Although the year has just started, Princeton students already seem to be inundated with a such volume of work that it seems difficult for any person to complete. So, in case you feel the need for a little caffeinated motivation to make it to that 8 a.m. Psych class after staying up until 4 a.m. the night before reading history, here is a summary of how the local coffee shops can be invaluable resources.
Atmosphere
Each of these coffee shops have very distinctive atmospheres, despite the fact that they all share common characteristics such as sidebars lined with various milks, sugars, stirrers and little glass cased displays of pastries designed to tempt you into accompanying your caffeine rush with a sugar high.
Quietly tucked away into a little niche in Palmer's Square next to Origins, Buck's Coffee County is long and narrow, with small tables lining the shop and leading down to a black leather couch where one could study quite comfortably on a first-come first-serve basis.
Buck's plays no music and maintains a much more removed quality, as if perhaps it would be the place to go if you weren't really in the mood to run into a lot of people you knew. It seems that it would be the ideal place to study out of the three coffee shops in town, especially since there do not seem to be any blended drinks being made which increases the volume considerably in Starbucks.
For most people, walking into Starbucks, [a national chain,] is not much of a novelty. While each store is slightly different from others around the world, the similarities are as usual more pronounced than the differences here in the Starbucks across from Nassau Hall where little tables line the sides of the room and the coffee bar where you place your order runs along the wall.
Generally, your drink comes in a little paper cup with a cardboard holder around it which cheerfully assures you that it is made from a large percentage of recycled cardboard although upon request you may have your coffee in a mug, either theirs or your own. There is music playing in the background, usually not too loudly, and the lighting is somewhat dimmed. Corporate types in business suites click away at their laptops from tables around the room's perimeter.
Entering Small World, is quite a different experience. Its deceptive exterior portrays a small hole-in-the wall on Witherspoon just off Nassau Street. Inside though, it has much more of the feel of a chic, local specialty, the atmosphere is much more charged. The room is larger, light and airy giving the feeling of spaciousness. It gives off the feeling that you are in "the place to be."
The music is louder and more talking goes on. There is also a fairly extensive menu of food in the room adjoining the coffee bar area, which increases the volume with the clinking of silverware against empty plates.
This atmosphere may be slightly less conducive to studying, although there were certainly plenty of people who appeared able to manage it. If you stay there for your coffee, you get to drink out of a pretty glass cup resembling a skinny beer mug and appearing much more sophisticated than the typical paper cup and plastic top.
Quality/Variety
Black Starbucks coffee can taste a bit bitter on its own. But, after it is generously doctored with syrups and milks, perhaps a bit of whipped cream or any of the numerous additives available, it is quite wonderful.
My personal favorite is the nonfat sugar-free vanilla cappuccino. As far as offering variety is concerned, Starbucks is hard to beat. It is possible to have coffee in almost any form imaginable from hot and black, to iced and flavored, to blended with milk in a Frappuccino.
Syrup flavors include vanilla, caramel, chocolate, Irish crème, hazelnut and others and milk can be soy or cow and have any percentage of fat you could wish for.
You can have a latte, which is all milk and coffee or save a few calories by ordering a cappuccino and sacrificing 1/3 of your cup to foam.
Just be ready with you order when you get to the front of the line because they tend to look at you strangely if you don't immediately blurt out that you want a tall, nonfat, decaf caramel macchiato with soy milk, cinnamon, two equals and an espresso shot (or some such masterpiece of your choice).
The actual quality of the coffee at Small World seemed superior to that of Starbucks as the coffee of the day was palatable nearly black with only Equal added to it. Of course, at Small World you also have all of the complex combination options you want should you choose to be more adventurous.
The vanilla flavored coffee of the day from Buck's with only a little sweetener tasted very good as well, though this coffee shop doesn't offer as many varieties as the other two. Buck's is also nice for the slightly lazier student, particularly those living in Mathey or Rocky for whom it is the shortest walk of the three.
Coffee Alternatives
Those people who find coffee a less than appealing beverage option, but do not wish to be left out when their friends head for one of these locations, need not fear. Each one offers alternatives to the stereotypical coffee beverages.
Starbucks has herbal teas, blended juice drinks called Tazos, hot chocolate and numerous other alternatives. Small World has warm flavored milks, fresh squeezed orange juice and whatever drinks are available in the restaurant portion.
Buck's seemed to have the least options beyond coffee but still offered a variety of hot teas and several other non-coffee beverages as well as some foods such as quiche, sandwich wraps, soup, granola and yogurt.
Price
The prices of these three places were all relatively similar with the same size mocha at Starbucks costing $3.02, at Buck's $2.75 and at Small world $2.95. One caveat however, if you are expecting to charge this luxury to mom and dad, avoid Small World because they do not accept credit cards only cash.
Final Word
Overall, each coffee shop has something to offer the Princeton student in need of a beverage and an atmosphere different from Frist's Café Viv. While the quality of food and drink at Bucks is not quite as high as its two competitors, Bucks offers a pleasant, quiet place to study and a convenient location. Starbucks, while it lacks the originality and unique environment of Small World and Bucks, presents a wide variety of drinks to satisfy just about every taste. Finally, perhaps the most popular place to see and be seen with caffeinated beverages, Small World is an excellent way to escape from studying and take part in a quintessential Princeton tradition.
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