Read Yelp Reviews. That’s the lesson I learned a few days ago after having the trippiest coffeehouse experience ever.
I didn’t previously read Yelp Reviews because, in my opinion, reviewers either love the place or hate it. What if the establishment is actually pretty good, maybe 4 star? What if the bad service you received was just a server’s off day? I would rather experience a place myself and create an opinion based on my own expectations.
Bangin’: slang term meaning excellent, awesome, or very attractive, used informally to describe something of high quality, like great music, food.
With the previous definition in mind, I felt like a coffee shop named Bangin’ Beans would be—well—bangin’.
It was during Christmas break that I decided to head to this shop located not too far from where I live. My son was in town for the holiday, so this was going to be a fun family adventure… It was definitely an adventure, I might even say a trip, because the place ended up being a bit out of my comfort zone.
While wearing a bathing suit might be commonplace for some jobs—I never expected it for a barista. That was the first sign that Bangin’ Beans was not my abuela’s coffee shop.
The locale was an old drive-thru car wash, the barista’s crotch was right at eye level with my car. There was no mistaking—she was not wearing pants. I could feel the embarrassment creeping up my face, and I was surprised my son could keep his composure. This was just the beginning, we had just barely driven in. Next was the menu. I had to first decide on a size—“cup” sizes ranged from the small B to the extra large D—what even was this place? Reading the names of the coffee and drinks was scary because I didn’t want to say something that would make me blush. I stuck to a B cup latte and held in my nervous laughter like a stifled sneeze.
Service was quick, we got our coffees and left! No sooner had we cleared the parking lot than my son bust out laughing at the whole episode. “Have you not ever seen Landman?” he asked. No, I hadn’t, so I would never had known of the new coffee shop concept.
Hindsight is 20/20 and I now clearly read the description of how this coffee house “grinds”.
Coffee Houses have historically been exchanges of literary or political information, good conversation. Are we dummying down the drink? Making it more of a bar environment. I would dare to say a shift is happening in the drink industry where a local brewery is a much classier place than a bikini clad barista.