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Monthly Archives: December 2013

Hard Bean Cafe

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a joyful Yule and Solstice. That cover everyone? This is looking to be my last entry of the year. It’s been a really busy two months, with Thanksgiving and Christmas so close together this year, and New Years Eve right around the corner. So many family events, so much inertia when I’m laying in my warm bed! Since I did have a week off of work though, I finally had the energy and the free time to visit what may be the last really local coffeehouse that I’ll be reviewing for a while. Oh don’t worry there will still be regular updates…I’ll just have to travel a bit farther afield for new cafes.

This is a Camp Hill/Mechanicsburg coffeehouse that I’ve heard about for some time. It’s a local spot, mostly frequented by people traveling along the Carlisle Pike on the west shore of the Susquehanna. It’s a humble looking place from the outside, located in a very small plaza right off the main road. A little post-industrial, but hey, that’s Central PA.

When I got in, it was much warmer than I expected from the outside. It’s really inviting, if rather small. No sign of any local music, but the coffee itself was quite good; once again I found a place where they distinguish between “strong” and “good” coffee. That’s always a good sign. The Colombian was quite tasty. I was also impressed by the fact that they open at 6:30 in the morning during the weekdays! Nice to have a place that I can be sure is open way before I go to work.

The staff was nice, especially given that they were working the holiday week, when many of us have off. In fact, a friendly accessibility seems to define the feel of the shop. If you’re part of the morning commute across the west shore heading up through Market Street, I would recommend this place for certain. They did just recently re-open in August, so I’ll be keeping my eye on the development of this nice little cafe. Until then, I’ll see you in the new year. Stay thirsty.