the difference.  Yesterday, I used a free coffee drink card to try a $24.99 16 oz cup of coffee.  Let me just say it was amazing.