New coffee shop on Lane Avenue, and in the school cafeteria, is perfect for sleep deprived days
By Piper Crotty, ’19
Crimson Cup, Image courtesy breakfastgrubguy.com
The corner of Lane Avenue and Northwest Boulevard has housed three coffee shops over the last three years. The newest inhabitant, Crimson Cup Coffee, is making an impact that no other coffee shop in this location has. Crimson Cup is not solely concerned with giving morning commuters their daily dose of caffeine, but providing customers with a cup of coffee that has a much deeper meaning.
The newest Crimson Cup Coffee Shop was opened earlier this summer at 2468 Northwest Blvd., becoming the second Crimson Cup location in Columbus. The first one is located in Clintonville. Owner Greg Ubert shared that “we don’t believe in cookie cutter coffee shops, so our new space will offer a different vibe than our Clintonville location.”
Crimson Cup welcomes you with open arms, opening at 6 a.m for the early commuters heading of to work. When you walk in you’re greeted by a familiar comfort through the warm tones of red throughout and a large fireplace located in a cozy area with chairs and tables. This space is targeted towards those desiring to have a quiet place to study or do their work. Closing at 9 p.m, the hours accommodate those working later. Around the coffee shop, there are pictures that display owner Greg Ubert traveling through South and Central America, cultivating Crimson Cup’s unique taste. It becomes more of a home other than a generic coffee shop.
Hailing from Guatemala and Honduras, Crimson Cup’s unique blend of coffee beans offers a global flavor unavailable at a chain coffee shop. The goal of Crimson Cup is to limit the distance between the grower and the consumer. This goal is extremely effective and is apparent through the distinct taste of the coffee.
The 95 Coffee Review ($3.95) and the 92 Coffee Review ($3.95) are Crimson Cup’s signature drinks. They brought home the roaster of the year award given out from Roast Magazine. The 95 Coffee Review is a sleekly blended drink originating from Jimma, Ethiopia that gives a rich taste of natural elements. The 92 Coffee Review gives the drinker a sweeter alternative to the 95 Coffee review. It blends flavors of cacao and earth ultimately resulting in a simple coffee with a hint of sugar.
The skinny vanilla latte ($4.05) is a lighter coffee than the Guatemalan and Honduran brews. Making it skinny limited the sugars and calories through using skim milk and not as much vanilla flavoring. This is a better option to more amateaur coffee drinkers, not in need of an excessive amount of caffeine. This drink goes back to the basics of coffee to provide a drink suitable for all coffee drinkers.
If you are planning on getting food, do not expect a large selection. The three options were a blueberry, pumpkin, and cinnamon muffin. The blueberry muffin was nothing spectacular and tasted as if it had been sitting in the display window for a while. However, it was suitable for its purpose.
After visiting Crimson Cup one is left with the hope that more coffee shops would begin to mimic the atmosphere experienced at Crimson Cup. The consumer is exposed to not only pure, basic coffee, but also to a culture through learning about the mission behind your morning cup.