Hey everyone. Long time no see.

Been a while since I've posted on here. Lexie has been making pretty much all the posts for the last few years. I have recently been able to redouble my efforts in writing and so I will be making more posts on here when I hit writer's block in my projects. This is pretty much a follow-up post to her story about Coffee with a Cause.

I've been going to the cafe that she mentioned, Global Peace Factory, for almost a week now. Here's what I have to say about it.

Looks 8/10 - Only one complaint: I'm not big on orange, which happens to be their accent color. But by no means does it look ugly. The orange does, however, do its job and energize the place. The lightly colored walls bring in the sunlight nicely without making it a hot place. The bar is well organized with a multi-color chalk menu for paninis and various delicious coffee drinks. There is a display freezer with various ice-cream like contents.

Layout 8/10 - Again, only one complaint: Size. It's a little on the smaller side, but that is part of it's charm. There is a couch in an alcove with several tables dashed here and there on the ground floor. I love the loft that is above and behind the bar. I do my most productive work up there, there is a bohemian style rug and a chain link fence which would look out of place anywhere but here. Along two of the walls is a long one sided booth with ample plugs for laptops, along with a few framed prints of various internationally appealing people, places and things.

Atmosphere 10/10 - Great friendly staff and a host of other like-minded work-from-homers fill spots both up and downstairs. The music is a mix of Moroccan tunes, bohemian vocals and Latin flair. I find the staff to be more than accommodating in that they will take your order to your seat, and even take your second order from your seat, if you're there long enough.

Taste 10/10 - Being a long time Starbucks fan, I thought I was going to hate the place. But I found the opposite to be true. I like it so much, I don't want to go to Starbucks anymore. The coffee is excellent. The paninis are fun and tasty. I am yet to try the ice-cream, though I hear it's something other than ice-cream, which makes me want to try it that much more.

In closing, I have to say, after meeting the owner of the shop that this place has real promise. He is originally from Switzerland. This is his first attempt at a coffee shop, and I'd say he's hit a home run. He says the difficulties with this place are mostly bound its location. There is next to no neighboring retail stores, so very little foot traffic. The location at the NW corner of Legacy and 121 is not known for much other than a few corporate offices, but he plans to fix that lack of exposure he has by offering delivery services in the near future.

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Have you or someone you know tried Insanity with Shaun T? I've seen the infomercials, I've gone to the website (just like the infomercials without the music). I've thought about what else I could do with $120. The cost of Insanity is three payments of 39.95 (and shipping is $25, what's up with that?!?). So $120 dollars later, would I have appreciated my investment? I'm not certain, but I am interested. And, I'd like to hear opinions from the peanut gallery.

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I suppose it started for me in high school. There was a coffee shop (no longer in business) called La Crème just down the street from the high school, and my friends and I would stop in there often for a drink, snack, and hanging out time. It really did mimic the camaraderie of the television show "Friends," although, we rarely sat in the same place two times in a row. I sat and had deep conversations with the girl who would become my best friend there. I went on dates there. I ran into my parents' friends there. That place had a lot going for it.


From there, my love of coffee shops kept going. I do enjoy Starbucks, nothing but love there. However, there is something a bit more charming about a privately owned, non-chain coffee house. In college, starting freshman year and going all the way through senior year, a group of us met weekly at Sweet Eugene's for catching up and chilling out. It didn't really matter that most of us saw each other every day anyway. I worked at this coffee house during my time as an undergrad (beginning sophomore or junior year, I can't quite remember) and grad student. Not an insignificant percent of my paycheck would often go to food and drinks on my off-time.

Along the way in there, I moved to Paris, France. Uh, hello. We all know the French love their coffee (and with almost as much passion as the Italians, and that's hard to do). In Paris it didn't really matter to me which coffee shop I was stopped in, they were all inviting (albeit smoky) - especially on cold, gray Parisian days. What they lacked in creature comforts (no big fluffy couches here), they made up for in ridiculously cheap espresso and indifferent shop keepers. The indifferent shop keepers part is very good if you're looking to stay in one place for hours on end and only purchase a single espresso. Japan also had its little cafés (and Starbucks) where we liked to frequent. In one, the baristas knew Christopher by name (not to mention his order).

Since we've been back, I don't quite feel like we've found a coffee shop haven. That is, not until today. Sure, we'd gone to Starbucks like we always did. But sitting in one just hasn't felt quite as relaxing as it used to. Luckily, I'm a bit ridiculous about cutting coupons and looking through the weekly mailers for deals. This is a fortunate happenstance because this past week's mailer had a 50% food purchases coupon for a coffee house I'd never heard of called Global Peace Factory. 50% is a very good reason to give a place a shot.

Christopher and I headed over there for lunch today. We both ordered paninis (the menu is small so the variety isn't all that vast - mostly paninis or pastries, and they also sell gelato). Christopher also ordered a caramel frappé. We headed up to the mezzanine to sit and eat our lunch. It was very cute, comfortable, and inviting. What is even better is that this coffee house is part for profit and part for charity. 2 cents on the dollar goes to non-political charities. Certain items sold in the shop have 100% of the proceeds going to charity. Also, their plastic cups (for cold drinks) are compostable. Rock on Global Peace Factory. I feel we may have found a little gem in this place, and I know that we'll be going back. It's a nice feeling. Oh, and yes, the paninis were delicious.

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