First Post

As midterm season hits, there is no doubt that stress levels are rising. I'll admit, it took me some time to adjust from the summer 'Let's just have fun and worry about everything else later' mentality to 'Holy crap! I have midterms next week and at least one midterm and assignment due every week from then on?' As inevitable as studying is, I was and still am not big on libraries. Therefore, I am going to dedicate this blog to introducing various cafés that I am going to start studying at. For all those out there who, like me, cringe at the existence of libraries, I hope this blog will be of use to you! 

The first café that I am introducing this week is called Chai. It lies on the corner of Parc and Milton, right next to El Mundo. Although these two cafés are owned by the same owner, they are individually very different.

El Mundo is what you would expect of a normal student café: wooden tables and chairs with booths that allow students to study together. They serve everything from coffee to generic tea to juice and soft drinks. Chai, on the other hand, took a toll on its own. Not only is the decor inside the café nice and chic, but also very comfortable with sofa chairs and couches available. Even the selection of drinks here is quite different from El Mundo. Although they do still serve the usual coffees, their main product of sale is tea. With a many different types of tea and multiple flavors per, the variety of tea they have is incredible. In addition, the atmosphere here is also very peaceful. The music is never overbearingly loud with a nice selection of study songs by artists such as Jack Johnson, Bon Iver, etc.

Green tea is my favorite kind of tea, so I was really excited to see that they have a selection of over ten flavors of green tea! I ordered the Kyoto Cherry green tea, and I was so happy with this choice. The cherry aroma from the tea could be sensed as the server brought over a tray that consisted of a teapot, a cup and a filter with the tea leaves inside. When you order your tea, they also give you an option to use a Chinese teacup or a normal "British cup," as they call it.

Kyoto Cherry flavored Green Tea

Another thing I love about this café is its selection of pastries. El Mundo has always been known for its good food, and Chai did not disappoint. Not only do they have a selection of cupcakes, scones and other pastries, they also make macaroons that go perfectly with the tea. I ordered raspberry and orange blossom flavored macaroons to go with my tea, and my friend ordered raspberry and lime flavored ones.

Raspberry and Lime flavored macaroons

Raspberry and Orange Blossom flavored macaroons

Needless to say, it was delicious. 

It is now past 11:00pm and they are about to close. I guess this would also be an appropriate time for me to end this blog post. 

To all those out there looking for a nice new environment to study in, really, try Chai! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I know I'm not.