A New Source of Caffeine

This summer I’ve taken it upon myself to be ridiculous by working two jobs, making it so that I am working seven days a week. However, because of 4^th of July, I ended up miraculously not having to work on the 5^th. So…what does a workaholic such as myself do with a day off in good ole Williamsburg, VA? Find a random coffee shop to catch up on work of course!!

Earlier this summer my roommate Sarah came back to the room raving about this AWESOME coffee shop her summer research adviser had taken her and her other lab mates to after a celebratory lunch at Nawab, a must-have Indian lunch buffet located right by campus.  “Even after such a giant lunch, he was in the mood for coffee, so he said that he would take us to his favorite little coffee shop that he had discovered in New Town.” She relayed to me how shocked she was to hear about another shop besides the Daily Grind and Aromas, which are already standard places W&M students to go to get their daily jolt of caffeine.

The place that came so highly recommended is a new coffee establishment call Harbour Coffee. Located in the back of the New Town shopping center, it is a hidden treasure that will reward any W&M student seeking refuge when the exams get going. As I currently sit here drinking my mug full of steaming “Papa New Guinea” coffee while being caressed by the two in-house dogs Glory and Grace (who are SOOO cute!!), I wonder how this coffee shop came to be: untouched, clean, and fantastic.

“It’s a community coffee shop,” says the owner. Mainly relying on wholesale outsourcing of their products to other Williamsburg establishments such as in the Prime Outlets and even the Trellis restaurant, the actual physical shop is meant as more of a get-a-away for New Town business-goers and for locals, including W&M professors and students alike. The owner went on to say that the aim of the shop is to make premium coffee available in Williamsburg, which at times can be difficult in this, at times, tourist-centered town.

But in all honestly, one of my favorite parts of living in Williamsburg is that there is a combination between the tourist community and the local community. When necessary, I can go off campus in one of two directions. One direction will lead me into the fun, vibrant area of CW, taking in the history of centuries past. In the other direction, I can find escape in these random coffee shops and little “ma and pa” establishments that keeps Williamsburg quaint and personable.