More Than Just a Cup of Coffee

I'm a coffee drinker.  Make that a HOT coffee drinker.  (Iced?  No way!  Coffee Ice Cream maybe, but cold coffee?  Blech!)  No tea for this gal.  (Unless it's iced and sweet.)  I'm lucky that I'm married to a man who makes great coffee.  (Although this skill has taken some time to perfect.)  We've gone through several coffee makers in our 22 years together and each purchase has been carefully researched and well thought out.

Though I can easily survive a morning without coffee, I do like my morning cup.  And while for the most part, I have my coffee at home and/or take it with me when I go to work, there are occasions where I purchase my coffee from Dunkin Donuts or Wawa.  (It's just about time for me to hunt down a bag of Wawa Pumpkin Spice.)  Although rare, I've been known to visit a coffee house for a special treat.

In all my years, there are three coffee houses that have a special place in my heart.  They all have excellent coffee and other treats, but they are more than just that.  They provide an atmosphere of comfort; a "vibe" that captures their surroundings and lovingly broadcasts what they are all about.  I may not visit them often (two of them because they are over an hour from my home), but I am devoted to them.

Blue Hippo Coffee Co. is the newest and (physically) closest to me.  (It's in my town.)  They opened in a space that was previously a dry cleaners (I think my mom used to get my dad's shirts done here back in the late 1960s/early 1970s?).  They've kept the space light and airy and it's delightful to sit in there and look out at the traffic go by.  I had wanted to visit them since they opened in this summer, but didn't get around to it until the first day of school.  I wanted to treat my husband and myself to something different after we dropped our son and his friend off at school.  The service was quick and friendly and I wish I had spent more time just sitting there and relaxing, but work called...Their mocha was excellent and I do need to go back and find out how allergy friendly they are (as always I have cross contamination fears) because their avocado toast sounds divine and brie and smoked bacon panini has my mouth watering.  I also liked the fact that although they are new to the neighborhood, they are certainly welcoming as they offered FREE medium coffees to all town teachers and staff on the first day of school.  (Guess they remember how that first day of school can be!)  Their thoughtfulness immediately endeared them to me and I will be back again soon.  

The Corner Roast can be found, not surprisingly, in the corner of the Pine Room at Skytop Lodge.  It's the newest and most welcome addition to the resort, taking a previously underutilized space and turning it into a cozy location for coffee and treats.  (There is no actual seating, but you can enjoy your cup just steps outside in Pine Room, or on my favorite spot, the South Porch.)  I enjoyed a mocha (do you see a trend here) on a rainy, cool afternoon during our last trip.  Both my son and husband dropped by for coffees as well.  I'm hoping to see some seasonable coffees if I am able to go back this fall.  (Pumpkin spice latte?  Hint!  Hint!)

Coffee Tyme is the first coffee house that I truly fell in love with.  Last year when we visited Cape May, during my morning walk on our last day, I happened upon them.  (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-north-jersey-girl-goes-south-part-2.html).  I was so glad we did.  My entire family loved the place...and the coffee...AND the treats.  We loved it so much that when my neighbor went down to Cape May in December, I asked her if she would stop in and pick up 2 pounds of their ground French Vanilla coffee.  (I don't like French Vanilla that much, but Coffee Tyme's French Vanilla is the exception to the rule.)  Since then I've ordered coffee from them several times (You can do it through their Facebook page) and have never been disappointed.  On our recent trip (to be blogged about soon), we stayed only a block or so away from their 2nd (and newer) location at the Washington Street Mall.  We started off both Saturday and Sunday with their fabulous coffee (Raspberry Mocha for me; French Vanilla for the boys on Saturday and my husband tried their Pumpkin Spice on Sunday...guess who bought a 1/2 pound?) and sweet treats.  Although we didn't travel to Cape May this September because of Coffee Tyme, there was no way we would have started our mornings without them!

Coffee Tyme is exceedingly smart when it comes to social media.  They have a daily contest on Instagram and of course while we were there, I HAD to post our Coffee Tyme photos.  Found out late Sunday that I was the daily winner, but we were already home in North Jersey.  So I messaged them and here's what happened:

SUN 7:24PM

So, thank you so much for picking me as a winner. We love your new location. And if we were in Cape May more often you would have more of my $$$. As it is, we are so happy that we brought home a pound of your French Vanilla &1/2 pound of Pumpkin Spice. (There may be on line orders in my future if that pumpkin spice goes too quickly.) What exactly does winner mean? (I AM a winner because I found you last year on our first trip to Cape May and my family got two wonderful mornings of coffee during our trek this weekend. BTW: The woman who opens your Washington St Mall shop...and I'm sorry I don't know her name, is GREAT!)

Thank you for messaging Coffee Tyme! We will reply to your message within 24 hours!

Hey Beth!! It makes me so happy to hear how much you enjoy our little coffee shop . The winner of the #coffeetyme contest wins a free 16oz drink of their choosing! I will pass it along to Megan that you think she’s great, we think she’s great too!

Ok great...here's the thing. We're back in North NJ so I'll won't be able to take advantage of this. But I'd like to pass it on...is there any way this could be awarded to a random service person? Or someone who walks into the shop and your staff feel is worthy?

Are you sure you don’t want to save it until you come back to cape may? There isn’t an expiration date!

You know what, I'd rather pass it on to a deserving person. I probably won't be back until next September and I'd like it if someone who really needs a nice surprise gets it.

That is so nice of you! I will be sure it goes to someone that needs a pick-me-up

7:49AM

Hey Beth! Sorry for the early message, but you’ll never believe what happened: There was a sweet homeless lady that came into our beach shop this morning (I have never seen a homeless person in Cape May). She only had a few dollars and wanted a coffee and a sticky bun. I told her that you wanted your winning drink to go to someone who deserves it and you inspired me to give her the sticky bun on the house too. She was very grateful and said to say thank you for the drink!

You guys are AMAZING! You made MY day with this message.

And they DID make my day (and more) with the message!  It give me hope that we all CAN make a difference, no matter how large or small...it can all start with a cup of coffee.