Early morning classes are a buzzkill, a drag and unfortunately, required. The earlier they are, the worse your morning can be. Because of this, I traveled to and ranked the four closest coffee shops to campus by price, convenience, taste, menu options and customer service. Here’s how the campus cafeteria, Black Rock Coffee Bar, Peet’s Coffee and Starbucks did.
For the taste category, I sampled both coffee and non-coffee drinks (if they were offered). For me, coffee wins in the taste category. My personal favorite coffee is Stumptown coffee roasters because of it’s bold and unique flavors.
Starbucks on Highway 99 near Albertsons takes home last place in this rating. Convenience is the main reason. Not only is it the farthest from campus, but it does not have a drive-thru, making your morning commute that much longer. To be fair, Starbucks coffee leans on the sweeter side which most people like. I, however, find their ‘specialty’ drinks to be extremely sweet and gross.
Placing third is the WSU Vancouver cafeteria. Along with food, the cafe offers drip coffee, tea and specialty espresso drinks. I found the drip coffee taste to be less than optimal and watered down. The espresso was less watered down, however, I felt it lacked flavor and quite acidic. The convenience and price of the cafe, on the other hand, are unbeatable. Located in VDEN and opening at 7 a.m., it is possible to grab a cup before your 8 a.m. class even if you are running late. With the drip coffee (if you bring your own cup) ringing in at just over a dollar, the price point beats Starbucks, with drip coffee ringing in at just over two dollars.
Peet’s Coffee is my second favorite coffee shop in the area. I had never tried it before this adventure and I was pleasantly surprised. Not only were the baristas extremely conversational and nice, but the coffee, when compared to the coffee at the other shops, was the tastiest. In terms of flavor and acidity, I found Peet’s to be exemplary and delicious. The prices at Peet’s were also affordable with drip coffee costing about two dollars. And, while I found the convenience and location of Peet’s to be sub-par, it was a worthwhile exchange for cheap and flavorful coffee.
My favorite was Black Rock Coffee Bar, which came first in menu options and customer service. Black Rock offers coffee, tea and flavored energy drinks. As a caffeine junkie, the option of flavored energy drinks appeals to me, and provides another option for a little kick to your morning. The Black Rock baristas were also the nicest and most personable, making the stop that much more enjoyable.
With early classes, caffeine can be a necessity. Vancouver is known for its density of coffee shops and the area around WSU Vancouver is no exception. There may be a few more in the area for you to try, but these four are the best places to start.