Coffee with a Cause

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.