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Monthly Archives: May 2014

Green Bean Roasting Company

So have you ever tried very hard to find a place via online maps only to find that they know surprisingly little about the place you’re trying to get to? Did you ever have that problem compounded by meeting the only locals who have no idea what part of town they are in? That was my experience in downtown York, PA trying to find Green Bean Roasting Company. For me, getting to a place is less than half the fun. I know, I know, bad mentality for someone going on a journey to anywhere. On the whole, I’d rather just cut to the chase and catch my quarry…the elusive little coffeehouses like this one, hiding in the nooks and crannies of the countryside.This day I was actually on a different journey entirely and just needed some coffee. I was headed down to Baltimore to attend Balticon, an annual science fiction and fantasy convention that happens every Memorial Day weekend. Oh yes,

When I finally found it, the cafe itself was very nice. It was the kind of place where you could plop yourself down on the couch and do whatever studying or other intellectual work you have to do that day. The leather couch was beckoning to me and if I didn’t have another seventy miles to drive that afternoon I might have just taken a nap right then and there. I get the feeling they might have let me too. The girl at the counter gave me their Green Bean blend to try that day; a mixture of light and dark beans. It was recommended as a breakfast blend, and that was a good assessment! It had a rather light beginning as I swirled it in my mouth, but finished with a lingering, robust “nut” flavor that I couldn’t put my finger on. Very well done Green Bean. You gave me something new.

My one disappointment was that they never have live music or other events there. A shame, because it’s such an inviting space. It’s one of those coffeehouses that I could see making a great den for artists and poets. The conspicuous Tom Wolf sign hints that the owners or operators might have a political bent to them. That’s cool. After all, coffeehouses have always birthed political discourse since the European salons of the Age of Enlightenment.

All in all, I’d come back here if I was in York. I’d come here a lot with a coterie of poets. It’s clearly an oasis of quiet and clearly not part of the local “scene” which can be a very refreshing thing. Wherever artists are not is just one more place where artists could one day be, especially if the environment is welcoming in that subtle way. You know what I’m talking about. I get a nice little vibe from this nice little place.