Coffee

Coffee is a part of life for many Williams students. Fortunately, there are many places to go for a cup of joe.

Remember to be cool and eco-friendly: use a CUPPS cup or other reusable vessel.

A Perfect Blend

[Used to be] located down Spring Street next to Subway, where the old coffee shop was. It [was] half coffee shop, half art framing shop. It [had] a great atmosphere and excited owner. It opened on October 27, 2006 so not much [was] known about it [before the Great Fire], but despite the $8 sandwiches, the coffee [was said to be] tasty and the seats in front of the window [were once] great for people watching.

APB [had] more ambience than TC with the consequence of not being very good for doing hours of reading, but the deliciousness of the organic French Roast (and their pumpkin muffins!) make it [a shame it went down in the Conflagration.]

A Perfect Blend suffered the same fiery fate as Subway and the Pub.

EcoCafe

Small: $1.00, Large: $1.25

Located in Schow Atrium. Dean's Beans coffee, usually well roasted, but very weakly brewed. The best choice around for reasonably priced organic coffee, but it unfortunately closes too early in the day to be of much use to many students.

Fortunately, the ladies that work there are really nice. Ask Karen about her daughter.

Tunnel City Coffee

12 oz: $2.25

Strong (some have said 'acidic') but refreshingly bold. You don't need to drink endless cups to get your fix, just a small cup is satisfying.

If you have a coffee maker, save money by brewing your own black stuff from their excellent beans. While not all blends are organic or fair-trade, the beans are roasted locally at Tunnel City's location in North Adams.

More expensive (but worth it!) are the espresso drinks. Tunnel City definitely holds its own against good indie shops in the Outside World.

100 Spring St.
The B&L Building
Williamstown, MA
(413) 458-5010

Dining Halls

All you can drink, in any of the dining halls.

Dean's Beans coffee, sometimes a bit diluted. There's an "iced coffee bar" (read: large vat of acceptable tasting coffee alongside a couple of different flavor syrups) in Mission Park, as well.

Goodrich Coffee Bar

Small = $1.25, Large = $1.50

GCB carries coffee roasted by Assembly Coffee Roasters in Pittsfield. This is a huge upgrade from Dean's Beans, though Tunnel City's coffee is still stronger and more flavorful. But can't beat that price...

Check out the Goodrich Combo Meals in order to get the most bang for your buck (or in this case, meal swipe).

Dunkin' Donuts

Coffee that is absolutely delicious, reasonably priced and conveniently available at all hours of the day, or horrible-tasting, not worth the money, and too far away - depending on whom you ask. The Williamstown location, open from 5am to 9:30 pm (drive-through 'til 10:00pm), is near Colonial Plaza, which is either like an 18 minute walk or a 3 minute drive. The North Adams location, at the intersection of Rt. 2 and Eagle St., is open 24/7. Now accepting credit and debit cards in addition to cash.

Papa Charlie's Deli

Don't drink the "Shock" extreme caffeine coffee. It tastes awful. Also, don't expect their deliciously named coffees to taste how they smell - such as browny toffee, or tasty delicious mcdeliciousness.

Brewhaha

Located in North Adams near MassMoCA (coincidence?). Excellent toasted muffins. Also they get their bagels from H & H Bagels in NYC (possibly best bagels in the world), for anyone who misses real bagels. Closed Wednesday. http://www.cafebrewhaha.com

20 Marshall St.
North Adams, MA 01247
(413) 664-2020

Cup and Saucer

Another great North Adams coffee shop--right around the corner from Brewhaha in the building where Gideon's used to be. Large, funky, nice people, good muffins and sandwiches, free wireless internet. A great place to write a paper if you're sick of the library and have a car.

67 Main St North Adams, MA 01247 (413) 664-4225

South Street Cafe

A bit of a drive, but who doesn't need their Vermont fix every once in a while? Located off of Route 7 in Bennington. The coffee is actually Tunnel City, but the ceiling is gorgeous, the atmosphere comfortable, and the crowd composed of strangers (which is a nice and refreshing change when you live in the Purple bubble.

105 South St.
Bennington, VT
(802) 447-2433

Harper House

54 Stetson Court, totally free, and you get to use the amazing and magical machine. Coffee by Green Mountain. It helps, but is not necessary, that you be a philosophy student.

Physics Common Room

Powdered instant coffee mix for an honor system 10 cents. For emergency use only.

Chemistry 155 with Professor Park

Powdered instant coffee mix for FREE (and hot chocolate!). You'll need it. Class is MWF 8:00 - 8:50am.

Turkish Coffee

Stronger, sweeter, and tastier than all of the above, but woefully unavailable at stores and coffee shops around here. It can be ordered through amazon or sultansdelight.com, which has a minimum order of $30 including S&H and doesn't necessarily send the brand you ordered. If you know of better sources, please record them for posterity!

A Cheaper Way to Get Turkish Coffee:

There is a website called Tulumba.com where you can get Turkish coffee with different brands. The shipping costs vary from $ 5.59 (delivery in 2-3 business days/Sat. delivery) to $ 21.80 (via UPS next day Air on Business days). The costs for different brands are:

Mehmetefendi (8.8 oz/ 250 g) $ 8.39 (one of the best brands in Turkey) Tulumba.com (3.5 oz/ 100 g, 1 lb./ 500 g) $ 2.59, $ 8.39

The website also tells you how to prepare Turkish coffee. Enjoy!