At any given cafe in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area, there are always students drinking severe amounts of caffeine and staring intently at their laptops. Do they go to the same cafe every time? Do they even know what else is out there?
I consider myself a bit of a coffee connoisseur, and though I’ve lived in Chapel Hill for over a year, I have barely scratched the surface of the local cafe scene.
In order to better educate myself and others, I visited five cafes in one day, taking note of coffee quality, cafe atmosphere and other details vital to what constitutes a truly great coffee shop.
The first stop on my journey was Caffe Driade. This cafe had beautiful scenery and good coffee, but the earthy atmosphere of the cafe took my full attention.
Caffe Driade is located off of East Franklin Street, tucked down a gravel path. Tables are spread all around the venue, settled under the shade of surrounding oak trees. This peaceful setting is the perfect place for a chill study session.
I ordered a cappuccino and sat outside, the cool shade a perfect match for my warm drink. The excellence of my espresso and the serenity of Caffe Driade gave me the focus I needed to finish up some assignments before moving on to another cafe.
My next stop was Joe Van Gogh. It was a bit further away from my other stops, but my Chapel Hill-native roommate swore by it. She recommended their lavender syrup, so I ordered an iced cold brew with lavender.
To my dismay, the coffee was nothing special. I noticed the cold brew was a very light color, which showed the coffee’s weakness.
The shop itself had a nice vibe and cute decor, but their coffee was a bit disappointing. I would personally not venture out to Joe Van Gogh again, but perhaps I ordered the wrong thing.
